Here’s another product from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that you might be interested in for your venue. It’s a flashlight. No, let me take that back. It’s a FLASHLIGHT (say that in your best superhero voice).

The Fogo, much like many of the products at CES, is smart. It not only lights your way, it also functions as a GPS receiver and a walkie-talkie.

“The walkie-talkie aspect of the device isn’t like your traditional two-way radio, for example,” reported Jamie Rigg for Engadget. “To be as efficient as possible, it transmits voice messages to other Fogos as needed, rather than leaving a radio channel open constantly. You can also send text-based messages, and data such as GPS locations to friends’ devices via the simple LCD and three-button interface.”

The flashlight also a built-in accelerometer that will dim or bright the light depending on where you point it. That accelerometer also knows if you fall down and will alert other Fogos nearby for help.

Fogo will appear on Kickstarter next week, and the base model will cost around $200.

(Image: Fogo)

IAVM member Jeff Blosser says he turns away $200 million a year because the Washington State Convention Center is too small for big conventions. For example, a conference of emergency room physicians recently turned down the venue.

“That is a show that we know we could get back, that’s been here before, loves Seattle, loves the destination, the convention visitor’s bureau, everybody, and they’re not coming back,” Blosser, CEO of the convention center, told KUOW.org. “They won’t even take a look at us because we’re not big enough.”

One solution, though, is right under his feet—build additional space underground.

“The idea is to make an exhibit space that large you have to go below grade,” Matt Griffin of Pine Street Group told KUOW.org. “Then we’ll put Olive back in place after we build the building.”

Accomplishing this build would let the convention center stagger events, and the existing hotel taxes would help pay for the project.

Please visit KUOW.org to read the rest of the story.

(photo credit: Susan Sharpless Smith via photopin cc)

New year, new you, new job, maybe? If so, you may want to heed resume writer Cheryl Simpson’s advice in her article “Top 8 Job Search Trends for 2015” on Careerealism.com.

Here are four trends she identifies, along with a quote from her about each one.

1. Social Networking Continues to Dominate
“…46 percent of U.S. companies source talent via social networks, [and] becomes imperative that job seekers boost their social networking skills and the amount of time they spend on networks such as LinkedIn.”

2. Video Recruitment on the Rise
“Seventy-five percent of recruiters are already using video for recruitment purposes.”

3. Mobile Computing Drives Innovations
“Cover letters, for example, should be shorter than 250 words and resumes are trending toward shorter summaries, paragraphs, and achievement bullets with less text density than was acceptable in the past.”

4. Thought Leadership via Content Development
“…content [can] help you attract the attention of more recruiters, companies, and hiring executives.”

Concerning trend No. 4, please consider writing for FM and IAVM’s blog. We’re always open to more writers and content. Email editor@iavm.org with your story ideas.

Please visit Careerealism.com to read the rest of Simpson’s trends, and good luck with your job searches this year.

(photo credit: thedailyenglishshow via photopin cc)

I’m continuing Consumer Electronics Show coverage from my desk, and I came across another product you may be interested in for your venue. It’s called a Comfort-Shell, made by Silentium.

Four microphones are hidden on the shell’s outer layer and they pic up the noise around the shell. That noise is then inverted and played inside the shell to help cancel sound, making for a “cone of silence.”

“While the Shell is meant to reduce most of the noise around you, it intentionally avoids cutting out voices,” reported Jacob Kastrenakes for The Verge. “When someone spoke to me, it came through loud and clear, without any sign that the Shell had tried to silence the speaker. It also isn’t muting noises within the Shell, which allows you to make phone calls or listen to music in a bit more quiet.”

Kastrenakes reported that the company wants to place these shells in airports, convention centers, and other large public places in order to give people some silent spaces.

Is this something you’d put in your venue?

(Image: Molly McHugh for The Daily Dot)

Below is a great video of the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing Edgard Varèse’s “Amériques” at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The piece is enhanced by an architectural video installation created by Refik Anadol that analyzes and responds to the music and the conductor’s movements in real time. It uses Microsoft Kinect hardware and 3D depth camera analysis to create the visuals.

The performance is part of the venue’s new in/SIGHT series, which pairs concerts with videos.

“I enjoyed the idea of creating a performance using the entire space as a canvas,” Anadol told The Huffington Post. “Instead of creating a media screen, there will be a story inside the space. What happens if you add a video layer that speaks to the audience in a whole new experience? We’re exploring the boundaries of what is real, what is physical, what is virtual?”

Visions of America: Amériques / LA Phil / Video Artist Cut from Refik Anadol on Vimeo.

(Image: Refik Anadol)