The ugly truth is this: 

1. On-site events are going to have some hefty costs associated with contactless check-ins, general hygiene and safety and providing strong internet connections to beam their shows out.

2. Virtual events have upped their game pretty quickly to the point that if you don’t open with a dance review, shell out tons of prizes and offer top name speakers, you’re not going to garner the same audiences as those who do. 

3. Somebody is going to need to pick up these costs, companies are going to need to think about monetization very differently.

4. Meanwhile, pity the poor C-Suite execs trying to wrap their arms around how to plan for the remainder of this year. As variants of COVID are on the rise and the schism between the vaccinated and unvaccinated endures, the C-Suite execs need a hug (or at least a nod if they’re not into hugs just yet).

• Did you hear the one about Facebook? It’s doling out 1 billion dollars to shore up its creator marketplace. The response from the Facebook audience is reminiscent of the goldrush. Counting their gold before they know the rules. But Facebook is super-late to the party with TikTok, Instagram (which Facebook owns), Substack, Looped, Discord already creating vibrant creator communities. 
• Malcolm Gladwell is one of Facebook’s hired guns with a multi-year contract to produce a newsletter on the company’s Bulletin newsletter area.  Thus far, he hasn’t exactly been prolific. 
• Roblox matters and they know it. Read the marketers guide on how brands need to understand and set up shop in the game creation universe. 
• Need a good summer tech read?  Here are my suggestions.

Last chance to sign up for this week’s fabulous event. If you want to know why Cisco, with its deep pockets, chose Socio as its platform partner you can hear it directly from Socio CEO Yarkin Sakucoglu (charm plays a part in it). And if you’ve never heard Denzil Rankine and Marco Giberti talk about their vision for events, this treat’s on us!