5 Tips for Killing It at SXSW and Other Conferences

The spring conference season is about to hit full swing.

Austin, Texas, will be abuzz March 11-20 for SXSW. This year’s featured speakers include renowned director J.J. Abrams; Jim Bankoff, CEO of Vox Media; and Biz Stone, co-founder of Medium, Twitter and Jelly.

Thousands of business professionals in industries from venture capital to advertising to software development are expected to attend, and if previous attendance figures hold true, about 23 percent of SXSW Interactive attendees in executive positions will be CEOs.

If SXSW isn’t your style, don’t fret. March is jam-packed with the Adobe Summit, MarTech, CRM 2016, Build 2016 and 4A’s Transformation conference.



Related: The 10 Best Worldwide Conferences for Entrepreneurs

With so many conferences coming up, don’t forget to brush up on your networking skills. To maximize your next conference experience, follow these tips:

1. Focus on helping others.
I once made a complete fool of myself at a conference by approaching a speaker only to blast him with every detail I could about my company and my product. In less than two minutes, I’d quashed what could have been a great relationship by acting like a self-promotional robot.

When you meet someone, instead of blasting him with your accomplishments, ask yourself, “What is one thing I can do for this person?” The law of reciprocity is a powerful tool in business, and the person to whom you offer help is much more likely to remember you in a positive light. Jessica Herrin, founder and CEO of Stella & Dot, once told me, “Every time you meet someone new, ask yourself, ‘Are they going to be a domino or a linchpin in my success story?’”

Related: 9 Networking Blunders That Undermine Your Reputation

2. Aim for quality over quantity.
When I began building my company, I devoured every business-building book I could get my hands on. But one networking book offered me terrible advice -- it urged me to go out there, shake hands and collect as many business cards as possible at every event. Unfortunately, desperately collecting contact information is annoying at best and creepy at worst.

Instead, focus on making three genuine connections at an event. Ignore the pressure to “work the room”; instead, engage in deep, enjoyable conversations. Relationships are the foundation of networking, so dig in and move past surface-level chatter. Fellow entrepreneur Sue Olsta Crockett Mason, owner and gynecological surgeon at Virtuosa Gyn, encourages conference-goers to build trust by showing vulnerability through sharing their personal stories. Let others into your life, and they’ll let you into theirs.

3. Ask for what you want.
A dear friend and fellow entrepreneur Shuly Oletzky impressed me with her ability to take initiative at conferences.

Shuly recently attended the GrowCo Conference. After the CEO of Spark City, Lisa Hendrickson, spoke about pricing strategies at a recent conference, Oletzky approached Hendrickson, thanking her for the valuable session. Oletzky asked whether Hendrickson would be willing to discuss a few of the topics in greater depth, and the two quickly bonded. Then, after the conference was over, Oletzky reached out to Hendrickson, and so began their tight-knit relationship.

4. Take initiative.
Think in advance about how you’ll demonstrate leadership, foresight and generosity at the conference. For example, a colleague of mine impressed me by making a 10-person advanced dinner reservation for the evening of the conference.

As she met interesting people during the day, she invited them to dinner. At the meal, she worked to break the ice with her fun personality. Her dinner company left with full stomachs, an appreciation for her leadership and new connections of their own.

Related: Become a Networking Beast by Following This 5-Step Plan

5. Don’t hide your personality.
Sue Kallamadi, owner of Trunk Up, likes to start her conference prep with her suitcase. She chooses bright colors or fun patterns to complement her vibrant personality. According to Kallamadi, a well-thought-out wardrobe shows people you’re confident and true to yourself, making them feel more comfortable networking with you. Design unique business cards or bring a few samples of your product to be both on-brand and on-style.

Forging meaningful connections with strangers is scary, and I’ve felt more than a few nervous butterflies at big conferences. But you didn’t attend the conference just to collect a few new business cards. If a speaker piques your interest, don’t be afraid to approach her, and be sure to stay connected after the conference. Take the initiative to improve your skills, and make 2016 the year you master conference networking.

116 people affected by Zika in the U.S.

