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Friday, December 23, 2011

Energy in water pipes

http://m.good.is/post/harnessing-the-untapped-energy-in-water-pipes/

Back yard economy

http://m.good.is/post/backyard-economy-the-rise-of-local-manufacturing/

Future World predictions 2012

https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/drt/si?p=CAEYtdmf-AQ&ut=AFAKxlQAAAAATvV7ObNy0XWBDTolbhRZO14cdyUw6GXc

How to use research to get ahead

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/ouch_a_years_worth_of_occasion_1.html

Bio-mass for the masses

http://m.smartplanet.com/blog/global-observer/beauti-fuel-brings-biomass-to-the-masses/1765

Article: Solar Panels In Paint Form? Scientists Just Did It

Icon toppling - A Happy, Flourishing City With No Advertising

A Happy, Flourishing City With No Advertising http://smf.is/1CwBKG (via @summify from @GOOD)

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Interesting alternative views of how the US is developing. Niche views

http://blogs.hbr.org/schrage/2011/12/six-innovative-ideas-to-watch.html

Digital learning innovation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPmt9RrTXJA&sns=em

Top 9 Rural Small Business Trends for 2012

Top 9 Rural Small Business Trends for 2012 http://smf.is/1Cpkrg (via @summify from @smallbiztrends)

Extreme futurist festival

http://blogs.laweekly.com/stylecouncil/2011/12/extreme_futurist_festival.php?mid=559

Smell the coffee!

http://www.coolhunting.com/food-drink/knockbox-coffee.php

eWaste

http://m.smartplanet.com/blog/business-brains/mobile-e-waste-processor-snags-35-million-in-venture-capital/20695

Friday, December 16, 2011

10 trends to watch on 2012

http://www.slideshare.net/tskeys/global-trends-ten-key-trends-to-watch-for-2012

Measuring Innovation ( a matrix?)

http://m.smartplanet.com/blog/business-brains/innovation-success-can-be-measured-here-are-the-metrics/20589

When MBAs get hands on

This week, Andrew follows up on his introduction promise and writes a little about Boba Guys from the perspective of an MBA graduate.

Business schools are not exactly targeting entrepreneurs looking to start boba shops, so not everything I learned there is applicable at our shop; that said, I hope to draw some ties.

I recently read an interesting GOOD article on about how Harvard is experimenting with a more “hands-on” approach to business school. As an MBA, I've always felt that the most enriching experiences in school combine application and theory. Since officially starting work on Boba Guys in September, my perspective on business has evolved a bit, especially as my two years of business school memories fade into the background.

My first “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not a Kansas anymore” moment came when Bin and I went to buy restaurant supplies. In school, we get a conceptual understanding about inventory and cost accounting. Even the simulations, though extremely fun and illustrative, could not prepare me for some of mundane, real-world operational issues. It finally hit home when we had pots, pans, induction burners, measuring cups, and containers littered across the tiny living room of my San Francisco condo. Where was this part of the story when I read The Goal? By the way, The Goal is a fantastic, though melodramatic, read for people curious about operations.

Some of my training in came in handy, as I was able to model some of the queuing problems and throughput times when we had to figure out how to move all our supplies and drinks from location to location. The most helpful skill I got from business school is the ability to solve a problem by dissecting it into digestible pieces. If only all problems were mechanical!

The analogy used by the professor in my favorite class of all time, game theory, is that the tools learned in school are not a magic key—you can’t expect them to open every lock you find. In my opinion, most business lessons and principles are more artistic than scientific.

In my pricing class, I learned how to measure a product’s price elasticity—how much a change in price affects volume— but quickly realized that the models typically apply to sizable businesses with large data sets and a lot of time on their hands. In a startup, prices are largely strategic choices that rely more on intuition and common sense than on a robust model. If anything, an iterative model, which relies more on technology and a feedback loop than static pricing analysis, is more ideal. I would still take that class over again in a heartbeat, but it illustrates a point that I only realized until after finishing school—business, or even life, is not something you can always model or rationalize.

