Part 2: Check Your Ego at the Door

It’s been quite a long time coming, but here is part 2 of the answer to the question “why do people get so upset and defensive when their work is edited?” Part 1 discussed the fact that people have invested so much in their writing they feel it’s part of them or they feel that the editor is criticizing them as a person. Perhaps the red ink or electronic markup brings back memories of school days when a particular teacher made the writer feel small, stupid, or labelled him or her as “a bad speller”, “not good enough”, or asked “why can’t you just be like so-and-so?”. These comments can have serious damaging effects on self-esteem and memories of them can cause the writer to experience these negative feelings all over again and make them feel that they need to “prove” themselves. Editors need to be sensitive to these issues, while writers need to remember that the editors are working to make the piece the best it can possibly be. We’re all on the same team and we share a common goal: to make the message of the writing effective.

But there’s another type of person who might be upset and defensive at seeing editorial markup: the person who carries a chip on his or her shoulder. These types of coworkers or clients simply believe that their work is the best, that they have it perfect, and that they don’t need any help from anyone—especially from someone so lowly as an editor. Having worked in the world of medical editing, I’ve come across this attitude often in working with doctors and specialists. These content experts have completed much schooling to get to where they are today and truly are knowledge experts. They often have earned several honours and awards and have gained the respect of their peers. They’re not used to having their work criticized; they are leaders, not followers, in their field. But herein lies the problem: with such accolades and high achievement, many content experts—in whatever field—forget the adage ” The more we learn, we less we know.” They forget to check their egos at the door.

Case in point

I once worked on a large PowerPoint presentation in which my focus was on consistency. I deleted extra spaces, standardized hyphenation, focussed on spelling and grammar, and adjusted basic formatting to make the content look visually appealing. The author, a content-specialist in his field, was livid. “If didn’t want the extra space there, I wouldn’t have put it there,” was his reply. The project manager and account manager had to step in to negotiate each little change. It turned out to be much more work than simply doing a complete edit and in the end, his presentation was run with inconsistent spelling, grammar and formatting errors, and visual distractions to the reader. The presenter got a bad review from participants and to my knowledge, the client never worked with him again.

Now, I have also had the privilege of working with exceptional doctors, specialists, and recognized leaders in their field who were the most humble and gracious individuals I’ve worked with and I must say, these were the leaders who were also most liked and respected by their peers. These experts recognize that while they know the content, the editor knows the language and grammar to make the message ring clear to the reader. It has been a pleasure to work with these individuals and I look forward to continuing to do so. They approach the work as a team effort; they supply the stellar content and message, and the other members of the team apply their expertise to make it shine. These people don’t have to prove anything because their work and achievements already have; they’ve checked their egos at the door.

Turning the tables: Self-reflection

Working with ego-centric individuals—and you will likely have to one day, no matter whether you work in a factory, warehouse, retail store, or office setting—takes understanding and patience. Remember all the hard work these people have put in to be recognized as leaders in their field, and remember part 1 to this whole question: don’t take it personally. While these individuals should check their ego at the door, you should, too. No one is perfect—not even exceptional editors—so be sure to check your ego at the door, too. Are you ready to learn new things? Are you humble enough to recognize and admit when you’re wrong? The beauty of the answer to why people take offense or get defensive about having their work edited is that it can be a learning experience for both the creator and the editor, and while we can’t control how others respond, we can always control how we respond. Don’t take it personally and checking your ego at the door is as much for the difficult coworker as it is for you.

It’s Not Personal, It’s Just Editing

A colleague recently asked me “Why do people get so upset and defensive when their work is edited?” That’s a question that has perplexed editors for years. Why wouldn’t anyone want their message to be clear, eloquent, direct, consistent, free of mistakes, and just, well, better? Whether you’re the writer, content expert, or editor, you have probably been on one side of this question. I’ll address the answer in two parts.

