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NEWSLETTER 164
 
VIRTUAL EVENTS GROUP
 

Cvent is sort of like the Google/Apple/Microsoft of the events world. This week they grew by acquiring Jifflenow, a 1:1 and group appointments scheduling solution, and iCapture, a lead capture solution. Why build when you can buy?

 
 
 
 
 
 
JANUARY 18 | 3PM EDT | ZOOM
 
New Year, New Tools
 
Now that we’re in 2024, it’s time to up our AI tools game. Join us on Jan. 18th as Conor Eliot of Opus Clip makes mincemeat of editing video, Jeremy Toeman of Aug X Labs shows us how to create a video by just typing a story, and Nick Morolda from Hive Streaming demonstrates producing corporate quality videos in a flash.
 
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FEATURED STORY
 
What We Saw at CES to Help Event Creators
 
 
 

CES is a live show in every sense of the word. It’s all about being there. But, thanks to Alfred Poor, our eagle-eyed tech editor, and a few helpful scouts, we uncovered some CES coolness for the virtual events world. 


Eye Contact
Studies have shown that maintaining eye contact during online meetings can improve engagement, empathy, and overall perceived connection. Hard to do on virtual calls when your webcam is placed above where your eyes are usually looking. Two devices at CES, the iVi communications hub and the Veeo video conferencing smart monitor with an integrated behind-display camera, are high-tech takes on the traditional teleprompter. Both ensure that you’re always making eye contact with your audience. 

 
 
Never lose eye contact again. Image credit: Veeo
 
 
 

A Magic Gimbal
XbotGo AI Sports Gimbel is an AI-powered smart holder for your mobile.. Put your smartphone in its grip and it will use its built-in AI to explore the scene and figure out where the action is. Great for sporting events where you always want to know where the action is and don’t want to rely on a human operator. 

 
 
Never take your eyes off the action when this smart gimbal can do it for you. Image credit: XbotGo
 
 
 

When You Can’t Be Everywhere
Proto Hologram has been making the rounds as the eye candy at exhibits. Life-size replicas of you are beamed to audiences. These lifelike images are interactive and cloud-enabled. (Some take issue with using the word hologram, which is a three-dimensional image generated by interfering beams of light, to describe a product that’s based on volumetric capture. ) Nonetheless, it’s cool. 


The Event-Tech Landscape
Julius Solaris diagrams the world of event tech into neat buckets. And trust us, it’s not a static diagram. Event-tech companies are either merging, dissolving, or being acquired by the day. Here’s the latest iteration. Regardless of whether the company names change, Solaris offers a good framework for categorizing the world of event tech. Over time, we expect to see all-in-one players like Cvent get stronger, and virtual event tech continue to focus on enhanced distribution and more TV-like features, with a good dose of human touch. 

 
 
The Event-Tech Landscape
 

Julius Solaris diagrams the world of event tech into neat buckets. And trust us, it’s not a static diagram. Event-tech companies are either merging, dissolving, or being acquired by the day. Here’s the latest iteration. Regardless of whether the company names change, Solaris offers a good framework for categorizing the world of event tech. Over time, we expect to see all-in-one players like Cvent get stronger, and virtual event tech continue to focus on enhanced distribution and more TV-like features, with a good dose of human touch. 

 
 
image credit: Julius Solaris
 
 
WEEKLY
 
Scuttlebutt
 
 
 

What Keeps Event Creators Up at Night?
Let’s see… there’s the talent pool, rising costs of materials, and the fact that 85% percent of the events workforce left during the pandemic and did not come back. Bob Priest-Heck (Freeman) and Jeff Quade (GES) talk about the toughest parts of the business. 


Every Show is a Tech Show
The National Retail Foundation (NRF) show took place this week and it, like so many others, was all about AI and tech. According to Modern Retail, there were more than a dozen events about AI on the first day of the show. Vendors that sell AI technology had a presence and tech companies that offer everything from supply chain to e-commerce solutions were there in force. 

 

At Davos’ World Economic Forum, AI also got top billing. It being Davos, climate change and geopolitical tumult also received a lot of attention. Economic concerns are on the agenda, and rebuilding trust is the theme of the summit. Missing out on the celeb action at Davos? Join the virtual world of Davos’s Global Collaboration Village.

 
 
January 23, 2024
 
Silicon Valley Video Summit
 
 

On January 23rd we head to Cupertino’s Computer History Museum for the Silicon Valley Video Summit. There we’ll recognize and talk shop with the many unsung heroes — Videographers, Technical Directors, Producers, and others — who are adept at making events look great. Let us know if you’re in the area and would like to attend. 

 
 
 
 
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Robin Raskin | Founder
917.215.3160 | robin@virtualeventsgroup.org

Gigi Raskin | Sales/Marketing

917.608.7542 | gigi@virtualeventsgroup.org