Zika virus is primarily transmitted to humans by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus has infected at least 116 people, including an infant who was born with a severe brain development disorder, in the U.S., according to a leading American public health institute.

“During January 1, 2015-February 26, 2016, a total of 116 residents of 33 U.S. States and the District of Columbia had laboratory evidence of recent Zika virus infection based on testing performed at CDC,” the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its latest report.

The CDC said among those who tested positive was an infant. “Cases include one congenital infection and 115 persons who reported recent travel to areas with active Zika virus transmission or sexual contact with such a traveller.” Zika has become an epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean since last fall. CDC’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report said that the most frequently reported countries with active Zika virus transmission visited by the patients were Haiti, El Salvador, Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala.

Also, the World Health Organisation said on Friday it is sending a team to Cape Verde to evaluate case of the neurological disorder microcephaly — its first case in Africa — thought to be linked to the Zika virus, in the island nation off West Africa.

Keywords: Zika, microcephaly, CDC, arthralgia

Top High PR 9 - PR 0 Dofollow Forum Posting Site List

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High PR 9 Dofollow Forum List

 1. Mysql.com
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13. http://forum.joomla.org
14. http://forum.siteground.com

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Women see little improvement in world of work - ILO

Women have seen only "marginal improvements" in the world of work in the past 20 years, according to a global study.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) said the difference in the employment rate between men and women had decreased by 0.6% since 1995.
In countries where women access work more easily, the quality of their jobs "remains a matter of concern".
The findings come as events take place to mark International Women's Day.
'SIGNIFICANT OBSTACLES’
Launching the report, ILO chief Guy Ryder said it showed "the enormous challenges women continue to face in finding and keeping decent jobs".
"Throughout their working lives, women continue to face significant obstacles in gaining access to decent jobs," the UN agency said.

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"Only marginal improvements have been achieved since... 1995."

The report looked at data from 178 countries and found that rate of women's participation in the workforce was 25.5% lower than men's participation in 2015 - a gap only 0.6% smaller than 20 years earlier.
In many regions of the world, women were more likely to stay unemployed - 6.2% of women are jobless across the world compared to 5.5% of men - and often had to accept lower quality jobs.
The distribution of unpaid care and household work remains unequal in both high and lower income countries, the report said, although this gap has reduced.
Women, however, continue to work longer hours per day than men when both paid work and unpaid work are taken into consideration. "Progress in surmounting these obstacles has been slow and is limited to a few regions across the world," the authors said.
The report is one of a number of studies released ahead of International Women's Day, which highlights gender inequalities around the world.
Research by US-based audit and tax firm Grant Thornton found the rate of women in senior roles around the world had risen 3% in the past five years, to stand at 24%.

Russia once again topped the ranking of countries with the highest percentage of women in senior business roles, followed by the Philippines and Lithuania, the report said.
Japan, where only 7% of senior leadership roles are held by women, remained at the bottom of the list.

Millennial Entrepreneurs Make More Money Than Their Older Peers

Millennial entrepreneurs earn more money than their older peers, and are also more motivated by an effort to find their purpose and give back to society, according to a new report.
“The new generation of millennial entrepreneurs are revolutionizing the nature of entrepreneurship,” says Nick Levitt, head of Global Solutions Group at HSBC Private Bank, in a statement announcing the release of a report outlining these findings. “These entrepreneurs are building bigger businesses and creating more jobs.”
Millennial entrepreneurs were considered those under the age of 35 for the HSBC research, called the Essence of Enterprise report.
Those millennial entrepreneurs surveyed by HSBC had businesses with annual revenues of $11.5 million, nearly one and a half times the $4.8 million average annual revenue of all the entrepreneurs surveyed for the report.
Millennial entrepreneurs have more employees, too. The main business holding of an entrepreneur under the age of 35 included in this survey has 123 employees, compared with 58 employees in the main business holding of entrepreneurs over the age of 35.
Related: 'Success Is Not a Number,' So Don't Chase Goals That Leave You Unsatisfied
For the research, HSBC surveyed 2,834 entrepreneurs throughout the world. Entrepreneurs were tracked both by age and location. All of the entrepreneurs had a net worth between $250,000 and $20 million. To be included in the report, individuals had to be a major shareholder, manager, executive or strategic investor in a privately held business.