Don’t take it personally

The first thing to remember is not to take the edits personally. Editors don’t edit people; they edit language. While writers, content experts, and departments within your organization may best know the content, editors equally best know how to express that content effectively. As a writer and an editor, I’ve had the benefit of experiencing what it’s like to have my own work edited, and I can tell you that it can be quite difficult because there’s an emotional element to it. Writers and content experts, like artists, may feel their work is an expression of themselves. They likely are passionate about the content and have probably put a great deal of time, effort, and thought into the piece. It often takes great courage just to “put your work out there” as a writer, knowing that your ”baby” is now vulnerable to criticism. For writers who have thrown themselves into creating a document, the devastation can be immense when it is slashed by the scathing blade of a red pen. Viewing edits as a personal attack are often the cause of a defensive or resistant reaction.

How to handle it: For editors and reviewers

A mindful editor will be able to win over his or her “clients” by being aware of this tendency to internalize edits. If you’re an editor or even if you’re reviewing and making changes to a document, be sure to offer some compliments about the work and explain that your changes will help make the piece more effective. Think about how you would feel if your work were being edited. If the writing was good, say so. If you learned something from the information, let the content expert know. Sending a document wrought with markup and no explanation can seem downright cold. And making enemies within your own organization will only start a civil war, lead to decreased quality and productivity, and threaten your organization’s reputation. A little understanding, diplomacy, and patience can go a long way.

How to handle it: For writers and content creators

If it’s your work that’s being edited, try to distance yourself from the piece. Don’t think of it as your baby. It’s a living message that’s as good as dead if it’s not effective. Editors, writers, content experts, and members of your organization all have the same objective: to make the message as effective as possible. You’re all on the same team; you just bring different skills to the table.

Stay tuned for part 2: checking your ego at the door.

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

Can't you read the sign?

Dogs can’t read

While walking my dog, Molly, we came across the above sign. Molly stood staring at the gate, wanting to get into the baseball diamond. But here’s the thing: dogs can’t read. This incident prompted a couple of questions: Do you really know your audience? Are you targeting your audience?

Know your audience

Obviously, the sign was posted for dog owners rather than the dogs themselves, but in reality it was Molly who wandered over to the gate on her own and even bumped it a couple times indicating her desire to enter. So you have your message out there, but do you really know your audience? While you may be targeting your audience with industry-specific language and scientific terms and acronyms, you might also be excluding other potential viewers and, ultimately, clients. Before you send your message out to your current colleagues and faculty, take a step back and think about any further audiences that may be interested in your work. For example, not only may your paper on treatment for schizophrenia be of interest to psychologists and physicians, but it may prove valuable for social workers, case workers, patients, and pharmacists. If writing a piece for one audience wouldn’t work for another, consider writing separate pieces and providing different online and printed tools to meet your audiences at their level.

Effective communication is the key

The age-old adage that communication is key to any relationship also holds true in the business world. If your message is out there but it is not clear, accessible, or understood by those receiving it, there will either be a breakdown in relationship or the relationship will be snuffed out before it has even begun. Get to know your clientele and research your potential audience. Just as posting a sign telling dogs not to enter the park will not keep them out, producing text heavy with scientific information will not relate to the average lay person. Equally, creating a book on how to cope with vision loss will not work unless it is in Brail, large print or some other accessible form. Instead of limiting yourself to one audience, produce various versions of your message and in several media to ensure you are not excluding anyone.

Will your clients see the sign? Make sure they do by hiring an editor today!

Up From the Ashes: Bringing Dead Words to Life

Dead willow fence sprouting life

The message of the dead sticks

When walking my dog last winter, I saw a fence going up around a construction area at the side of a big box store. What grabbed my attention immediately was the fencing material and style: willow sticks woven through basic horizontal fencing slats. The overall look was rustic, but polished. I was surprised and impressed that a bunch of dead sticks could look so sophisticated, and counted it a life-lesson learned: what is old or seems dead can still be useful. But there was more to learn from this simple fence. Summer hit, and when walking my dog in the area again, I was stuck by the sight of green shoots sprouting from the sticks in the fence and soon it was completely covered in green leaves, making a colourful backdrop. From death can spring life.

