Soon after founding Meetaway three years ago, Scott Barnett conducted research for how his platform could work best for conferences. All it took was one question, asked pre-COVID: What is your favorite part of an event? About 90% of respondents cited one-on-one hallway meetings — impromptu or pre-planned.

“There’s something magical about that one-on-one conversation,” said Barnett, who has built his product to “take that magic moment and run an entire networking session around that.”

There is more than one way to run a virtual event. Likewise, there are significant different objectives. Finding the right technological partner is crucial to securing the desired outcome. Here, we look at how two vastly different organizations — Connect and The Mars Society —have much to be proud of despite their paths. 

Hareesh Achi, president of advertising at NexTech AR, most recently was president and global operational lead for advertising for a decade at Microsoft. But it’s another well-known company — Netflix — that he points to when discussing the future of virtual events.

Marriott International turned event planners into willing lab rats this January at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center outside of Denver.

You have about six minutes to read this article before your attention may wane, according Ben Hindman, CEO and founder of the event marking platform Splash. It’s not personal, but the reality is that digital content needs to be cut into shorter time periods to remain effective.

Good luck trying to have a conversation about events in 2021 without using the word “hybrid.” The consensus is that a vast majority of conferences, conventions and trade shows will incorporate a virtual element when returning face-to-face, most convening in-person for the first time since 2019. Dig beyond that general thought process, though, and the specifics are a bit hazy. “There’s a reason you’re hearing about those generalities,” said Alon Alroy, co-founder, CMO and CCO of Bizzabo.

International travelers are used to presenting passports to enter foreign countries. Event attendees may very well have a similar requirement going forward — one tracking health status.

The motion picture was created in 1892, and arguably perfected by the time of Charlie Chaplin. Yet, event companies still trip over themselves trying to produce and distribute video.

Monique Elwell, president and COO of Storyvine, a guided video technology platform whose clients include IBM, has seen her fair share of cringe-worthy mistakes. Often, she says, these miscues stem from overthinking the process.

Designed to inspire and educate event professionals to produce exceptional virtual and hybrid events, the Virtual Events Institute works to serve the global events community by providing education, knowledge, innovation and best practice to ensure digital event excellence. In an effort to help further that mission, VEI has been busy forming partnerships with industry-leading companies to prepare both contract and full-time event workers with the versatile skill sets that these specialized events demand. Take a look:

When General Motors rolled out its new electric battery capabilities at CES last month, the car advancement was only part of the story. The presentation, viewed by thousands at the entirely virtual trade show, was a case study for how the world will consume information in the future.