Last month I attended the Green Meetings Industry Council annual conference at the DoubleTree hotel in Portland, Oregon.

The format was truly ground-breaking, using a gaming format that placed attendees in teams upon their arrival. Each team was given an iPad.  Points were earned by team members visiting with exhibitors, attending workshops and using social media (tweeting and blogging).

There were no printed programs.  There was a mobile application for iPads and smartphones.  We are using a mobile application for General Assembly in Charlotte but are not yet ready to eliminate our printed program.  It was a bit disconcerting to have everyone looking at their phones during workshops as it felt like they weren’t paying attention to the speaker – different than glancing at your printed program to see what event you want to attend next.  It was exciting to be at a meeting leading the way in mobile applications!