MBAs sometimes get a bad rap for all sorts of reasons—both good and bad—but it defines very little of me. I loved my two years at a fantastic school, but my experience starting Boba Guys is just as stimulating and challenging. In later entries, I will share more about my perspective and keep it real.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Innovating teams are smaller

http://blogs.hbr.org/schrage/2011/12/quiet-but-unsubtle-innovation.html

Lemons in to lemonade

http://m.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/ecoli-bacteria-that-eats-switchgrass-to-make-fuel/11254

New York Times consumer generated views of the future

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/science/imagining-2076-connect-your-brain-to-the-internet.html?_r=1

8 Tourism and hospitality predictions.

http://www.hsmaieconnect.org/news/154000370/4054112.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Creative Problem Solving with SCAMPER

http://litemind.com/scamper/

Mary Portas review on High Streets

http://www.maryportas.com/news/2011/12/12/the-portas-review/

Close-up: Japan's amazing lunchboxes

Close-up: Japan's amazing lunchboxes http://smf.is/1BXFYO (via @summify from @tourismknowhow)

Six Social Media Trends for 2012

Six Social Media Trends for 2012 http://smf.is/1BXFYG (via @summify from @HarvardBiz, and @dancandido)

Monday, December 12, 2011

JWT video predictions for 2012

http://www.jwtintelligence.com/2011/12/10-trends-2012-2-minutes/

2012 JWT predictions for 2012

mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20Slideshare%20presentation&body=http%3A%2F%2Fslideshare.net%2Fjwtintelligence%2Fjwt-10-trends-for-2012-executive-summary

Travel Trends 2012

http://www.hotel-industry.co.uk/2011/11/travel-trends-2012/

USA restaurants - What's_Hot_2012.pdf

http://www.restaurant.org/pressroom/social-media-releases/images/whatshot2012/What's_Hot_2012.pdf

Brits committed to holiday but struggling to switch off, reveals Expedia.co.uk

http://m.travolution.co.uk/Article.aspx?cat=news&id=5246#.TuXed7pJRaQ.mailto

Generation Y

http://www.e-tid.com/News-Home/Gen-Y-and-luxury-newcomers-are-key,-says-report.aspx

TRIZ principal "The Other Way Around"

Do faecal transplants have a medical role? http://smf.is/1BUgx0 (via @summify)

Friday, December 9, 2011

JWT Intelligence 10 for 2012

http://www.slideshare.net/jwtintelligence/jwt-10-trends-for-2012-executive-summary#menu

Harvesting energy

http://m.paper.li/Theyear2030#sections/2837847283/8553510303

Future of work and workers

http://m.paper.li/Theyear2030#sections/2837847617/8553510521

Fwd: TripAdvisor Member Update




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Subject: TripAdvisor Member Update
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Incredible ice hotels
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Futures for Foods

TED Prize 2012 goes to … The City 2.0


via Byline

For the first time in the history of the TED Prize, it is being awarded not to an individual, but to an idea. It is an idea upon which our planet's future depends:

The City 2.0.

The City 2.0 is the city of the future… a future in which more than ten billion people on planet Earth must somehow live sustainably.

The City 2.0 is not a sterile utopian dream, but a real-world upgrade tapping into humanity's collective wisdom.

The City 2.0 promotes innovation, education, culture and economic opportunity.

The City 2.0 reduces the carbon footprint of its occupants, facilitates smaller families and eases the environmental pressure on the world's rural areas.

The City 2.0 is a place of beauty, wonder, excitement, inclusion, diversity, life.

The City 2.0 is the city that works.

The TED Prize grants its winner $100,000 and "one wish to change the world." How will this prize be accepted on behalf of the City 2.0? Through visionary individuals around the world who are advocating on its behalf.

We are listening to them and giving them the opportunity to collectively craft a wish. A wish capable of igniting a massive collaborative project among the members of the global TED community, and indeed all who care about our planet's future. (Individuals or organizations who wish to contribute their ideas to a TED Prize wish on behalf of The City 2.0, please write to tedprize@ted.com.)

The wish will be unveiled on February 29, 2012, at the TED Conference in Long Beach, California. On a Leap Year date, we have a chance, collectively, to take a giant leap forward.

