Start Up Monday: Double Dutch

Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past & would like to share with friends and followers of ABCey Events!

Today’s Startup Monday post features DoubleDutch, a company that specializes in data-driven mobile technology. They use engagement data from the mobile event app to ensure that each event is better than the previous one. Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District, DoubleDutch features applications for events, conferences, associations, and trade shows worldwide.

We love that this company has all our event essentials covered with their award winning data-driven event app. Having the event agenda, surveys, and attendee networking options all available on one application makes it super easy for us at ABCey to keep up to date with all the latest event logistics!

How it Works: DoubleDutch allows each client to design their app to look exactly how they like. They make it easy to fully customize the branding of the app and easily configure layout. With the mobile agenda option, event participants can access the up-to-date mobile guide at any time and easily create their own personalized agenda with a few simple taps of their mobile device. DoubleDutch can also facilitate both digital and in-person networking. Attendees can connect with others based on interests, professional titles, and more! And to keep attendees engaged and interested, DoubleDutch features a survey and poll option within the app to provide feedback.

Why We Love It: As event professionals, we know last minute content and schedule changes are inevitable. However with DoubleDutch’s content management system, our job becomes a lot less of a headache! Throughout the event, valuable information about attendees’ whereabouts, interests and sentiments is collected. The DoubleDutch CMS allows organizers to see this information in real time and make any necessary adjustments to the event. DoubleDutch also provides concise and specific event analytics so you can identify which sessions, speakers, and exhibitors are buzzing, and which ones need extra attention before it’s too late. Having all of this information and features included in one application makes DoubleDutch a company that we think will definitely have a positive impact on the event industry!

Will you be using DoubleDutch in the future for your next event ?! Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: Event Farm

Tech Tuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming technologies for their innovative ideas and impact on the event world!

As event professionals, we often face many registration challenges before, during, and post event! From creating the attendee list to sometimes mailing out invitations, a lot of work goes into pre-event planning. This is where Event Farm can help! Event Farm is an innovation focused company that offers a customized, online invitation, ticketing, guest registration, mobile check-in and digital activation platform designed to make planners more effective. They provide creative solutions to promote brands and engage targeted audiences making the event planners job way less hectic!

We know Eventbrite is the current main ticketing source for events, but Event Farm provides real time check-ins for guests allowing for additional guests on the fly and arrival alerts to keep event planners in the loop and up to date! We also love that Event Farm provides post event data to help us improve for the next event!

How it Works: Pre-Event | The first step with Event Farm happens before the event. This includes the customized invitations and ticketing sites. When planning an event your brand matters. The invitations are what guests see first so they better look great! Event Farm also allows planners to see a 360 view of the event, tracking realtime read-rates, RSVPs, and guest responses.

How it Works: During Event | During the actual event a planner has many things to worry about and keep track of. With Event Farm, the guest check-in is taken care of with their mobile app. No barcodes, no paper. Quick and effective!

How it Works : Post Event |Post event is all about gathering data. Event Farm provides planners with a multitude of data information on the event to help foster long term guest relationships and to improve on future events while measuring guest engagement.

Will you use Event Farm for registration at your next event? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

ABCey’s Weekend LineUp: 7.31.14- 8.03.14

We can’t believe it’s August already! The girls at ABCey want to share our top picks for this weekend to kick off the last summer month with a bang! From tech events to chocolate tours, we cover it all!

Featured Event: Eat Drink SF |Friday August 1st-Sunday August 3rd|Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason| We all know San Francisco has no shortage of amazing dining; from food trucks to high class gourmet dinners, this city has plenty to offer! So if you’re a food lover, Eat Drink SF is the event you have been waiting for! The Grand Tasting features over 200 of San Francisco’s finest restaurants, bars, distilleries, breweries and wineries. The weekend festivities also include classes, demonstrations, tastings, competitions and parties throughout the city. Taking place in Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason, bring along some friends and an empty stomach! Tickets are selling out quick so get them while you can! Prices start at $30+

1. Meet, Mingle and Mentor: Box Women in Tech Social| Thursday, July 31| 5:30-8:30 pm| Box HQ 4440 El Camino Real, Los Altos| This is a great opportunity for Bay Area tech women to meet other women in the industry, network with one another, learn more about Box’s Women in Tech group, and look for potential mentors and mentees. The event will include plenty of networking opportunities and delicious food and drinks. We love when women are highlighted and this looks a fantastic event to hear from some of the top women leaders in the tech industry.

