Skift Take
Technology is only as good as the functions it performs and when it comes to conferences and networking, that means helping users make quick decisions and seamless connections.
Meetings and events attendees find scheduling and communication apps significantly more useful than social media updates and hashtags, according to a new report from American Express Meetings & Events.
Meetings apps that deliver real-time information to attendees, list session descriptions, and allow attendees to message one another are considered important by 55 percent of the 161 professionals surveyed for the report.
In comparison, only 35 percent of respondents found social media posts or commentary important.
Attendees are not interested in participating in games or contests on either medium throughout an event.
Event planners overestimated the importance of social media and events apps in comparison to actual attendees. Sixty-seven percent of of 336 meeting planners surveyed felt meeting apps were important and 43 percent felt the same way about social media.
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Tags: american express, meetings and events
Photo credit: Startup Riot attendees focus on a headline speaker. Tim Dorr / Flickr