Archive for May, 2009
IMEX Frankfurt 2009 May 29th, 2009
IMEX Frankfurt 2009 is a wrap!
Although the expo was a bit smaller than last year, I had some great scheduled and impromptu meetings and chats with some amazing people. I had the pleasure of spending some time chatting with Samuel Smith, former Spotme employee and event tech advocate.
I also ran into the one and only Corbin Ball while listening to a presentation at the Slovakia Booth – they had some yummy appetizers there! I had the opportunity to tell him within 10 seconds what smeepe is and will definitely meet up with him again at EIBTM in Barcelona.
Chatting about MPI, World Education Conference, and MeetDifferent with MPI’s VP of Knowledge & Events, Vicki Hawarden, was fantastic! I will definitely be onboard at MeetDifferent in 2010.
Another great bunch of contacts I made were with the Ritz-Carlton crew, Deutsche Bahn Driver Service & Event Service, the entire Canadian booth team, and the Malaysia booth folks. They had an amazing band for their happy hour, American Journey.
Even though the show floor was a bit smaller and visitor traffic was less than last year, I felt like I had more time to discuss with exhibitors, which was a plus for me. There were only a few organizational things that I think could have been better, which I will definitely give as feedback to the organizers.
I’m excited to see you all again at IMEX 2010 (at our own booth!), and would definitely recommend newcomers join the fun!
Our next stop is the STB in Berlin, June 16 – 17th.
Tags: corbin ball, eibtm, imex, meetdifferent, mpi, samuel smith, stb
Posted in Events | Comments (0)
I’m a vendor, how do I register? May 20th, 2009
First off, I want to thank you all for sending us your feedback and comments regarding our platform thus far. We’ve made some changes to make the registration process easier and more clear.
If you’re a vendor, meaning you have a business and provide a service to customers, then you can go to smeepe.net and click on “i am a vendor” or go directly to the vendor registration link. Registration only takes a few minutes.
Where most people get stuck is at the “add a category to this vendor” step. All you need to do here is determine whether you provide services to the event industry or to the IT/Social Media industry. If you provide services to both, feel free to add categories from both industries. These categories help users find you easier.
- Start by clicking on “add a category to this vendor.”
- Then select either “Events & Parties” or “IT & Social Media.”
- Choose the appropriate sub-categories that pertain to the services you provide (you may choose up to 5). Be sure to click on the red heart to make sure your sub-category is added.
- Feel free to navigate up and down this tree to find and select all sub-categories that are appropriate.
- Click the red X on the top right when you are done.
- Finish filling out your profile and click “Send Registration.”
You’re all set! Now you may choose to upload images to your profile such as your logo or images of your work. Please don’t hesitate to contact us directly if you need any help with the registration.
Tags: product feedback, vendor registration
Posted in Tips | Comments (0)
Charity Tweetup Tour – 1st Stop, Darmstadt May 14th, 2009
smeepe’s first stop on the Charity Tweetup Tour was in Darmstadt at the Weststadt Bar, yesterday, May 13th. We had a small turnout, but that’s kind of what I expected for our first one. We had a total of 10 guests (bummer that the other 8 didn’t end up making it!).
The first four of the worldwide Charity Tweetup Tour movement!
Thank you all for participating, retweeting, and donating to this Tweetup. Our Charity of Focus was ReadIndia.org.
A special thank you to our sponsors:
- expacklyMondo – Bottle of Bubbly
- Troubleshooter Media – Name Badges & smeepe banner
- amiando – Ticket Shop
The bread gave up early - LOL!
We look forward to seeing you all at stop #2 in Berlin, featuring the charity Break the Cycle. If you have a location suggestion, please let us know. Registration is open now!
Cu – @daniellegrossi
Blog: Tweetup Tour – with Charity Focus
Tags: amiando, berlin, charity tweetup tour, darmstadt, expacklymondo, troubleshooter, weststadt
Posted in Tweetups | Comments (0)
5 Annoying Things About Finding Vendors May 4th, 2009
A question I get often is “Where do you find your vendors today, and more importantly, how?” Because the idea of smeepe came from our own need of wanting to find quality vendors, we’d like to share how we’re contributing to helping all users find the vendors they need with the help of smeepe.
The five things that annoy me most about finding a vendor are:
1) Having to search all over heck and back to find websites or contact info of potential vendors (some of whom don’t even have a website!)
As much as I love search engines, I find it somehow impossible to find the right vendors with them. I get a lot of results but not the ones I’m looking for. Maybe it’s just me. Nonetheless, smeepe is here to be the Amazon of services. Our search technology and directory service allow our vendors to be easily found based on ratings and relevancy and filtered based on location(s), if desired. Plus, for those superstar vendors or fresh startups who don’t have a website for whatever reason, your smeepe profile can be your mini-website.
2) Calling all the vendors and asking the same questions over and over again
Because the smeepe vendor profiles all have the same format, it makes comparing and pre-selecting vendors much easier. And ideally, all vendors will have written a fantastic description of themselves, which also helps you answer those questions you’d normally ask when calling.
3) Finding fantastic portals that might have the info I need, but have to register or pay for the info or am forced to send a quote form to the vendor…UGH!
This is the most annoying thing ever. These types of sites lure me in, get me searching and finding the vendor I need, then I get blocked as soon as I want to see the company name and contact information. At smeepe, you can see all information WITHOUT being forced to register or pay anything. You only have to register as a member if you want to rate, comment, share, or save a listing.
4) Having to connect and be everyone’s friend before I can see their information
There are a ton of social networks out there. We don’t want to be “just another social network.” As a member, registered or not, you can simply search for vendors and see their information without being “connected” to them. Plus, in the near future, we will be implementing a chat widget in which vendors can choose to activate on their profile. This will allow members to chat directly with potential vendors without having to download anything or register. Plus, if the member decides the vendor isn’t the right choice, he/she can just close the session and that’s it. No adding to lists or connecting. Easy and anonymous for the member.
5) Booking a vendor who sucks
I’m sure we all agree that when you book a vendor who doesn’t meet your expectations, it just sucks. That’s why we’ve built in ratings and comments. This will enable you to book with confidence and know what you’re getting into. Plus, as part of our phase 2 features, we will be adding more standard information to the vendor profiles as well as the ability to track social keywords about vendors that will help in your decision-making process.
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We just need all you superstar vendors to sign up!
Tags: amazon, event vendors, it vendors, quality vendors, social media vendors
Posted in Tips | Comments (0)