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NEWSLETTER 111
 
VIRTUAL EVENTS GROUP
 

 

Has anyone spoken to a live human since ChatGPT showed up?

 
 
 
 
 
 
The New Year’s Divide
 
 
 

Boy oh boy, did I ever take a beating at the New Year’s party! The subject turned to “why won’t those damn kids come back to the office?” One manager proclaimed “They knew they’d have to commute for 2 hours a day when they took the job, why won’t they do it now?” Another chimed “They’re not learning anything when they’re not showing up at the office. They need to learn from their managers if they’re going to get ahead.” By this time I was sipping glugging my drink and biting my tongue. 2023 hadn’t even begun but they might have been singing “The Way We Were.” The nostalgia for a bustling office is understandable, but the path forward will definitely include a mix of yesteryear and tomorrow. 


During the pandemic we learned that by driving less we could have clearer skies and less smog. We learned that a walk outside – or any other simple pleasure (yes, even sourdough) – was a gift. And we learned that perhaps there was another way to live without painful commutes, expensive wardrobes, $14 salads and family deprivation. We learned new ways of getting our work done, being managed or managing, and new ways of collaborating on ideas.


The big question is whether the pandemic changed things forever or just until it becomes a faint memory. For me, the strides we’ve made in remote working, metaverse life, and AI during the height of the pandemic is a good indicator that we’ve entered the new normal, one where 9 to 5, 5 days a week seems so quaint. And one where learning takes many new forms. In the early ’90s, architect Witold Rybczynski questioned the artificial construct of a weekend. We’re doing the same thing now, questioning the artificial construct of an office, with technology accelerating the conversation.

 
 
The Creator Economy
 

What did you want to be growing up? That’s what Jim Louderback asked me to think about in a conversation we had about the Creator Economy during the holidays. “If you think about it,“ said Jim, “the YouTube era is almost 20 years old. If you grew up with YouTube, what did you want to be when you grew up? A YouTuber.”


And corporations are taking notice, too. “I’ll bet that there’s already a creator in your company that you don’t know about,“ said Jim. So watch for the thirty-something-year-old in your office who’s already got a following. You’ve got a treasure. It reminds me a lot of desktop publishing in the early years when undiscovered talent with a penchant for good design usually sat a few desks away from you. 

 
 
 
Never on a Monday
 
Notified, the events provider, detailed the results of its 2022 Benchmark Report for Webinars and Virtual Events. The report analyzes its customer data and can be downloaded. Here are a few highlights.
 
For Webinars — Use Video
  • Wednesday and Thursday are the most popular days to host a webinar.
  • 77% of webinars include video compared to just 61% in 2019.
  • Live attendance for webinars is up approximately 66% in the last two years.

 

For Virtual Events — Keep it Short and Energetic

  • 78% of events are less than three days long.
  • Tuesday and Wednesday are the most popular days to run a virtual event.
  • 20 is the average number of speakers per event compared to just 6 in 2019.
  • The addition of gamification to virtual events increases attendee engagement. 
 
 
Resolutions for Digital Hoarders
 

As if real-world resolutions weren’t enough. Apparently, Americans have serious issues surrounding their digital hygiene. According to HighSpeedInternet.com, we don’t delete files we no longer use (only 52% of respondents delete emails). Nearly 1 in 4 Americans don’t clear their internet browser cache or cookies. Less than 24% of Americans change their passwords regularly and over a third of Americans rarely or never review active accounts or subscriptions. Shame on us, or not? Some of this seems dated in the era of cheap storage and secure password managers.

 
 
Moving Towards Spatial Events
 
One of our newest members, Nextech AR Solutions, pioneered 3D modeling and AR experiences, especially in the 3D e-commerce arena. Now, with its acquisition of Map D the two companies are combining technologies such as its 3D modeling, Holograms, and AR with wayfinding and spatial computing, to give event professionals and attendees new opportunities to minimize the friction of producing events whether they’re virtual, physical, or hybrid. By leveraging augmented reality and XR experiences, Map D is undergoing a transformation becoming a leading Event Technology Company and becoming an integral part of Nextech Event Solutions. Keep an eye on this new launch in events & experience market segment.
 
 
 
Bizbash’s David Adler is amplifying the message about the importance of spatial computing to the future of the events industry. “We're beginning to see a time where content is no longer king—rather, contact is the differentiator. Serendipity is the secret sauce that will be enhanced greatly by spatial computing“ he says. Live events have a long future, but there’s both top of the funnel and elongating the event experience that will fall more and more into digital realms.
 
 
Scuttlebutt
 
 
 

When All the Good TLDs are Taken
Have you noticed that you’re being forced to remember all sorts of strange domain names these days? That’s because every name possible with a .com (which is the most popular TLD or Top Level Domain) seems to have already been claimed. We kinda sorta got used to recognizing other popular TLDs by country (.fr or .de for example). And .org, .co and .net seem pretty familiar by now, too. The latest to become familiar is .ai, which is a way of highlighting the website’s roots in artificial intelligence. (Funny thing is that .ai was originally the country extension for the Antilles, but it’s been usurped.) But since the pandemic a huge number of gTLDs (generic TLDs) are becoming more commonly used. Some of my favs: .dating and .beer. Hostinger has a fun article that tells you more than you ever wanted to know about TLDs, and what happens when you go off on your merry way with a gTLD of your own. And if you’re fascinated with .unicorn and .pizza, read this amusing look at gTLDs.

 
 
 
 
UPCOMING
 
VEG Events
 
 
Adapting to the New Normal: Where the Jobs Are
January 26 | 3PM EST
 
See you on January 26th as we look at the shapeshifting workplace for events. RSVP today and let’s look at where the jobs are.
 
 
 
 
 
 
CES 2023
January 5-8 | Las Vegas
 

If you’ll be at CES drop me a line. We’re helping our CES friends arrange a number of the conference sessions and really looking forward to bringing surprise and delight.

 
 
 
 
 
 
A Virtual Love Fest
February 16 | 12PM EST
 
It’s never too early to start thinking about February. If you love events, you’ll love our romantic interlude with Room3D.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Robin Raskin | Founder
917.215.3160 | robin@virtualeventsgroup.org

Gigi Raskin | Sales/Marketing

917.608.7542 | gigi@virtualeventsgroup.org