Paperless HR Conventioneering
The Maine HR Convention used to start with the issuance of a modest, telephone book sized, bound paper book containing all the material needed to support the convention. This material includes the schedule, session room assignments, speaker bios and their published material, and sponsoring vendor rosters. These books were toted back to work, in the tote bag issued in, and shelved.
Then the migration began towards and forward into the digital data era. Instead of bound books, convention attendees were issued thumb drives. Mine remains in my desk drawer.
Now the material avaliable online, in the cloud, with standard login/password protocol. (we seemed to have skipped the convention on a CD stage.)
The final limiting factor is each attendee’s IT resources. The standard desktop is tethered by the high speed/capacity of ethernet cabling. (yes, some folks printed out the handouts and brought them along.) Laptop computers with wifi are on option that seemed to be in less favor this year. Downright bulky when compared to the prevalent smart phones. Smart phones are capable devices, but the interface requires the delicate stroke of elfin fingers.
In between, and in my opinion and experience, is the emerging and market place competitive tablet computers. Lead by Apple’s iPad, an upsized iPhone. The Maine HR Convention became my proving and convincing grounds.
In the past, I always took copious notes on the standard 8-1/2″ by 11″ pad of paper, clasped and grasped in a portfolio binder. Which I fully intended to bring with me as I have always done. But I forgot it. IT IS still, most likely still, on my desk at work. These notes were then, well intended to be, transcribed into a document which became my trip report and action/ best intentions plan. Now, the challenge became, USE the iPad.
Notes were taken. Selected notes were copied and pasted over to Twitter using the convention hashtag #MEHRC2011 for broadcast to the world. Others watched, discretely, covertly, and openly. When a presenter mentioned a website, I could and did access it on the fly, benchmarking it for future return reference. Talk about near seamless & integrated efficiency. It didn’t take long at all, to never miss at all, my traditional pad of paper and fully rely on my iPad.
This blog posting is being finished on Saturday morning. In my east- looking, second floor, forest viewing sanctuary. The iPad iPod feature is playing U2 and I am done writing. This blog entry will mature with silent reflection, then make it over to here where you are now reading all about it.
Get an iPad. You will not regret the joyous efficiency.
Sent from my iPad, to my desktop, for final posting at www.mainehrcafe.com
