Why do we need a Bot, we already have printed conference materials and a website?

Conference coffee breaks, lunches and welcome parties are as important parts of the event as presentations. These are times of networking and informal discussions. All of them are built around the conference program that is always needed at hand. 

The typical scenery looks rather messed up and chaotic with people juggling their bags, laptops, conference materials, hot cups, saucers, cakes, sachets of refined sugar and so on. 

There is barely a space to share and exchange materials about your talk, research or business. A few the most skillful can manage though. 

But even for them this presents a challenge since both paper printed conference materials and online programs accessible from the event website via tablets and laptops are too large to be conveniently handled with one hand.

One device, however, stands  out in this respect. This is our smart phones. Every participant has such in a pocket and checks it regularly to track the time, calls, texts, email and social media notifications. This is indeed a solution, but what is the natural way and environment for presenting the required information in a readable, notable and sharable format?

When it comes to digital, the conference standard is a web page with a downloadable PDF [https://www.quantumconf.eu/2022/program.php]. Some advanced versions targeting online events include abstracts and, based on your IP, determine your location and display agenda in thus-tracked timezone [https://virtualscienceforum.org/josephson-diode/]. 

In both cases, these are hardly readable from smart phone as primary designed with large screens in mind. And even when can be resized properly between different screens does not allow making bookmarks and sharing talks separately, because only a link to the webpage is sharable.

These information sources, by their very nature, are poorly updatable and by the time of the event often contain outdated information, blank spaces (aka TBD, Will be Updated Soon and etc) and they are cautiously tagged as ‘TENTATIVE PROGRAM’. Indeed, one can recollect the regular talk shifts, swaps and cancellations upon the presenters’ requests that accompany any such event. These issues are heavily exacerbated as the size of event scales up.

Bot is a viable solution. It is based on the familiar device (smart phone) and digital (messenger) environment which allows it to avoid all the above-mentioned issues. In addition, it is programmable and can offer aditional services such as a new communication channel between participants and organizers and automation of the event conducting routines.

This shall make the event more efficient by creating a more relaxed atmosphere, providing easier communication and facilitating information exchange.

With this the event will look more professional and will provide better experience.

Why Telegram Bots?

Among all messenger bots, Telegram bots are the richest in features and most advanced in their functionality. Telegram provides variety of user interface elements to create a wholesome interactive experience for its bot users. 

With over 700 million monthly active users as of 2022 it is a noticiable contender to other instant messengers.

Why TBpack Bots?

Our Bots are goal-oriented information systems. They do not require supervision and human customer service agents. They simply provide assistance and automate organizing routines.

Do you comply with data protection law?

Yes, we follow Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) recommendations in complying with UK General Data Protection Regulation tailored by the Data Protection Act 2018 .

What personal data you hold? What do you use it for?

TBpack Bots such as conference virtual secretaries are to provide information about the event agenda and schedule. As such they may keep information about the names of speakers, their affiliations and short professional bios, as well as presentation titles, times and locations. Optionally the users can share their locations for accurate setting of their time zone. However, alternative options such as setting time zone offset manually are also available. This information may be used for the event statistics provided to the event organizers of the event, for example, for the visualization of international diversity of the conference. We also collect usage statistics of our bots which is used for product analysis and further improvement of our services.

Can I withdraw my concent for personal data usage?

We do not store more data than we need to provide useful and efficient service. However, we understand concerns some of our customers may have and we offer a genuine free choice and ongoing control over whether and how we use their data. Simply inform us about your preferences.

For how long do you keep personal data?

We keep personal data for as long as we believe our users are staying with us and may return for the service. We securely delete or destroy personal data as soon as we no longer need it or we get such request from our users.

Do you keep personal data accurate and up to date?

We keep the data as they are for the moment when they are provided by the users. We do not insist on their regular update, but have to mention that the outdated information may indeed affect the quality of service we provide and it is users responsibiity and decision how deal with this.

Do you keep personal data secure?

Yes, we use passwords and have backups. However, for now encryption is an option under development.

Do you have a way for people to exercise their rights regarding the personal data you hold about them?

Under the law the individuals have rights 

1. to be informed – being told what data we hold about them and what we do with it;

2. to get access – being able to request a copy of their data we hold;

3. to rectification – being able to have inaccurate data corrected;

4. to erasure – being able to ask us to delete / destroy their data;

5. to restrict processing – being able to limit the amount or type of data used;

6. to data portability – requesting to move their data electronically to another business;

7. to object – being able to request us stop using their data.

We are able to deal with any such requests made in writing or verbally, in person or in chat. In most cases we can do it very fast. In more difficult ones it can take no more than one month.

Do your staff know data protection responsibilities?

We instruct our staff about keeping information safe and secure, and train them what to do if anything goes wrong. We update this knowledge on a monthly and check our facility on a weekly basis.

When something goes wrong, including a personal data breach leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data, we immediatly inform individuals and report to the ICO if this can have a range of adverse effects including risk to people's rights and freedoms.

Next frequently asked question?

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