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A few weeks ago as part of our ‘Question of the Week’ series on social media we asked our followers to describe the Event Technology sector in one word and the responses received have given us food for thought. So what were some of the responses we received? "Unpredictable" Event technology doesn’t always do what event organisers expect it to. One contributor had experiences where they expected certain outcomes that didn’t materialise. There are lots of reasons that this can happen such as...

21 June, 2018

1. Choices, choices Hundreds of solutions and providers are available – some free, some costing thousands. However, don’t panic, tie down your budget and work out how much time you have to prepare. This will narrow the search significantly. 2. Never lose sight of the objectives More importantly identify the meeting objectives before you even consider using technology. Why are you holding the event? Who is coming? What are you trying to achieve?   3. Involve your technology partner Find a supplier you can trust who...

30 May, 2018

It seems that this is a popular time of the year for people to start doubting the relevancy of the interactive solutions that started “eventtech” all those years ago. Last year, I heard people state that voting/polling was not really used anymore and should therefore not be a key consideration when selecting your on site solution. Following this, we wrote an article about whether we thought this was the case. This year it looks like voting keypads are in the firing...

30 October, 2017

Technology is everywhere; from the smart devices we carry in our pockets to the self service kiosks in fast food restaurants, we can’t escape it! So it is no surprise that today’s event attendees expect to be consulted, engaged and able to participate actively in the events that they attend. In response to this hundreds of services and app providers have appeared on the market to satisfy this need, some of these are free whilst others cost thousands of pounds. This...

30 October, 2017

A child walks into class and states the earth is flat. What should the teacher do?   Most people would surely think the teacher should engage in a conversation with the child providing counter-arguments, views and evidence and hope to persuade the child their opinion was incorrect. They wouldn’t think an appropriate response would be to point the child towards the Flat Earth Society’s website. However, that is exactly how current algorithms and Artificial Intelligence ‘help’ us on Facebook, Twitter, Netflix and a multitude of...

05 October, 2017

There’s an app called CityMapper that helps me get around London. It tells me the best route, which carriage to take on the tube to be nearest the right exit at my destination, and my time to arrival. It’s very handy. So when they recently announced they were launching a real bus service in London, I was intrigued. Why would an app company launch a bus service when Transport for London (TfL) surely has it all covered? What do they know...

16 August, 2017

  Is it just me or is the charging for WiFi at venues STILL a complete mystery? Some examples: Venue A: WiFi network for 1,000 delegates throughout a large venue for four days: €400 Venue B: WiFi network for 300 delegates throughout a smaller venue for three days: €2,500 Venue C: WiFi network for 400 delegates in one room for a two-hour symposium: €10,000 Venue A’s service and coverage was flawless, Venue B’s was troublesome and problematic (and of course not their fault until we proved...

31 May, 2017

Would you use a venue where only 50% of your audience could see the screen? Or a catering company that provided food for only 50% of your delegates? What if there were only enough chairs for 50% of your attendees? From surveys, and indeed from marketing material from providers themselves, event apps are still downloaded by only around 50% of delegates. For a large exhibition or trade show, a huge community across a campus, or a music festival, event apps are great at creating...

22 May, 2017

Technology has transformed the way we communicate. We now live in a connected world, where instant messages can be seen by millions within seconds, where large corporations do not necessarily control the narrative, where Social Media has become the source for breaking news. The Events Industry has also seen a huge change in the way events are run. Audience behaviour has shifted. In the past, audiences were there to listen, and only to listen. Keypad voting systems allowed them to express their views....

03 May, 2017

We’re often asked for our opinions about what the “next big thing” is going to be, the piece of technology that is going to burst onto the event scene in the coming months. A lot has been said about Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Bluetooth beacons and so on, but people should remember that it’s not the technology itself that makes a difference, it is how it is used that defines whether something is worthwhile or not. Whilst this is less glamorous than...

17 March, 2017
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