Event Tech Live’s inaugural Summit – a virtual show geared to the US market – was clued-up content from 9am Central Time on Wednesday 8th June.
First session ‘Designing the future of on-site engagement’ saw Lauren Wolf from VMware, Intel Corp’s event tech strategy manager Mark Dominguez and Event Specialists’ Mahoganey Jones taking questions from host James Dickson.
Perhaps the most cutting came mid-set: ‘Do we really know how to design on-site engagement now? If not, how can we design for the future?’
The conversation highlighted a number of contemporary ‘must do better’ areas, and with the flow of in-person events since the ebb of the last 24 months, there has been little time to gauge exactly where the market is going. So, arguably, the future is easier to get designs on than where we are at the moment.
Fill the void brought about by the largely virtual two years with new opportunities, the panel suggested:
“Take control of the tech stack. Use tech to enhance not hinder attendees’ journey.” Don’t be afraid of technology and ask the experts to make sure it works properly/productively.
Then, with barely enough time to scroll down the Hubilo platform, we were into Julius Solaris’ sought after #AskJulius.
With Mike Piddock, founder/CEO at Summit sponsor Glisser, putting questions, Solaris painted an equally fascinating and grounded picture of where event technology world has just come from and where it’s likely to go next. As well as some nuts and bolts stuff.
Like, “How do we get AV costs to come down?”
A fully fledged, high-end experience is very tough on the budget, but new opportunities, like a PTZ camera, comes in at about $1,000, remotely managed, Solaris said. It’s not the same but it stacks up very well against the $50k quotes.
From a non-stop session, “Pay attention! And keep an open mind”, was the key takeaway.“I’m old enough to remember when people were dismissive of Twitter,” Solaris said. “You don’t have to jump in, but it’s very important to understand these things as they happen.”
‘How to build event communities’ was narrow focus compared to the Solaris extravaganza but another really engaging panel: Jess Tyler from MJBiz, the media brand serving the cannabis and hemp industries in the US and Canada, Xander Castro from MicroConf and Hubspot’s Christina Garnett – a Foo Fighters and a Beatles fan judging from the LPs on display on shelves behind her.
Choosing/putting a platform ahead of identifying audience wants is almost a refresher for the cart before horse cliché, and that’s where they started.
Analyse what you want to achieve, what you are trying to facilitate and how you will measure success before committing to the tech.
With the panel participants amplifying points with examples fresh out of their own experiences, there was a real checklist here for anybody starting an event or looking to reshape one in light of all the recent shakeups.
Last up, ‘Is the metaverse the future of events? Bloomberg’s RJ Crowder-Schaefer, in front of a striking, wholly real, Manhattan backdrop, and Tim Woodring from Unbridled talking to James Dickson.
‘What exactly is the metaverse?’ THE best starter question.
Essentially, it’s cyberspace with a twist of VR and AR. The discussion coloured in the picture a bit albeit via streams of hypotheticals. Because the metaverse, like the universe, is huge – thick with black holes – the short answer to the original question is something like, ‘It might well be’.
All content will be available on-demand soon. In the meantime why not have a look at the Event Tech Live website and keep up to date with plans for ETL London and ETL Las Vegas – https://eventtechlive.com/
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