Admittedly, like this man….I’m a digital immigrant; born long before 1980 without the savvy of digital natives who work circles around me on the computer, tv remote, video games, and car navigation systems.
Is technology an enemy to be feared? Does it matter in the world of tradeshows?
…I open the door to say good night to my 18 year old daughter and found her fast asleep with smart phone resting on the pillow just below her nose.
…I call my three kids and without answering they readily text me back.
…I read that the average phone conversations has declined from 3 minutes to 1 while people spend 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook.
…I listen to music with lyrics that reference putting a dime into a pay phone. Have you seen one recently?
…I read where an 18 year old boy killed one and seriously injured another while driving and texting.
The list goes on…technology can be a blessing…and a curse.
But what about its impact on tradeshows?
If we agree that tradeshows are about building engagements than technology may be an impediment to enhancing customer engagements. For example, Generation C (C standing for connected, communicating, content-centric, computerized, community-oriented, always clicking)…will be technologically savvy but will they have the personal skills to engage a tradeshow buyer? And if the current “baby-boomer and GenX” staffer isn’t always the best at engagement (a common complaint from tradeshow clients today about their salesforce) what does this suggest for GenY andfuture staffers who’d rather text, email, facebook than pick up the phone or make a field sales call? And if the tradeshow staffer isn’t good at engagement, what impact will this have on the visitor experience and interest in attending tradeshows?
While technology is a blessing….in the world of engagements and tradeshows it could be a curse. What’s your opinion?
exhibitionpro 