Editing the dead sticks

So what do dead sticks have to do with editing and writing? Well, let’s look at the first life lesson: What is old or seems dead can still be useful. If you’ve ever tried to write an article, brochure, white sheet, training manual, presentation, website, or produce any other form of creative writing, you know that the first draft is never the last. If your  piece has gone to someone for approval and  returned looking nothing like it did when it left you, don’t be disheartened. Not only will it remind you of where you started, but it may help generate ideas and spring you forward to something more effective. Clearly label and save that and each subsequent draft as a new file. Go back and read earlier drafts to stimulate new ideas and to pull out valuable information for other projects.

Updating your marketing pieces can also bring them to life, especially in this media-heavy environment. For example, while a particular document may not be useful for a website, the style and framework may work well as a white sheet, a video, a PowerPoint presentation, or as a company information portion of a pitch or proposal.  With a little creativity, you can use your old versions and presentations to launch your business beyond your competitors to lead the way in innovation.

The cycle of life: Recycling material for the World Wide Web

From death can spring life. Death, we’re told, is a part of life. But if you’re trying to take a printed piece and re-use it by posting a pdf version on a website, it’s likely to be dead document. Writing for the Web and writing for print materials require completely different styles. Web readers are referred to as “users”; they read for specific information they need and then get out as quickly as possible. Often, companies will simply scan and post brochures, training manuals, and manifestos online without giving much thought as to how the documents will be used. If users are directed to a 50-page pdf guide (or even a 4-page guide for that matter) to find one or two bits of information they seek, chances are they’re not going to read it. This type of document is dead. It produces no traffic and serves little use. However, if rewritten and edited by a professional, the otherwise lengthy print-style publication can be turned into a more user-friendly piece, keeping your information relevant and accessible to your potential clients. And that’s what writers and editors do; they rework the words in an innovative way to create an effective piece, bringing your words to life.

To stay current and relevant in the marketplace, companies need to update their dead documents and be creative in repurposing their marketing tools. Don’t just use the old to build a new fence; bring the fence to life.

To learn more about rewriting material for the Web or repurposing documents to be effective, contact me at heather@hhcommunication.ca or visit www. hhcommunication.ca.

Is an Apple a Fruit?

The setup

It’s amazing how everyday, simple activities can highlight the importance of an editor. Take yesterday, for example. We were going to my sister’s house for dinner and were asked to bring to an apple pie. Not having gone apple picking this year and having a love/hate relationship with pastry (love to eat it, hate to make it), I opted to purchase one. In my guilt over not bringing something homemade, however, I chose get the pie from a local apple farm’s bakery.

In the busy bakery, I bee-lined straight to a wooden rack loaded with large, cake-sized boxes. The sign said “Special: All pumpkin and fruit pies $11″. While my eyebrows raised so high they nearly met my hair line upon seeing the price, I reasoned it out with a pat on the back for supporting local farmers and reducing my carbon footprint (a stretch, I know). In the pie’s defense, it was one of those large, mounded pies with a great deal of filling and perfect pastry, complete with traditional slits for the steam to escape—a beautiful pie well worth dinner with my sister. My eyes first fell to blueberry pies, raspberry pies, and then pumpkin pies. Finally, I saw the treasure of the journey: the apple pie. I waited in line with my $11 ready, exercising my patience as a mother, her daughter, and a grandmother tried to determine whether other family members would want a cookie or other baked goods, and who subsequently skirmished over who would pay for a bottle of water.

