The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) voted to approve the installation of a full-building, real-time location services system at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC). Using “ActivLocator,” a geolocation technology from Sherpa Solutions, the MCCA will provide turn-by-turn navigation inside the BCEC, providing digital wayfinding for visitors looking for meeting rooms, exhibit halls, exhibit booths, and MCCA offices from wherever the visitor may be in the facility.

Sherpa’s system relies on Bluetooth low energy beacon transmitters, 270 of which will be installed throughout the BCEC. Meeting attendees can access turn-by-turn walking directions provided by a mobile app, including the exhibit hall floor. Once the navigation’s mobile app has been downloaded, no cellular or wireless connection is needed for the directions to work on a user’s mobile device.

“At the MCCA, we have never been reserved about our mission to remain the most technologically advanced convention centers in the world,” said IAVM member James E. Rooney, executive director of the MCCA. “We are thinking about technology that meeting attendees will be asking for not just in 2015, but five and 10 years from now. Real-time location services are just one of the technology initiatives we are focused on right now to better serve our customers and their attendees.”

Turn-by-turn navigation is just the beginning, said Steve Snyder, CIO/CTO for the MCCA.

“It will be a tremendous value-add for our customers because we will be able to map their entire show floors, booth by booth, and customize information such as shuttle drop-off and pickup locations,” Snyder said. “And we can use it internally to map our administrative offices, monitor the safety of the facility, and much more.”

The system installation is expected to be complete in March 2015.

(Image from the MCCA Facebook page)

Rob Williams has a vision. He imagines a world one day in which ticketing companies don’t sell tickets, they sell experiences.

“We put smiles on people’s faces. We sell dreams, hopes, and experiences,” said Williams, the operations director of The Ticketing Factory, during his session at the 2015 International Ticketing Association (INTIX) conference. “We sell the promise of something better the moment a customer considers attending an event.”

Williams’ session was refreshing in that it challenged attendees to look forward and to take ownership of the entire ticket buying experience. He presented this experience as a life cycle of epiphany (want to go to a show), hunt (seek tickets), capture (got ticket), longing (holding ticket and waiting for show date), event (at the show), and letdown (wish the show wasn’t over).

“This whole cycle is no fun, but it’s built around functionality, control, and tradition,” Williams said. “We, as in industry, can be better.”

If not, some company will come along and disrupt the industry much like Uber has disrupted the taxi industry.

Attendees learned about some companies that are already making headway into changing the industry’s landscape, companies such as Rabbl (crowdfunding shows) and DICE (a U.K.-based ticketing agency about to launch in the U.S.).

“2015 is the year ripe for change,” Williams said. “Let’s stop talking about tickets, and start talking about experiences. Let’s openly collaborate and share information, refuse to accept the status quo, and let’s be the ones that are disruptive.”

Sunjay Nath opened up the International Ticketing Association (INTIX) 2015 with a keynote presentation that encouraged attendees to be aware of their perceptions. According to Nath–an author and business speaker–our perceptions are the No. 1 thing that hold us back from progressing.

“You should question your assumptions when you’re stuck,” Nath said.

One assumption many leaders and managers make is focusing too much time on employees who are not motivated or don’t want to be at work. Nath calls this group of people the bottom 10 percent. Organizations often house a 10-80-10 breakdown, in that 10 percent (the top 10) are highly motivated and want to work. Eighty percent of the workers can be steered either way (to the top 10’s side or the bottom 10’s side).

Nath wrote a book about this called The 10-80-10 Principle: Unlocking Dynamic Performance, and he shared some of his insights about the concept during an INTIX session.

“The best way to influence the bottom 10 is through peers,” Nath said. “Action follows action, and inaction follows inaction.”

For instance, spend more of your time with the top 10 and the middle 80 will follow. How you do this boils down to what Nath called A.C.T. (awareness, choice, and time).

“In awareness, determine what you’re trying to do and who to influence,” Nath said. “Concerning choice, neutralize the bottom 10 by spending the minimal amount of time, energy, attention, and thought by stopping resources for the bottom group. With time, spend it on the top 10 group.”

Nath assured the attendees that direct management (or lecturing) to the bottom 10 would be fruitless. Only through peer pressure would attitudes and actions change. It’s basic human psychology. Most people want to belong to something. Which group you want them to belong to depends on where you spend your energy managing.

The U.S. Congress passed a six-year extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) on Thursday, January 8, making it the first bill passed in 2015.

“The terrorism risk insurance program must continue as it will enable economic growth and allow our communities to rebuild in the event of a major terrorist attack,” said U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California). “While our strong national security apparatus is always vigilant in protecting us from terrorist attacks, we have a responsibility to prepare for the very worst. TRIA, by guaranteeing insurance in the event of an attack, is an essential part of that preparation.”

TRIA, first passed in 2002, provides federal backup to insurance companies in the event of major damages due to a terrorist attack. Businesses can be reimbursed for losses over $200 million dollars, up from $100 million in the bill’s previous iteration. The percentage that insurers must pay above the threshold also increased from 15 percent to 20 percent.

The bill is particularity important to venues.

“This is the kind of law that we wish wasn’t necessary, but in today’s world it offers important protections for large venues like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as we open our gates to fans each May for events like the Indianapolis 500,” said J. Douglas Boles, president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “This legislation provides another level of confidence for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and many other venues around the country that host big events.”

The Senate voted 93-4 and the U.S. House of Representatives voted 416-5 to renew the act.

(Image: Architect of the Capitol)

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)