Expo is our biggest event of the year and every minute counts. Here are some of the best tips to be “tech ready” as well as a few bonus tips to make your trip valuable.
1. Keep your cell phone working and charged
a. Upgrade to the latest operating system
i. IOS – go to SETTINGS and GENERAL and click Software update (or plug into your iTunes computer and update)
ii. Android – It should prompt you automatically
b. Turn off Bluetooth
c. Turn off location services (warning: find my iPhone won’t work if you do this) (Settings > Privacy > Location Services.)
d. Turn off background activity (Settings > General > Background App Refresh and set the switch to Off.)
e. Dim the screen (This is the biggest battery hog)
f. Turn on airplane mode inside the convention center – This is important because the reception is so spotty that it will constantly search for a connection and drain your battery. You will not be able to send/receive calls/text messages if you do this, but it is a great way to extend your battery life when you can afford to be offline.
g. Charge and bring your battery recharger from your favorite industry supplier.
i. If you don’t charge it before the day, it’s worthless. If you forget it, it’s worthless too!
ii. Pictured below is my current favorite because it charges my phone multiple times, since it is 10400 mAh (which makes it a bit heavy but in a bag it is fine. Thanks to Sweda Company, who gave this to me!).
2. Schedule appointments in the right time zone
Most people schedule appointments in their local time zone and when they get to Expo their mobile device changes the time zone to the Vegas time zone (PST). The next few days, they do the math and try to move things around. There are two simple ways to fix this, but they are best done BEFORE going to Expo.
a. Put the Vegas time in the subject “12 technologies seminar 10:40am Vegas time”
b. Add the time zone to your outlook calendar and schedule appointments in the PST time zone. When you arrive in Vegas, your events will show up at the right time and avoid confusion.
TIP: To set up the second time zone in Outlook, click File, Options, Calendar, Show a 2nd time zone.
3. File all your travel documents in Evernote
a. I use the tag Travel for all confirmations
b. To learn more about using Evernote at Expo, visit http://magazine.promomarketing.com/blog/dale-denham-remember-expo-with-evernote.
4. Copy all your important documents you might need to your Dropbox (or other) online storage.
This makes your files available to you from any hotel computer, your phone or any other device as long as you remember your password (and if you don’t, get www.lastpass.com).
5. Other tips:
a. Take pictures of business cards. This will ensure they don’t get lost (of course, if you use Evernote, it’s even better when you put the cards in Evernote).
b. Bring a reusable water bottle on the show floor and save a fortune.
c. Take a picture of your hotel room # (and consider filing it in Evernote)
d. Bring your favorite snack food (cliff bars for me) so you don’t have to eat junk and pay too much at the convention center.
e. Attend my classes:
i. Best Of Expo 2014: Social Media 201 http://expo.ppai.org/Sessions/SessionDetails.aspx?id=1575
ii. Social Media 301: http://expo.ppai.org/Sessions/SessionDetails.aspx?id=1576
iii. Twelve Technologies To Increase Efficiencies – 2015 Update http://expo.ppai.org/Sessions/SessionDetails.aspx?id=1607
iv. Evernote For Sales People: 2015 Updates (Wednesday) http://expo.ppai.org/Sessions/SessionDetails.aspx?id=1608
Geiger CIO Dale Denham, MAS+ provides practical insights on how you can benefit from technology in no nonsense terms. Follow him on Twitter @GeigerCIO.