The sting

Finally, I was called up to another till. The cashier rang in the price of $14. Of course, I pointed out that the sign said all pumpkin and fruit pies were on sale for $11. Hesitantly, the cashier stated, “Oh, that’s for other fruit pies, but not apple,” to which I replied, “Really? Because an apple is a fruit.” I waited to see if she would give me the pie for the advertised price of $11, but instead she just awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other. As I turned to leave with my very expensive pie, the embarrassed cashier turned to a co-worker and asked if she should maybe change the sign because people think that apples are fruit. Had I not had my hands full, I would have whipped out a business card and suggested they hire an editor to make the sign more clear with precise wording. Had my red pen been handy, I would have changed the sign myself.

The fix

Of course an apple is a fruit, and I’m sure (or at least I hope) that those working at the apple farm know this. The problem was with the wording on the sign. All the words and even punctuation in the sign were correct, but it was the word choice that was less than appropriate. A good editor would have used the word “berry” instead of “fruit” or to save on card stock would simply have added “(apple pies excluded)”. “Special: All pumpkin and berry pies $11″ would have made it clear that apple pies would be the full price of $14, leaving no platform for irritated or even irate customers. Had I pressed, I might have been able to get the pie for $3 cheaper, but was it worth it?

The pie was delicious, and for $14 I got more than just a pie—apples as non-fruit became one of the ongoing jokes of the evening. If I had made my own pie, I never would have had the funny story to tell at dinner, nor had such an interesting blog post this morning on the importance of clarity to something as simple as a sign. I will never know how many others approached the counter at the bakery only to be confused, disappointed, and out of pocket an extra $3 but I imagine there were many.

The lesson

No matter how small your piece, it is important to ensure the correct and most precise words are used. Using an editor can save embarrassment, confusion, and can even affect the bottom line. Consider hiring an editor today… then go eat some apple pie.

Learn more about what an editor can do for you.

Apple Expo 2010: B2B Social Media

Forgive me, blog readers, for I have been out of touch. It has been 4 weeks since my last posting.

But this is just one of the many lessons I learned from the last seminar I attended during Apple Expo 2010, which happened to be only one well worth my time. Humphrey Ho of Agile Dudes Inc. presented an engaging and information-packed session on why and how to use social media for business-to-business communications and marketing strategies. Instead of regurgitating Ho’s presentation, I will simply share the points that rung true for me.

So why would a business want to jump on the social media band wagon? Studies have shown that an increase in social media activity results in increased revenue, while a decrease in social media activity results in decreased revenue. It’s time for businesses to stop limiting their marketing campaigns to advertisements, print pieces, direct mail-outs, and PowerPoint presentations and to start adding business-to-business (B2B) social media campaigns. While the traditional marketing formats may still work, it is the social media that will reinforce the marketing messages and increase loyalty among existing clients.

How to use social media in the B2B world

Just like any other marketing piece you are creating, you first must have a clear purpose. Creators/copywriters will need to know the following:

1. What you are doing
2. What the goal is
3. Who the audience is
4. How you will measure whether you’ve met your goal
5. How the social media project fits in with other branding/marketing strategies
6. What social media tool(s) you are using (eg, Twitter, LinkedIn, blog posts, Facebook, forums, YouTube, etc.)
7. What the SEO terms are in your industry

The important thing to remember is that social media is changing all the time, and you will need to have a backup plan for new and emerging trends in technology. However, social media is also a great way to keep in touch with trending among your clients/fans, whether that be  a trend toward using one type of editing or graphic design software over another, or a trend toward patients requesting a specific drug instead of physicians prescribing the drug at their own discretion. Social media tools can be used not only to create a network of existing and potential clients, but can also be a way in which businesses can create a more personal connection with those clients.

Points to remember when using social media tools

While many of us may already use some form of social media on a personal level, there are some things to keep in mind when launching your business blog or Facebook page.

Stay in line with your branding. Ensure you use the same colours/logos and terminology on your social media project. Social media tools should reinforce your brand and straying from the core messages of your business or even the look can create confusion among your customers. Hire a copywriter to write the copy to ensure it is professional and that it addresses the target market effectively. Remember, your media tool should always offer interesting and relevant information to your target audience.  Once the piece is written, employ an editor to review the social media elements and to cross-reference them with other published elements. A strong brand will be consistent in message, values, organization, and style.

