---
title: "For conference organizers: last-minute text alerts"
author: "Stan Voo"
url: https://www.99rabbits.com/blog/last-minute-text-alerts-for-conferences
published: 2013-01-14
summary: "Schedules change at every conference, and an app nobody updates won't tell anyone. A text message will."
---

# For conference organizers: last-minute text alerts

The folks at Mailchimp have made [a wonderful app for event organizers](http://blog.mailchimp.com/introducing-gather-mailchimps-sms-for-events/). The iPhone app lets you text attendees urgent news, whether it's a Wi-Fi password changed at the last minute or a speaker being swapped.

It occurred to me that you can text attendees without an app like that. There are plenty of [SMS marketing](https://www.google.com.ua/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant\&ion=1\&ie=UTF-8#hl=ru\&safe=off\&tbo=d\&sclient=psy-ab\&q=%D1%81%D0%BC%D1%81-%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B3\&oq=\&gs_l=\&pbx=1\&fp=1e83790c539fb677\&ion=1\&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.\&bvm=bv.1357700187,d.d2k\&biw=1920\&bih=955) platforms around now, and it's easy to set up the mailings in advance.

Why does it matter? At [OWOX 2012](https://www.99rabbits.com/blog/owox-2012-takeaways), held in November, the organizers made a special mobile app with the schedule. The problem was that to get changes into it, you had to update the app itself (the day's plan didn't load from the conference server automatically), and of course hardly anyone did. I don't think a single conference I've been to got by without changes like that to the program.

In short, a great idea. I suggest the organizers of [Business Camp Odessa](http://biz.od.ua/), which I'm also planning to attend, take it on board ;)