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Though event technology has now been around for a while, newer and newer advancements in the field keep fascinating event profs across the world. The newer technology that is coming up is filled with capabilities of further enhancing attendee-experience and is making the job of event organisers easier by providing a quicker and more efficient virtual alternative for simpler manual jobs.
Every year, we are finding event technology that is way more immersive and profitable. With the technology industry at its peak, 2018 has also seen a lot of updates in event tech trends that have gained widespread acceptance and are expected to last and grow further in the coming years. Here are some of these trends that are literally ruling event tech world this year.
1. A.I. for everything!
Artificial intelligence has been the talk of the town for quite a while now and trust me, it is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Apart from the simpler applications, A.I. is now used for much more complex tasks, making the lives of event profs easier.
A.I. is being used to analyse the event data collected by the event website, event app, etc. This analysis, in turn, is helping event organizers understand their audience better and make smarter and more profitable decisions.
2. Facial Recognition
While smartphones have already started making good use of facial recognition for security, event tech is also following suit now.
The latest technology helps event organizers make use of facial recognition-based check-ins. This allows for better event security with smarter and difficult to hack protocols at the event venue.
Not just facial recognition but the similar technology for collecting information about the facial expressions, body language, etc. of the attendees are also being developed. This will allow organizers to collect more intricate and useful data about the attendees that couldn’t be accessed earlier along-with predicting user behaviour.
3. Event gamification
Though this event tech trend has been popular since the second half of 2017, it has started gaining widespread acceptance and become more efficient just this year.
The emergence of gamified booths at event venues is not only helping audience engagement but is also useful for attendee networking.
Such trends are an evidence of how far ahead we have moved from the conventional modes of attendee engagement and networking.
4. Attendee participation
Conventional events have allowed attendees to be active participants only when they pick up a microphone and ask a question.
But with event tech on the rise, now there are a lot of ways in which attendees can actually get involved in the undertakings of the event.
Mobile apps for events like Tap to Speak, Speecho, etc. are allowing attendees to actively communicate with fellow attendees, organizers, speakers, etc. in a way more convenient way.
5. Proximity sensors
The tech world has been seeing proximity sensors for quite a while now. But its appropriate utilisation in the event industry has literally just begun.
Proximity sensors help attendees to network much better by helping them identify the people around them and giving them some relevant information about their professional lives.
When paired with applications like Moveshake that helps attendees share their virtual business cards on the go, proximity sensors can literally change the way event networking has been taking place.
6. Blockchain technology
Sounds familiar? Yes. This is the same technology used for cryptocurrency like Bitcoins. After astonishing the world, this technology is also entering the event world.
Its introduction to events means that attendees will now be able to actually purchase event tickets using their cryptocurrency like bitcoins.
This will not only help them make an additional use of their Bitcoins but also make the registration process securer, easier and more transparent so as to avoid all sorts of fraudulent activities.
7. NFC (Near Field Communication)
The same technology that enables you to perform wireless or contactless payments or establish a wireless connection with another device is now becoming a part of event technology as well.
Use of NFC in events can facilitate the check-in system where users can simply use their smartphone devices to establish their identity without the fuss of any other equipment.
Another application of NFC popular in the events industry is using it for making payments at every single place in the event, be it event ticketing or food counters, merchandise counters, etc.
8. Social Media Walls
Today, social media is virtually the biggest marketing platform that exists. No matter which industry you belong to, social media is ‘the must’ option that you should use for marketing.
Now, what if you could not just use this power of social media for event marketing but also make it an interactive element in your event boosting your attendee engagement?
That is what a social media wall could do for you. I mean, imagine the Twitter wall of your event hashtag being projected on a life-size screen. That is what the tech trend of social media walls is all about.
9. Wearable technology
Wearable technology officially entered the world of event tech a year ago and it was not all about Google glasses.
This year, however, the event profs are taking it a step further to make events better. We have the technology of smart badges that help attendees to check-in effortlessly or even share their contact information with others.
You can even make your event more interesting by investing in some smart fabrics or even illuminated clothes.
10. Event wayfinding
How many times have you seen at events that the attendees are baffling around unable to find their way in large venues and the limited number of organizers are trying their best to help them around?
Ideally, with technology like GPS existing in the world, this should be the last problem faced. That is what event profs thought of as well and came up with event wayfinding technology.
This technology is usually integrated with event apps. With the help of this, the attendees can find their exact ways to the location as well as get details about the various events going on.
Want to know how Hubilo’s event technology solution can help you transform your next event? Know more about it here.
Hiteshree Dudani is an event tech enthusiast who has successfully organised many eminent events. The list includes charity events, youth fests, seminars, workshops and a lot more. She is currently associated with the event technology company Hubilo. She works for the company's blog which has a wide range of useful content for event planners, event techies and event marketers.