Your Tech Conference Can't Succeed Unless You Get Production Right

Have you been to a conference where the slides are difficult to read? What about an event where there aren’t enough charging stations to resuscitate your iPhone? Production -- the audio/visual, lighting, staging, live streaming, etc. -- is undoubtedly one of the most important elements of planning a tech conference.
Production makes the content of your conference come to life, but beyond that, it creates the atmosphere and aesthetic of your event that is rooted in your brand elements. Get this part right, and almost all other details of conference planning are forgivable.
I sat down with JT Naughton, president of Four Moon Productions to learn more about how to make your next tech conference an A/V slam-dunk.
You've produced some of the largest tech conferences in the industry. What are some of the key elements during the planning process that help separate the good conferences from the best ones?  
Let the creative ideas flow. No matter how far out and whacky they may seem, the creative process is the most fun part of the entire event. For example, here is this empty venue that can be turned into almost any desired vision. Eventually ideas stick, and tangible plans start to form.
Second, embrace the fact that everyone has a powerful device in their pockets called a smartphone. It can take pictures, record videos and instantly share those elements and opinions with the world. Make sure you provide the branding, the lighting, and the “wow” factor that your attendees can share (for the right reasons). If free advertising is the best kind, make sure your logo is somewhere in that advertisement.
Lastly, as much as your attendees are there to learn, they also want to be entertained. Put smiles on their faces through sound and vision. Give them that bass and those moving lights, and they will walk away with a well-rounded experience that they’ll be sure to rave about.
Related: Live Conferences Still Trump Online. Here's How to Maximize Them.
Walk us through the planning process from the production side. How early should event marketers and planners bring you in?  
The earlier the better. We prefer to be part of the site selection process. This can help our clients realize what they are up against. Is it a union property, and if so, what are the rules/policies? Are the bones of the property able to support rigging? Do the chandeliers hang eight feet off of the ground? Can we move the column that lives in the middle of the room? Is the dock three miles away?
There are so many little details that can affect the look and feel of the conference and budget. It is best to be armed with as much knowledge as possible before pulling the trigger on a venue.
There's always pressure to get speaker slides submitted weeks before the show, when we all know in reality, getting a CEO to send her deck over anything less than day-of is probably unlikely. What’s the reality behind deck submission deadlines and why does it matter?  
You’ll have more success herding cats. Collecting speaker slides is the most common challenge our clients face. From our perspective, having presentations in hand, before we walk on site, is a rare dream come true. We are then able to preview the presentations and make sure they are legible, contain no spelling errors, and are formatted correctly. A presenter can then walk on stage with confidence, knowing the slides will be ready to go.
The reality is that we typically get the slides on the day of, or minutes before the presenter walks on stage. When this happens, we typically find errors and are scrambling to correct these errors before presenters walk on stage. It can get pretty chaotic. It’s paramount that our graphics technician is a person who strives in stressful situations. The graphics position, alongside audio, is one of the hottest seats in the room, and the most visible from an attendee perspective.
In the end, our goal is to plan for the worse and avoid it at all costs. Getting slides early is a giant step in the right direction.
Related: Conferences Are Good for Networking but Great for Marketing
Production is one of the biggest line items in the conference budget.  What are some key considerations that can help mitigate unnecessary spend and get the most value out of our investment?  
The more communication, the better. This is where getting the production company in on the planning process early will help mitigate preventable risks. Get them to the venue. I would also suggest running dates by the production company. Working on a holiday can really hurt from a budget perspective. We also recommend avoiding Sundays, for the same reason.
Change is inevitable, but to give another example, the sooner an agenda is developed, or a scenic concept is realized, the better chance we have of controlling numbers. As the conference approaches, the less resources are available, driving demand and in turn, cost.
Finally, provide the production company with a budget number, early on. This will give an idea, from the beginning, if the budget and the vision are on the same page. Then plan on adjusting accordingly.
We've all been to conferences with audio/visual issues. Sound engineering is more art than science as different presenters have different styles and require different equipment to support. What are some of the things to think about when it comes to ensuring our speakers are comfortable and everyone in the audience is engaged to the content being presented? 
Similar to the graphics position, the audio position takes a special kind of person to make audio sing. There are so many challenges from frequency hits, to mic placement, and nervous presenters… the list goes on and on.
A lead audio technician’s best friend is his audio assistant and the stage manager. The audio assistant is responsible for placing mics in the best possible position on a presenter’s shirt/blouse/blazer. Speaking of which, it is never a bad idea to address recommended clothing with presenters before they show up on site. Buttoned shirts are our favorites if we are using lavalier mics. Bonus clothing comment: we recommend that presenters not wear dresses or skirts if they are sitting.
The stage manager is also a key ally, and is the last person a presenter talks to before he/she walks on stage. The stage manager explains the layout of the stage, what to expect once on stage, and how to speak so that all can hear. He/she should also have a bit of a calming effect, as naturally most people are nervous before they walk on stage. Once a presenter realizes that the entire audience is in their underwear, they calm down a bit.
Audio is funny in that, for presentation purposes, if your audience doesn’t notice audio, it is working well.

