Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

 

The 78th UFI Congress in Valencia is only days away (November 9 – 12)   Spencer Kelly, the technology expert and presenter of the BBC technology program “Click,” will be presenting one of the keynotes entitled  “The future of Doing Business.” I asked him two questions that have been on my mind and I hope yours. Here is what he said:

 

Barry:  Has technology produced a double-edged sword with both positive and negative impacts?

 

Spencer:  Definitely. I’m a big fan of technology – it has done some great things, opening up the world, giving people access to information, allowing people to express themselves and meet and stay in touch with others. But it would be impossible for it to have no negative impact.

 

On the one hand it’s being blamed for making us more lazy and less social which is ironic, given the number of social websites. What I mean is in our ability to talk to others face to face. It’s also blamed for putting people out of work. In addition wherever there is opportunity, there will be those who want to exploit it for nefarious purposes. Cybercrime is a multi-billion dollar industry.

 

But all-in-all, the positives have to outweigh the negatives – progress is necessary. It’s impossible to be adventurous in a cautious way, so mistakes, oversights and lack of regulation are the price we pay for superfast expansion.

 

Barry:  How does the face-to-face impact of exhibitions fare in a world that has become increasingly technology dependant?

 

Spencer:  Business certainly used to be done face to face, but in many cultures we are all becoming more used to communicating with others online.  So for B2B, I think we have a problem. Despite the convenience of having all your clients in one place, exhibitions can be really unpleasant and boring for business travelers. That’s why so many exhibitions are held in Las Vegas. For the public, there needs to be enough at an exhibition that you can’t see at home. They will come for the spectacle, and the fun, and the experience. They won’t come for the small stalls just showing a PowerPoint presentation on a screen.

 

You’ll want to check out the rest of the 78th UFI Congress program at http://valencia2011.ufi.evenium.com/ and twitter #ufivalencia