Post regularly. This is where I have been found guilty. But seriously, a business wanting to use a blog to generate traffic to its website or its client’s website, or to get people discussing a certain topic needs to post new content on a regular basis. The frequency of posting new content will depend on the type of social media tool being used, the purpose of the tool, the target audience, and your topic. Remember that social media acts in real-time and posting content about something that happened 6 weeks ago may not be relevant to your target audience anymore. Whatever your needs, it is best to set up a social media schedule. Since the most difficult challenge businesses face with social media is creating enough copy, search out and hire a writer to do so for you. Your freelance writer can also re-purpose existing materials for the Web or for social media content, and turn existing online content into brochures and white sheets, etc. Professional writers and editors also have knowledge of SEOs, so be sure to hire out this task.

Get your legal department involved. As instant as social media is, remember that it requires much work on the back end. It involves handling highly personal information and requires that you secure that information. Ensure your business not only has an Internet policy but also a social media policy. If your media tool is for internal personnel, the tool will definitely need to be secure to protect proprietary information.

Monitor or hire a company to monitor your social media networks. What good is it to have launched a social media strategy and not be able to determine how effective it is? Applying tools such as Google Analytics can reveal key information about your audience, from how they got to your page and the length of time spent there to your visitors’ geographical location and service provider. With this information you can get to know your clients/fan base a little better and you can provide them with more engaging content and information that meets their specific needs. Set a schedule to review this data on a regular basis and explore how it might impact the content or the next steps in your social media B2B strategy.

And there you have it, folks: all the points to follow when engaging in B2B social media. Since attending this seminar, I have applied Google Analytics to my website, I review my blog and website stats regularly, and I am exploring how I can get more relevant content to you, the readers, on a more regular basis. If you would like to see a certain topic discussed, please let me know by posting a comment below. Thanks!

A Fourth of July Lesson in the Value of Editors

This blog post is excellent and highlights not only the value an editor brings in terms of quality, but also a dollar value an editor brings.

http://writingfordigital.com/2010/07/04/a-fourth-of-july-lesson-in-the-value-of-editors/.

Eliminating Windows: From emulation to reaching for the clouds

Much time has now lapsed since my last post and I can only plead that it was the busyness of the summer season that has kept me away. However, I shall do my best to recall what—abeit limited—information I was able catch about the seminar at Apple Expo on Eliminating Windows as the rest went wooshing over my head.

My spouse is  a Mac; I’m a PC

Though Apple seems to be gaining more converts, the necessity of running Microsoft Windows applications is still very real. Recently, my spouse made the move to a Mac, so now we have the benefit of having both a PC and a Mac at our disposal. While this may not be an option for many people, thanks to software development companies, users have many solutions.

Eliminating Windows

James Baine, from IronGate Server Management & Consulting, presented on how to make Windows disappear. With the plethora of viruses that seem to attack PCs and the Windows operating system, it is understandable why businesses, and it seems particularly IT personnel, would want nothing more than to eliminate Windows all together. The heel, of course, is that Mac users still want/need to be able to operate programs and software such as MS Outlook and MS Projects. Basically, you have four options:

1. Dual boot: allows you to boot and reboot from a Mac OS to a Windows OS; requires much hard drive space, RAM, and a high-speed processor; switching between running a Mac OS program and a Windows application requires a complete reboot each time; the process is slow
2. Emulation: hides Windows and runs a virtual operating system using emulation software such as VMWare; parallels desktop for a Mac and allows you to use  Shareware, Openware, and Freeware; need a very fast operating system, lots of RAM and storage, and you still need a Windows license
3. Non-emulation: software such as WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator),  developed by CodeWeavers Inc., allows Linux, Mac, FreeBSD, and Solaris users to run Windows applications without actually having a copy of Microsoft Windows;  WINE software is constantly being updated and has s compatibility centre allowing potential users to check for compatibility as well as download a trial version
4. Cloud computing: a relatively new trend, cloud computing refers to accessing applications and files in Windows from a central computing terminal set up by a company such as Citrix Systems; complex system to set up; requires networking

Also discussed was the ability and popularity of running applications through browsers. For example, multiple users can access, share, and change documents through Google Docs. The benefit of course, is that users do not have to worry about having the same applications in order to share documents, but simply must have access to the Internet. The benefits of a browser-based application system may be discussed in a future blog.