5 Reasons In-Person Meetings Still Matter

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Being in the event planning industry, salespeople are constantly trying to sell me the newest virtual technologies to make events more easily accessible from a wider audience.
One memorable experience I will always remember is when a salesman came into my office to pitch his virtual event product and at the end of the meeting I asked, “If this product is so great, why are you sitting here in person?” After a few moments of silence, he said, “It’s more effective to sell in-person than through a computer.”
Meeting over.
Related: 'Owning' a Room, Even When You Don't Feel That You Can
According to a recent Meeting Professional International survey, virtual attendance is projected to grow at twice the rate of live attendance. This rise is the biggest change in how meetings are run since the introduction of PowerPoint.
However, while I believe that virtual meetings can be useful in certain circumstances (when time is short or distance is too far), there are many reasons why in-person events are more effective for businesses, large and small.
Here are five:

1.Reduced distractions

How many times have you attended a virtual meeting only to be sidetracked by incoming emails from your colleagues or boss?  I am guilty; we all are. It is simply unavoidable.
A recent InterCall survey found that of the 340 marketers surveyed, only 62 percent said they would log on from their office. Yet, more than a quarter of respondents were attending from bed (14 percent), their car (9 percent) or from the beach or swimming pool (5 percent)!When attending an in-person event those innate virtual distractions are removed for participants. Also, it may sound odd, but the peer pressure of the other attendees in the room helps to keep attention on speakers.

2.Beyond the content

When event-goers pony up cash, invest time and take a flight to attend; they’re committed. And these attendees are more likely to take part in breakout sessions, post-event dinners and other networking events, leading to a more involved and complete experience.
Related: These 5 Mistakes Make Meetings a Huge Time Waste

When meetings are held in-person, there is a unique opportunity to get creative and leave a lasting impression about your brand and company culture. A live experience means that attendees can engage multiple senses that just cannot be duplicated with a computer.

3.Comfort zone eliminated

There is something invigorating about being in a room full of people who are as excited to talk about the same topic as you are. It can renew attendees’ excitement and focus about the topic of discussion.

Attendees are physically in a room with others that have the same learning goal but different backgrounds. This allows for meaningful relationships to grow beyond their industries.

4. Networking hurdles removed

Behind the screen is a not an effective place to meet people. The hurried nature of online events may help attendees “meet” a larger number of people, but the virtual world allows for less quality time to interact with others.

An article, which recently appeared in Psychology Today, suggests that too much time behind a screen could hinder people’s ability to recognize emotions -- a vital tool for building successful social relationships.

5. Let’s keep this 'off the record'

When attending an in-person event, there is an opportunity to speak more freely in one-on-one situations. There is also a heightened sense of trust when meeting with someone in person vs. just speaking online -- and less of a chance something will be taken out of context.The next time you consider whether there is enough room on the budget to meet in person, consider these points. While the time and cost is a greater investment, it is worth exploring to reach the goals your organization is looking to achieve.