It used to be you could count on spreading your influence at an event with four walls. Today, social media walls, real-time Twitter updates, and cross-platform image and video sharing expand the impact and experience of events far beyond the walls of the hotel ballroom or convention center.
While there are multiple trends to follow in 2019, the following three trends are the ones to watch according to David Adler, Marrisa Pick, Rachel Wimberly and Jeff Hurt.
1) Livestreaming: Livestreaming technology, combined with social media, is being embraced to expand the event experience. As Marissa Pick notes, the integration of Livestream with Facebook "makes it seamless to see professional livestreaming within your feed and leverage engagement from your social media audience."
2) Audience engagement systems: Long gone are the days when event attendees were content to be passive sponges soaking up the knowledge shared from the podium. Today's attendees expert to be actively engaged in the exchange of information. Audience engagement or response software makes presentations more dynamic and enjoyable for presenters and attendees alike.
3) Facial Recognition: Our experts all noted that the best technology often blends into the event background. It improves the experience for attendees by increasing engagement (as above) or reducing friction (e.g., facial recognition check in).
The best tech enhances events for both attendees and event organizers by enabling, for example, the event host to collect valuable data with little or no effort on the part of attendees.
Here are few more insights from top Influencers:
David Adler
"I am always on technology and even lead an annual event for the Society of Independent Show Organizers called “The Event Innovation Battlefield,“ where the trade show industry is exposed to the latest ideas. I believe that technology makes “what was complex, a trivial pursuit.” The smart tech solutions melt into the infrastructure and become just part of normal life."
Rachel Wimberly
"I have an event (TSNN Awards) for the trade show industry, as well as work for a parent company with 160 shows worldwide (Tarsus Group) so I am touching event tech on several levels. Anything from registration systems and lead retrieval to AR, VR, ChatBots, event management software, event apps, etc. will all impact events in 2019 and beyond."
Jeff Hurt
" I favor social media, content-marketing and digital, hybrid and livestreaming tech tools for meetings and events. I really like the 3-D mapping technology that can be used in large keynotes and networking experiences to create an immersive-themed, evolving environment."
At the bottom line, according to Hurt technology is a tool to serve a purpose and help connect with others. He points out that technology is best is when it appears seamlessly to help get a job done. We could not have said it better ourselves.