Learn more about The City 2.0 >>

Read the FAQ >>


6 Benchmarks That Gauge Success


via Byline

Shared by David
How do you measure and gauge your success today? Is success all that you thought it was cracked up to be? By definition, success is a noun: "the favorable outcome of something attempted." The answers to the two questions above are tied into the lens we look through at any place in our life cycle. Each place in that cycle is real, legitimate and important. The question and answer of how we gauge our success has dramatically changed for most of us in the past few years, as we have seen our circumstances and assets change. That has gotten me thinking about what the benchmarks are today that gauge success for me. I have seen people's health, financial security, family structure, business and career path and stability change in the snap of a finger. My life path has changed more in five years than in the prior two decades! If success is about the favorable outcome of things we attempt, then I measure success today through these six benchmarks. 1) Making Quality Life Connections Nurturing and improving long-term, healthy relationships with family, friends and colleagues 2) Engaging in Healthy Lifestyle Choices Working at and integrating work/ life balance, diet, exercise, stress management, hobbies and fascinations 3) Working on My Spiritual Condition Going within and underneath the exterior, to our values, beliefs, acceptance, tolerance, paying forward and connectedness 4) Exercising My Willingness to Learn Always challenging and pushing my ability to stay open to new ideas, skills and learning 5) Having Resilience to Change Embracing, accepting, dealing with and arming myself for unexpected change 5) Building Networks and Support Systems Continually building strong, mutual personal and professional communities and connections–and using them 6) Staying in and Living in the Now Focus on the only reality that I have, which is the day I am in, and making the absolute most of it Gauging my success today has very little to do with material success alone, which is fleeting without these benchmarks. Material success is a manifestation of these benchmarks and comes with a quiet resolve to enjoy and share them with all who make them possible to have and achieve. Seriously, I don't know anyone who has sustained happiness and success without these benchmarks as a foundation. Just ask any of the many examples of people who have crashed and burned because of greed and fraud. The universe sees right through that, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. What are the benchmarks that gauge your success today? Image from violetkaipa/Shutterstock From Small Business Trends 6 Benchmarks That Gauge Success
How do you measure and gauge your success today? Is success all that you thought it was cracked up to be?  By definition, success is a noun: "the favorable outcome of something attempted." The answers to the two questions above are tied into the lens...

See video of how we can keep informed about things that matter to us

http://vimeo.com/m/33192464

10 Predictions for 2012: The Top Trends in Talent Management and Recruiting

10 Predictions for 2012: The Top Trends in Talent Management and Recruiting http://smf.is/1BzTfk (via @summify from @carojcooper)

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Sharing is a new way to expand!



When Hilton announces that, after "extensive marketing research", it is launching a "Huanying" programme aiming at the Chinese travellers abroad and Starwood relocates its entire executive board for a month in Shanghai to "understand the Chinese culture", French Louvre Hotels Group and Jin Jiang Inn Co., Ltd. announced a strategic marketing alliance covering, at this stage, 15 Campanile hotels in the five French cities most frequently visited by Chinese tourists (Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille and Nice) and 15 Jin Jiang Inn hotels in the three Chinese cities most popular with French tourists (Shanghai, Xi'an and Beijing).

Jin Jiang Inn customers will be able to make reservations for Campanile hotels in France, and Campanile customers will be able to reserve rooms in Jing Jiang Inn hotels in China. This reservations process will be facilitated by an alliance of the websites of the two trade names and the sharing of reservation channels.

Based on this agreement, the 15 participating Campanile hotels will also feature the following:

· Each hotel will display both trade names at its entrance

· The hotels will be equipped with Chinese-language brochures and signs

· Telephone assistance for guests will be available in Chinese

· The Campanile breakfast buffet will include Chinese foods and dishes

· Green tea will be available in hotel rooms

· Hotel room televisions will offer access to Chinese channels

Likewise, the Jin Jiang Inn hotels participating in this partnership will offer breakfast buffets that include French products, brochures in both French and English, and telephone assistance for guests in French and English, among other services.

