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NEWSLETTER 134
 
VIRTUAL EVENTS GROUP
 

Don't conflate endlessly scrolling through Instagram or Twitter as “doing research” for your own socials. 

—Phil Ranta, on LinkedIn

 
 
 
 
 
 
June 15 | 3PM EDT | Zoom
 
Hungry for Community
 

We are, by nature, tribal. And while the pandemic may be in the rearview mirror, the hunger for virtual communities remains strong. Join the wonderful Felix Zeltner (Remote Daily), along with Alex Lindsay (Office Hours), Denise Hayman-Loa (Carii Network), and Jerry Li (Gradual) to discuss the power of community and how to build yours.

 
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Canadian Smoke Reminds Us Complacency Is No Longer a Thing
 
 
 

I was one of those “business-as-usual” New Yorkers that kept my theater tickets and business lunches during the great Smoke-Out in NY. But it made for some very strange days. Broadway shows were canceled. So was the Yankee game. Courts were closed and outdoor events were canceled. Obviously, we are in a “new normal!” Be prepared to pivot at a moment’s notice and keep that Plan B in your front pocket. Here’s more from our latest lessons learned. 

 
 
Apple’s Got Some Cool Video Conferencing Enhancements 
 
 
 
You probably don’t want to attend your next video conference in your googles yet, but soon.
 
 

Apple made headlines with Vision Pro, the $3,500 XR goggles that use pass-through technology so that you can see the real world while interacting with digital objects, but its use as a video conference tool was not talked about much. Picture this. With the built-in cameras of the Vision Pro headset, a user will be able to scan their face in order to create an avatar (persona) of their likeness.


ZD Net
and The Verge both offer good descriptions of how digital personas could be used to collaborate in meetings, hang out, or experience a shared media moment. Tim Cook has said that Vision Pro will be available for video conferencing applications, including Zoom, Teams, and Webex. And because the headset detects the movement of the user’s hands, eyes, and voice, you can imagine sending your virtual self to an event and imbuing it with lifelike qualities. Instead of a cartoon-like avatar, you have an avatar in your own image. Why you would do that remains to be seen. 

 
 

Apple also made some notable upgrades to its OS that will let users overcome some of the limitations of video conferencing’s “little boxes” problem. Mac users can share their screens while video conferencing but ensure their face stays on the screen. In addition, the presenter overlay feature will let users choose between having their face show up as a small bubble over their shared screen or having their shared screen show up next to their face as if it’s in the same room. It’s the weather-presenter effect that lets you appear to be standing in front of a physical screen. Mac-using Zoomers will be able to have lots of fun with hand-raising, thumbs up and other engagements. 


Apple also announced Name Drop. It lets you hold your iPhone or iWatch devices in proximity to exchange contact information. Another death blow for exchanging printed business cards and a no-brainer for contactless information exchange. 

 
 
Name Drop in action. Image credit: Apple
 
 
Event Forecasters Gonna Forecast
 
 
 

ExpoPlatform just released its forecast on event tech. Notably, they expect a rise in revenue from digital events. Half of event profs now expect between 10 and 29% of their annual revenue to come from digital channels.  It’s a start. And part of that revenue is because event planners are adopting 365-day-a-year strategies to augment live events with additional opportunities. 

 
 

Nurturing thriving communities will be a big area of concentration according to Expoplatform’s research. Image credit: Expo Platform


Freeman’s Quarterly Trends Report
focuses on the quality of the relationships forged at events, asking planners to pay less attention to badge scans and exhibit size and more attention to what it calls “Return on Opportunity.” The theme that runs through the Freeman report is to “Mind the Gap“ between the reason exhibitors showcase their products (lead generation) and their overall satisfaction. Translating data into action, Freeman is building a measurement framework that prioritizes attendees' objectives by aligning their desired outcomes with touchpoints and data signals across the customer journey.

 
 
Freeman's study shows a gap between what exhibitors perceive as important and their level of satisfaction. Image credit: Freeman
 
 
Scuttlebutt
 
 
 

Sustainability in the News
Companies are being called out for "greenwashing," which means faking their sustainability efforts. Don’t be like FIFA, accused of making false claims.  Having the “talk” with your exhibitors about sustainability can be  like having the sex talk with your kids. Uncomfortable but oh, so necessary. Here’s how it’s done. 


Geek Out 
Learn from a Redditor how you can use Stable Diffusion to create anime QR cards. You will look super-cool. 

AI Event Guide
Can’t get enough AI knowledge? Here’s a list of events to put on the calendar. (Ignore the April event, it’s passed.)


Meeting Hygiene
Whether you’re meeting in a video conference like Zoom or a virtual world on other digital space, you’ll have a better experience if you close down your CPU hogging apps; email, Dropbox and Slack are particularly notorious offenders. Close everything you’re not using and life we’ll be easier for you and everyone else.


Did Facebook Kill the Metaverse?
Apple’s announcement of “spatial computing” signaled that the world is ready to move beyond Facebook’s version of the metaverse. Zuckerberg reacted as expected – a bit defensively – stating that Facebook’s definition of the 3D Web was more affordable and meant to be enjoyed by everyone. Tim Cook, on the other hand, was careful NOT to even use the word “metaverse” in his remarks at WWDC. Call it what you will, the quibbling is mostly a matter of semantics. As Justice Potter Stewart said about porn, no matter what you call it, you’ll know it when you see it. I’m guessing Zuckerberg has tainted the word metaverse, possibly irreparably. Many will jump on Apple’s lead and start talking “spatial” just to get over the hump.

 
 
UPCOMING
 
Summer Meetings
 
 
 

As we emerge from COVID we are changed. At our July meeting, we’ll talk to three event veterans – Mary Ann Pierce, Dahlia El Gazzar, and Mike Hiskey – about pivots, back-steps, and foibles. We’ll reminisce about the highlights from those pandemic events that boosted our shared experience, and we’ll ask you to offer your insights on what has changed and what has remained the same.

 
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Robin Raskin | Founder
917.215.3160 | robin@virtualeventsgroup.org

Gigi Raskin | Sales/Marketing

917.608.7542 | gigi@virtualeventsgroup.org