Apr 12, 2010I received an e-mail this week from a woman—I'll call her Terry—who wrote, "In reviewing the RFID Journal LIVE! 2010 Web site, I found myself lost within all of the sessions, keynote speakers, exhibitors, etc. I want to get the most of this conference, but I need some assistance, please."
I spoke to her by phone so I could understand the specific project she is pursuing. I then went through the conference agenda with her, outlining the sessions I thought she should attend, and the exhibitors she should visit. She was very grateful, and I told her to please contact me if she had any questions after the event.
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I spoke to another person who plans to attend this year's LIVE! conference, who was interested in a health-care application. I provided him with a list of vendors that could provide what he needs. A third individual, who can't make the event, had some questions regarding a specific vendor, and asked whether there were alternative solutions available. I gave him my honest opinion of three companies that might be able to help him, along with contact information for each.
Although the week before RFID Journal LIVE! is the busiest time of year for me (and for everyone else at RFID Journal), I was glad to take these calls. It's important to me that people get value at our events, as well as from our Web site and print magazine, which is why I personally always respond to reader questions.
RFID Journal LIVE! is a big event, which is great because you can see so many vendors and speakers all in one place. But it can be overwhelming. To help attendees, we list vendors by product category in the program guide. We record sessions so those at the conference can review them after the show, or see the sessions they missed. Last year, we introduced free, personalized consultations at LIVE!, but few people contacted us to schedule consultations.
The booth will be staffed by consultants who have helped us with articles over the years, and who we are confident will provide sound, objective advice. To view a list of the experts, visit the consultations page on the RFID Journal LIVE! Web site.
Our goal is to help end users understand when and where it makes sense to use radio frequency identification, and to determine which type of RFID system is right for a particular application. When it's time to pilot a system, end users might require a good consultant or systems integrator to see their actual environment and study their business processes, in order to determine the best systems design for their applications. But we can help you along the journey, by giving you a basic understanding of how others have solved similar problems, as well as the technology they used.
I encourage readers to
e-mail me with questions, post a query on our Web site's Ask the Experts Forum or stop by LIVE!'s Ask the Experts booth. I'm confident we can help you find the right solution for your application—and if we can't, we can direct you to someone who will.
Mark Roberti is the founder and editor of RFID Journal. If you would like to comment on this article, click on the link below. To read more of Mark's opinions, visit the RFID Journal Blog, RFID Connect or the Editor's Note archive.