This partnership will also enable Louvre Hotels Group and Jin Jiang Inn Co., Ltd to share management experience and expertise between the alliance's key representatives. Certain employees from both groups will be given the opportunity to participate in an 8-week exchange programme between China and France.

A similar strategic alliance was signed between Jin Jiang and the Spanish Melia International earlier in the year for six hotels in Spain and six in China.

Simple, common sense moves without the media spin of the bigger players.

Home Brewing - Seriously

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Profit vs Innovation

The problem lies with the business schools which are at fault. What we’ve done in America is to define profitability in terms of percentages. So if you can get the percentage up, it feels like we are more profitable. It causes us to do things to manipulate the percentage. [...] Christensen even suggests that in slavishly following such thinking, Wall Street analysts have outsourced their brains.

Clayton Christensen: How Pursuit of Profits Kills Innovation and the U.S. Economy in Forbes. Hat tip: Lane Becker.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Three Innovation Lessons From India's Titan Watches - Scott Anthony - Harvard Business Review

Three Innovation Lessons From India's Titan Watches - Scott Anthony - Harvard Business Review

What's the Next Big Restaurant? - WSJ.com

What's the Next Big Restaurant? - WSJ.com

Surprising Vacationing Stats - The Pigs, Planes and Urine Infographic is Shocking Yet Fascinating (GALLERY)

Surprising Vacationing Stats - The Pigs, Planes and Urine Infographic is Shocking Yet Fascinating (GALLERY)

Pop culture, wealthy Chinese spur medical tourism in Asia

Pop culture, wealthy Chinese spur medical tourism in Asia

No Defense for the OTAs | ehotelier.com News Archives

No Defense for the OTAs | ehotelier.com News Archives

Guests are In It For Your Looks!

Guests are In It For Your Looks!

Real Camping « GO Activities

Real Camping « GO Activities

Top Luxury Travel Trends for 2012

Top Luxury Travel Trends for 2012

News on Hospitality Trends: 6 hospitality ideas for the future

News on Hospitality Trends: 6 hospitality ideas for the future

Monday, October 3, 2011

92% of Americans Take Action for Social Good [INFOGRAPHIC]

92% of Americans Take Action for Social Good [INFOGRAPHIC]

Mashable - The Social Media Guide

Mashable - The Social Media Guide

Nature-Loving Hotels - The TreeHotel Showcases Rooms as Luxury Treehouses (GALLERY)

Nature-Loving Hotels - The TreeHotel Showcases Rooms as Luxury Treehouses (GALLERY)

BBC News - Denmark introduces world's first food fat tax

BBC News - Denmark introduces world's first food fat tax
Comment
Liz Terry:
Ironic Denmark should introduce the first food fat tax, given they're major exporters of fat - bacon, butter etc.

The East African:  - Business |Rwanda looks to tourism for growth

The East African:  - Business |Rwanda looks to tourism for growth

Dutch architecture firm rethinks the urban farm | SmartPlanet

Dutch architecture firm rethinks the urban farm | SmartPlanet

Business Tourism on agenda in Shanghai - Tourist Bureau - etravelblackboardasia.com

Business Tourism on agenda in Shanghai - Tourist Bureau - etravelblackboardasia.com

Friday, September 30, 2011

Realtime Parking Info Provider Parking In Motion Lands Series A Funding - TechCrunch

Realtime Parking Info Provider Parking In Motion Lands Series A Funding - TechCrunch

Privacy no longer an issue in mobile: OMMA Mobile panelist - Mobile Marketer - Lega/privacy

Privacy no longer an issue in mobile: OMMA Mobile panelist - Mobile Marketer - Lega/privacy

In Defence of OTAs - Why They Are Critical for Hotels, Especially Independent and Boutique Hotels | ehotelier.com News Archives

In Defence of OTAs - Why They Are Critical for Hotels, Especially Independent and Boutique Hotels | ehotelier.com News Archives

MIT Unveils Artificial Leaf That Creates Hydrogen Fuel from Sunlight | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

MIT Unveils Artificial Leaf That Creates Hydrogen Fuel from Sunlight | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

