Last month I attended the Extending The Margins: New Technologies for New Audiences conference in Ghent at the amazing Vooruit. To view resources from the event you can head over to the Audiences Europe Network for videos, presentations, audio and more.

The branding for the event centred on an audience decked out in 3D spectacles, we even got a pair of our very own – I must admit I was a little disappointed nobody wowed us with a presentation in three dimensions… will that be a future development of death by PowerPoint?

The 3D theme got me thinking about my three D’s for developing new audiences through new technologies, they go something like this:

1) Delight – Aim to delight the audience when implementing new technologies to engage with them. The Royal Opera House have achieved this with their extremely cute iPhone application The Show Must Go On. Their aim with app is to extend their content, reputation and talent to new audiences and surely this one is going to appeal with little and big kids.

2) Data – Not wanting to get all big brother but new technologies do provide us a wealth of opportunities to access more data and insights into audiences. This enables us to target attenders more effectively and identify gaps or areas for growth. The work of CultuurNet.be with their UiTid application and work with smart cards are excellent demonstrations of this. For example UiTid assists folks with an interest in art and culture choose the events best suited to them, by analysing their web behaviour to provide custom recommendations.

3) Do it – Get stuck in and start experimenting. Using new technologies does’t have to cost the earth as there are a multitude of free tools available and don’t be afraid of failing forward.