What do you prefer: Mac or PC? Why?

Stay tuned for the final installment of the Apple Expo review as I discuss business-to-business (B2B) social networking.

Hallmarks of good event management

Apple Expo: Lessons Learned

It’s often the difficult and disappointing experiences that allow us to fully appreciate a job well done. Having attended the first year of the Apple Expo, below are some key learnings specifically related to event management.

12 tips for good event management

1. Ensure all advertising, web, and printed materials are consistent. If the website posted 6 months prior to the event uses terminology such as “seminar”, ensure this continues through printed brochures and name tags—don’t suddenly switch to “workshop”. Consider using an editor to ensure pieces are consistent.
2. Your event should provide what is advertised. If your event indicates that it will meet certain objectives, ensure it does so. When an event is advertised as covering certain topics but the actual event in fact does not, participants leave feeling confused, unfulfilled, and disappointed. Ensure your event objectives are clear and are met.
3. Target your specific audience. Instead of trying to draw a wide range of people to an event, target your audience to ensure the intended people get your message and do not leave disappointed. IT personnel have much different needs to graphic designers or iPhone users. If your event does target a wide audience, go through the various vendors and speaking topics carefully to make certain participants will not be disappointed.
4. Either minimize or maximize welcome kits. In our society, concern for the environment is paramount. Consider making your event “green”, minimizing printed materials in welcome kits. If you are giving out welcome bags, ensure they are reusable cloth bags, and that they come with practicalities such as a note pad/booklet and pen for participants to take notes (this was not provided at Apple Expo). For high-tech events, consider using vibrating coasters or send reminders to participants’ mobile devices to that remind participants that it is time to attend their pre-registered seminar. For networking events, you may want to provide business card holders or some other special gift to make the occasion memorable. Whichever route you choose to go, if you’re not providing useful tools for the participants, don’t provide anything at all.
5. Ensure the location of the event is suitable. You may require a welcome area with room to facilitate a large amount of people, or an area that is a certain shape to funnel traffic through. Ensure there are washroom facilities nearby and that they are clearly visible. Finally, if refreshments are served, ensure this area is located near the event entrance and not pushed off to the side so that guests may still feel part of the event and continue their discussions with colleagues.
6. Hold talks, seminars, or workshops within the advertised timeframe of the event. This sounds simple enough, but was not executed at the Apple Expo. Don’t start seminars prior to the event or, for obvious reasons, your speaker may end up presenting to empty seats. If seminars must occur prior to an event start time due to time or facility constraints, be sure to notify all attendees of this change at least 1 or 2 days prior to the event.
7. If your events requires pre-registration for seminars or workshops, notify attendees of the seminars they have been awarded. If a website indicates pre-registration but the attendance of the seminars at the event is on a first-come, first-served basis, there is no point to pre-registration. Simply having a clear plan for the entire event from advertising to rollout should rectify the situation.
8. Ensure communication is clear. If seminars have been cancelled or if topics, locations, and times have changed, indicate this with clear signage in the welcome area. Participants may be overwhelmed or distracted as they take the event in, so have staff draw attention to these changes as they welcome participants.
9. Make sure map layouts of the event are correct. If participants enter an event hall through a north door, be sure the map indicates this. For smaller events, participants still may be able to find their way around, but for events with multiple rooms or for larger events, a false map simply defeats the purpose.
10. Provide ample seating. Seminars may be informal, being marked off with curtains  and a section of chairs or may be held in a separate classroom setting. Whatever the style, ensure that there are enough seats for many attendees so that guests feel welcome and do not have to stand or feel that they have to miss out on a given seminar. It’s better to have more seats than not enough.
11. Make sure seminar attendees can hear. Noise levels make it difficult for seminar/plenary session attendees to hear. Ensure that either a sound-proofed room is provided or that microphones, speakers, and other audiovisual needs are provided. This will ensure your attendees hear the seminar, speakers can give their presentations comfortably, and speaking events start on time.
12. Follow up your event with either a survey or request for comments during the event or within a few days of the event. This not only indicates that you value participants’ experiences, but that you are interested in meeting your target audience’s needs. If you leave the follow-up too long, participants will already have forgotten the experience.