Open source innovation methodology – a next natural step? | christianwig.com

Open source innovation methodology – a next natural step? | christianwig.com

Thursday, September 29, 2011

From Your Heart to Your iPhone - Technology Review

From Your Heart to Your iPhone - Technology Review

Wireless Health Care - IEEE Spectrum

Wireless Health Care - IEEE Spectrum

Learn How to Think Different(ly) - Jeff Dyer and Hal Gregersen - Harvard Business Review

Learn How to Think Different(ly) - Jeff Dyer and Hal Gregersen - Harvard Business Review

CEOs Need a New Set of Beliefs - Raymond V. Gilmartin - HBS Faculty - Harvard Business Review

CEOs Need a New Set of Beliefs - Raymond V. Gilmartin - HBS Faculty - Harvard Business Review

Latest Trends in Hotel Refurbishment | ehotelier.com News Archives

Latest Trends in Hotel Refurbishment | ehotelier.com News Archives

The Clarendon Hotel in Phoenix Will Sell E-Cigarettes to Guests Looking for a Fix || HotelChatter

The Clarendon Hotel in Phoenix Will Sell E-Cigarettes to Guests Looking for a Fix || HotelChatter

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

How to Get Better Grades Using Social Media | Visual.ly

How to Get Better Grades Using Social Media | Visual.ly

Tourism minister to set up c'ttee to probe high hotel prices - Globes

Tourism minister to set up c'ttee to probe high hotel prices - Globes

The Plight of American Singles - NYTimes.com

The Plight of American Singles - NYTimes.com

Spying Made Simple: Wi-Fi Signals Used to See Through Walls | 80beats | Discover Magazine

Spying Made Simple: Wi-Fi Signals Used to See Through Walls | 80beats | Discover Magazine

Electronic education: Flipping the classroom | The Economist

Electronic education: Flipping the classroom | The Economist

download your publications | JWT Intelligence

download your publications | JWT Intelligence

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

How High-Tech Can Hotels Go? - Wednesday, 14th September 2011 at 4Hoteliers

How High-Tech Can Hotels Go? - Wednesday, 14th September 2011 at 4Hoteliers

How Tech Is Changing the Museum Experience

How Tech Is Changing the Museum Experience

Public Express at Public Chicago is a Room Service Game-Changer || HotelChatter

Public Express at Public Chicago is a Room Service Game-Changer || HotelChatter

Announcement from tophotelprojects.com® - SLEEP EVENT, London (UK) & SIA GUEST, Rimini (Italy) – Special Admission Offers

Announcement from tophotelprojects.com® - SLEEP EVENT, London (UK) & SIA GUEST, Rimini (Italy) – Special Admission Offers

Fab.com is launching the first online pop up shop to sell design goods

Fab.com is launching the first online pop up shop to sell design goods

GOOD Mobile

GOOD Mobile

Economist’s Notebook: Decline in higher-income households poses challenges for restaurants - NRA News Blog

Economist’s Notebook: Decline in higher-income households poses challenges for restaurants - NRA News Blog

‘Edu-tourism’, a new way | Inquirer News

‘Edu-tourism’, a new way | Inquirer News

Future of Technology - The wild possibilities of printing food

Future of Technology - The wild possibilities of printing food

MIT's Tiny Energy-Harvester Makes Electricity From Low-Frequency Vibrations | Popular Science

MIT's Tiny Energy-Harvester Makes Electricity From Low-Frequency Vibrations | Popular Science

Reaction-Reducing Gizmos - The Food Allergen Detector Could Save Lives (VIDEO)

Reaction-Reducing Gizmos - The Food Allergen Detector Could Save Lives (VIDEO)

The Neuroscience of Decision Making: Deciphering How Our Brains Choose and Decide

The Neuroscience of Decision Making: Deciphering How Our Brains Choose and Decide

Development Kitchen

Development Kitchen

FT Business Education - Special Report: Masters in Management 2011

FT Business Education - Special Report: Masters in Management 2011

Research Finds Time As A Means to Happiness

Research Finds Time As A Means to Happiness

How mobile changes the web travel business — Tech News and Analysis

How mobile changes the web travel business — Tech News and Analysis

Speaking 'robots' can teach English 24-hours a day - Life & Style - The Independent

Speaking 'robots' can teach English 24-hours a day - Life & Style - The Independent

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Eric Topol: The wireless future of medicine | Video on TED.com

Eric Topol: The wireless future of medicine | Video on TED.com

The Future of Meetings

The Future of Meetings

As companies scaled back meetings and events during the depths of the recession in 2008 and 2009, many of them compensated by shifting to virtual meetings. The web teleconferences substituted for actual face-to-face meetings, hurting many hotels’ bottom lines.

