LinkedIn Debuts New Event Networking Tool + 5 Other Tech Stories Planners Should Read

LinkedIn Debuts New Event Networking Tool + 5 Other Tech Stories Planners Should Read

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In this month’s highlights of top event tech stories, we take a look at LinkedIn’s newly announced networking tool and what kind of impact it will have on our industry.  We also have a cool new wearable device that promises to accurately predict an attendee’s attention and emotional engagement around an event.  We look at new technology that bring 3D holograms to live events and a whole set of new transcribing and conference call tools that are ideal for today’s busy event planner.

Have a look at the top event tech stories you don’t want to miss:

Event MB: LinkedIn Debuts New Event Networking Tool

LinkedIn this month announced the launch of its Events feature, which will allow people to plan, announce and invite others to in-person networking events. The tool, which appears as a menu item in LinkedIn’s website and mobile app, is free to use but is still relatively limited.  You can create an announcement and invite first-person contacts, for example, but you have no way to promote your event beyond your own organic reach on the platform.  You can’t create any ticketing or set limitations on attendance numbers, but you can include links to registration sites.  Have a play and let us know what you think.  Read more.

Tech Crunch: Google’s New Voice Recorder App Transcribes in Real-Time

Google has introduced a new voice recorder app for Android devices, which will tap into speech processing, speech recognition and AI to automatically transcribe recordings in real-time as the person is speaking. The improvements will allow organisers to take better advantage of their phone’s voice recording functionality, as it will be able to turn the recordings into text even when there’s no internet connectivity. So you can use your phone while in airplane mode and still have accurate recordings.

The app also offers an advanced search functionality where you’ll be able to search for sounds, words or phrases. In the search results, every instance the search term is spoken, it is highlighted in the playback bar so you can tap to go right to the part of the recording you need. Currently available in English, Google has said the app will be made available in other languages in the future. Read more.

New eBook: 10 Business Reasons Organisations Invest in Event Management Software

Skift: Why is Wi-Fi at Events Still So Bad?

Sluggish internet speeds, a network that suddenly cuts out, and odd corners of the room that somehow have adequate service as long as you hold your phone at a specific angle. These are the problems that nearly every conference attendee has faced at least once, especially at a large event. In fact, providing good Wi-Fi is one of the top challenges meeting planners face, with over half reporting ongoing issues with it, according to a recent report by EventMB.

This article from Skift does a great job of explaining the common mistakes planners make when organising Wi-Fi around their events.  For example, assuming that a network designed for a handful of people can accommodate the thousands that are actually coming to the event.  Instead of asking venue providers, ‘Do you have Wi-Fi?’ and then just checking the box and moving on, organisers should ask a number of important follow up questions.  Is it suitable?  Is it fast enough for the needs of my guests?  Is it built for capacity?  Are there wired connections?  Is there someone on-site to support it? The article also gives some useful tips on managing your guests’ Wi-Fi expectations.  Read more.

Related article: Top 8 Wi-Fi Considerations for Event Planners

MeetingsNet: New Wearable Sensor Measures Meeting Engagement

The challenge with event engagement is that it’s really, really tough to measure.  Event planners look at session attendance, session polling, social media buzz, post-event surveys and so on.  But understanding the impact that certain ideas, speakers or live-event environment have on attendees has always been a bit of an inexact science.  Until now.

Immersion Neuroscience has rolled out new wearable technology that measures immersion in live experiences and video content. A small monitor straps onto an attendee’s forearm to track ‘signals coming from the nervous system’ in order to ‘accurately predict attention and emotional engagement’ and therefore what they remember and act on.  The information is tracked passively and anonymously and fed to a web-based platform for analysis in real-time.  In terms of applications, organisers can use the tech to test an audience’s reaction to speakers’ content, understand which parts of a presentation the audience is most immersed in and identify physical spaces – networking locations or elements of the exhibit floor – where attendees are most engaged.  Read more.

Venture Beat: Zoom Rolls Out AI-Powered Transcripts, Note-Taking and More

As a busy event planner, you know how frustrating it can be when organising conference calls and webinars.  Conference solution company, Zoom, however, has just announced a whole set of new features that make things easier.  Attendees can now take notes directly in the Zoom interface or use live transcription for voice note taking. Also, meeting hosts can now bring their own interpreter with a mutli-channel audio experience that mixes the original and interpreter audio, enabling listeners to understand the interpreter while hearing the original speaker’s tone.

In Zoom Rooms, there are new capabilities for mixed reality virtual backgrounds and support for videos and Microsoft PowerPoint files (which joins existing JPEG support). A new people counter leverages facial recognition to detect how many people are in a room. Additionally, users can now see and book spaces ad hoc on scheduled displays through an availability map of nearby rooms.  Read more.

TSNN: Holographic 3D Comes to Events

Event tech provider, Production Resource Group and 3D Live, creator of 3D holographic LED display technology, have formed an exclusive partnership to provide 3D LED technology to live concerts, corporate events and e-sports clients.

From a content perspective, the technology allows event speakers to interact with holographic media, swiping floating images and data around themselves and the environment in real-time. The technology can also be used to showcase immersive media related to a brand story or conference topic.  It’s interesting for organisers because it makes 3D content a lot more viable.  The article cites that with the advanced media production tools available in the market today, 3D content can easily be developed these days at a comparable cost to that of 2D visuals or repurposed from VR content.  Read more.


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