Conferencing Apps

I was recently a speaker at the 2012 Vancouver Resource Investment Conference. Its one of the biggest mining conferences in the world with over 500 exhibitors and 8000 attendees. Here are a few of the apps that I like to use when heading off to a conference.

Tungle
I'm a big believer in serendipity so I dislike taking introductory meetings at a conference. I never know what I'll learn at a conference but when I'm getting an overly detailed presentation on the end uses of an element that may never be produced by the company I'm meeting, my thoughts turn to the next thing. There's always a next thing.

When I'm presented with more than one meeting request, I tend to freeze up. I'm not good with choices. Tungle solved my "deer in the headlights" scheduling issues. I was able to share blocks of times with people who wanted to meet with me and they picked the time.

I botched the time zone component for one meeting as I live in Calgary and the conference was in Vancouver but with a more diligent user, I'm sure that problem is avoidable. It did a great job of syncing to my Google Calendar. This app does one thing very well. I'll try Doodle next time to compare.

Lanyrd
This has yet to gain traction in the resource world but an open source conference guide is a great concept. Lots of ways for speakers and attendees to share what they are up to. Currently, I'm using it to document my speaking career more than anything else. If conference organizers ever figure out the benefits of pushing this app onto their exhibitors and users, it could take off quickly. This app can only get better over time.

Cardmunch


Cardmunch is not getting better over time because processing my stack of business cards is being held up. In theory, you take a photo of your business card and a few hours later you get a contact record along with a button to push if you want to connect with them on LinkedIn. Awesome! Cards aren't quite dead in the business world.

The fruits of my conferencing labours.

I hope heavy card volumes don't kill this

Cardmunch was recently taken out by LinkedIn and while the acquisition makes great sense, fickle users are not going to like any restrictions on usage, especially following a conference (apps are all about me).  I get my business cards in large bunches so if 10 cards backs up the system, I may have to find an alternative.

Twitter

Our conference used the hashtag #VRIC12 and for the first time, I saw plenty of twitter traffic around the conference. Most of it was from speakers and exhibitors. Currently, it would be foolish to ask for twitterverse questions for a panel at a resource conference but that day is coming soon It is best to be ready. I used the ever trusty buffer to schedule tweets with this hashtag over some of the conference. 

Wikipedia Blackout - Decelerating Intelligence

There's this uneasy feeling I get when an external source of information is suddenly unavailable. Usually this happens due to connectivity issues. A bit of frustration (depending on how close a deadline is) mixed in with powerlessness. Today, however Wikipedia has "gone dark" as a protest measure against SOPA and PIPA. 


Realtime access to the world's largest encyclopedia has changed how humans interact. Our conversations are further reaching. I'm often in a group where one person takes on the role of data gatherer to fill in the factual blanks of a conversation. What other movies was that actor from the Golden Globes in? How many people live in that country? While much of this "trivia" is mindless, once in a while it provides a solid reality check on someone's unproven assertion. 


To paraphrase Eric Kim, co-founder of Twylah, if our conversations become even 1% smarter and that ability gets multiplied across the entire planet, imagine what kind of societal shifts could happen.


They're happening already. We still have conversations, we still meet friends for coffee but it is socially acceptable in many circles to use an iPad or smartphone to add factual information to a conversation. 


I agree heartily with Ray Kurzweil's take... 


Better the government shut down than Wikipedia go on strike. That would be part of my mind going on strike. Just give them [Wikipedia] whatever they want — we don’t even need to hear what it is.


Kurzweil describes the consequences of accelerating intelligence. Losing Wikipedia for a day has definitely but the brakes on.








There is still some light...

#wikipedia blackout hack. You can take a screenshot of the page you want to read if you've got gamer reflexes.
— Jim Letourneau (@JimLetourneau) January 18, 2012

Where Do Apps Come From?

Apps start out as eggs that often require incubation before setting off into the world as hatchlings. 

Forbes put together a great article on the 10 Hottest Startup Incubators. Unfortunately they opted for the slideshow model (this encourages multiple clicks on their site but I find it very slow). They also didn't provide links to the actual incubator sites. So here is the quick and dirty list compiled by Forbes. It is a great place to look for new apps that just might change your life.

1. Y Combinator - Mountain View, Calif.

2. TechStars - National

3. Excelerate Labs - Chicago, Il.

4. 500 Startups - Mountain View, Calif.

5. Capital Factory - Austin, Tex.

6. DreamIt Ventures - Philadelphia, Penn.

7. Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator - New York City

8. I/O Ventures - San Francisco, Calif.

9. Tech Wilcatters - Dallas, Tex.

10. AngelPad - San Francisco, Calif.