The big question is, did that permanently shift the landscape for hotels?

The answer is yes, but hotels have adapted, too, by changing what they offer in their meeting spaces. Meetings professionals also have shifted the goals of face-to-face meetings so that they can meet virtually as well as in person with different agendas and accomplishments in mind.

“Face to face meetings are not going to go away,” said Deborah Sexton, president and CEO of the Professional Convention Management Association, at this year’s Elite Meetings Alliance conference in Las Vegas. “They were cancelled in 2008 and 2009, and guest what? They’re back. They’re back in a different form. We’re not going back to 2007. We're doing things in a different fashion, but they’re not going away.”

Innovative meeting planners are creating a new type of event: the hybrid meeting. Sexton said initially planners are hesitant about adding a virtual component to a face-to-face meeting out of fear that it would destroy attendance rates. In fact, she said, the opposite will happen. By conducting virtual platforms, groups can build the attendance for future events because people will realize the value of attending in person. Sexton said her organization found that to be true when it compared the list of people who attended the live stream of a PCMA meeting with its annual conference earlier this year.

“I’m absolutely convinced that hybrids are here to stay and you want to find out what they are all about,” she said. “You want to take advantage of virtual platforms because it’s going to be here.”

Meetings still come down to that fundamental value: relationships.

“Relationships matter, and they still matter,” Sexton said. “When you meet someone face to face, you can continue that online for a long time.”

Kelly Foy, CEO Elite Meetings, agreed with Sexton. He believes that while more meetings may have a virtual component, it won’t harm the face-to-face meetings.

“They’ll see the value of going [in person] next year because of the value of the virtual meeting,” he said.


Hotels also are adapting to the new meetings normal. As part of a $150 million renovation this year, the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers created the Cisco TelePresence Suite, a high-tech space for virtual meetings. Using a secure network connection, the technology creates a virtual board room in which people in the off-site location appear as if they are sitting next to one another around the table. There are microphones on the table, and as someone speaks the camera swings toward the speaker. There is no voice delay or video delay.

“In New York we get a number of CEOs who want to talk to their offices,” said Kai Fischer, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing. “A lot of CEOs that come in here are very expeditious. It helps improve productivity.”

The room is located on one of the hotel’s Club floors and costs $500 an hour per location.

“We see this as a new way of business being conducted,” Fischer said.

Finding solutions is essential to supporting the meetings industry. A recent study, The Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy, sponsored by several meeting and lodging organizations showed that the U.S. meetings industry directly supports 1.7 million jobs and $263 billion in spending. Sexton said the meetings industry has to adapt to continue that success.

“The challenges in the past couple of years have forced us to be smarter and better at what we’re doing,” Sexton said.

As the meeting planning manager for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, Jenna Richardson plans events that include the development of staff and volunteers nationwide. The organization has taken advantage of online learning by conducting webinar training, Richardson said, particularly through its customized e-learning with “Make-A-Wish University.” This style of training is used to deliver the “101s” – basics that new volunteers need to know. But having an online component has not stopped Make-A-Wish from coordinating traditional meetings. In fact, it enhances them.

“That’s allowed us to take our in-person meetings to the next level of learning,” she said.

Despite the faltering economy, the organization’s number of events has stayed the same, but Richardson said some components have been scaled back. They may serve a boxed lunch, for instance, instead of a full plated meal. Make-A-Wish still values the benefits of in-person meetings.

“I don’t think that will take the place of face to face,” Richardson said of virtual events. “Face to face is a way to reconnect and build relationships. Our conferences feel like reunions. [Our attendees] like to be able to connect in person.”