Have I missed anything? What are your experiences with event management—good or bad? If you have any further tips, let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

Apple Expo Report

It’s been a while now since Apple Expo and I must admit, I’ve been putting off writing this installment because I was disappointed with the event. However, I am told that time heals all wounds (or at least most of them) so I am pressing on with my report and will reserve my rantings and complaints for my closest friends, which I’m sure they’ll look forward to.

This is the first of a four-part series on the Apple Expo, and what follows is a general overview of the event. The second installment will address my appreciation for and the importance of great conference management. The third posting will deal with what I learned from the seminar on eliminating Windows while the final segment will review the excellent seminar on B2B social networking.

Arrival

Given that the website for this event indicated limited spacing for seminar,s I checked the site for more information both the night before and the morning of the event. There were no changes posted and no schedule displayed. The event commenced at 12 noon and I arrived about 30 minutes early to pick up my welcome kit. In my fabric welcome bag was an event brochure describing the seminars and times, as well as a handy seminar schedule on the back of my name tag—or at least it would have been handy, had the times and topics of the seminars been correct or had the expo staff alerted me to these facts. Since I had some time, I walked around outside of the expo area and found signs indicating that some of the seminar topics, including one I wanted to attend, had started as early as 10:30 and 11:15 am—prior to the event start time—which left me quite disappointed.

Seminars

The first seminar I attended began at noon and was supposed to be about the iPad. The small, informal seating area was packed, but I managed to squeeze in. Once the seminar started, however, I realized it was not about the iPad, but was about making Windows disappear. In fact, the seminar on the iPad was not being held at all and the packed audience quickly emptied down to four people. I stayed partly out of politeness, partly because according to the schedule there was not another suitable seminar for me, and partly because I felt bad for the speaker. Despite my greatest efforts to understand the discussion, and my furious note-taking—on a piece of paper I happened to have with me because no note pad was supplied in the welcome bag—it was clear that this topic was more for IT personnel. The contents of the seminar, as best I understand them, will be discussed in a further (and probably shorter) blog posting.

Exhibitors

The Apple Expo Canada 2010 website indicated “You will meet the best Mac manufacturers, see live product demonstrations, touch and feel the latest products and learn from the best Mac experts in Canada.” No such luck. I saw no Mac reps and no iPhones, iTouch devices, iPads, or Mac computers/laptops. In fact, the only exhibitors present were companies who created software and devices for use on Macs/PCs such as imaging manufacturers (eg, printers, scanners), accessories, and data storage device and services companies. While these exhibitors would have been useful for IT personnel and company owners to meet and discuss their business needs, they were certainly not for the average Mac user.

Summary

Advertised as “a uniquely Canadian event exclusively for Mac enthusiasts as well as people contemplating switching to a Mac” this event did not meet my needs and left me thoroughly disappointed. I saw many attendees who had been sent to this event by their companies, including many graphic designers and general business personnel who seemed to share in my disappointment. The expo fell well short of  expectations and I will likely not attend the event next year. However, I tried to salvage what I could from the event and ended the day with a fantastic seminar on social networking for business.

Tune in for more learnings from the Apple Expo including 1) tips for great event management, 2) a review of the first seminar on making Windows disappear, and 3) a review of an excellent seminar on B2B social networking.