2. Hustle Con | Friday, August 1st |Starting at 8:00am| The Brava Theater San Francisco |Hustle Con is a conference about learning the specific skills and tactics needed to start and grow your startup from successful founders. Learn from some of the founders of the hottest startups giving you specific advise to get it done yourself. If you want to learn real skills to grow your company and join a strong community of hustlers, then this event is for you. We love that this conference targets non-techies who think they need to know complicated coding in order to start a business! We agree with their motto, “You don’t have to know how to code to be an entrepreneur…you just have to know how to hustle.” Tickets range from $150-$350.

3. Urban Wine Xperience |Saturday, August 2nd|1:00 – 5:00 pm|Ferry Lawn at Jack London Square| Come over to the East Bay to experience over 20 urban wineries from the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance. There will be a wide array of white, rose, red and dessert wines for you to taste and enjoy. There will also be local eateries that will team up with the various wineries, creating yummy bites that pair beautifully with the EBVA’s wine portfolio. Tickets: $35 Wine Club Members , $45 Advance Tickets, $60 At the Door.

4. The Original San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour|Saturday, August 2nd| 2:00 pm| Embarcadero Plaza, 1 Market St San Francisco| Who doesn’t love chocolate? On this tour you will learn about what makes fine chocolate and sample from a wide array of San Francisco gourmet chocolate boutiques. You will learn about the history of chocolate, its health benefits, and all the latest trends. Everyone on the tour will receive a Chocolate Lover Card entitling you to discounts and VIP treatment at 10 different San Francisco chocolate boutiques! How awesome is that!? Ticket price is $53 per person.

5. Art and Soul |Saturday August 2nd-Sunday August 3rd|Noon to 6 pm|Downtown Oakland|Thousands are expected for the popular two-day event, now in its 14th year, packed with music, food, fun, dance and art in beautiful downtown Oakland. Blues, R&B, Soul, Funk, Gospel, Rock, Latin, Turf and Urban/World Dance will take place on four stages. Prices at the gate are $15 adults, $8 seniors (65+) & youth (13-17), 12 & under free.

Will you be attending any of these awesome events?! Let us know if we missed any in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

StartUp Monday: Hyperfair

Do you ever wish you could be in two places at once? We sure do! This week, ABCey would like to showcase San Francisco based Hyperfair, a startup with a platform for running online trade shows. This immersive 3D virtual expo & tradeshow experience dynamically revolutionizes the way we collaborate globally and allows everyone to attend or host an event from anywhere in the world!

How It Works: Select if your hosting or attending a virtual expo, trade show, conference, or a career fair. Once the event is set up, Hyperfair allows you to move your avatar around a three-dimensional space. There’s also features that include chatting with other attendees (either via text, Skype, or voice), browsing products, and exchanging business cards. What a unique and cool way to expand your networking skills!

Why We Love Hyperfair: This 3D experience recreates real world dynamics that would be found at a physical event by giving users fully customizable virtual avatars that facilitate lifelike interaction. Hyperfair also enables global audience participation with an event that anyone can attend just by logging into their computer! Imagine being able to attend an overseas trade show right at home on your couch! This is definitely a company we can’t wait to see grow and evolve!

Will you be checking out Hyperfair!? The idea of a virtual trade show isn’t new, but the practice hasn’t exactly taken off . Watch Hyperfair Video Here! Let us know what you think of Hyperfair via Twitter or Facebook, or leave us a comment below!

Tech Tuesday: Lightwave

Gathering data before, during, and after an event can be tricky but always necessary. Here at ABCey, we are constantly on the lookout for new technologies to help us gather event data in order to analyze attendee engagement. We recently came across Lightwave, a wearable technology that does just that!

How it Works: Lightwave is a smart wristband that measures movement, audio levels, temperature, and excitement of wearers. The data gathered allows performers & event organizers to gauge their audience’s interest in a scientific way and enables them to tailor their event accordingly. It aims to provide analytics for live events and artists with real-time data of how the audience is feeling and responding to the entertainment.

Why We Love Lightwave: This new type of experience data can shape the event environment so attendees can connect emotionally with the entertainment and each other. This technology can be applied to all types of live events: concerts, sporting events, conferences- pretty much anywhere where audiences want to feel connected to the live experience! It’s also great for event organizers and performers to have access to data & feedback from the audience to adjust and modify the live experience to make it more enjoyable for attendees! Plus it’s super cool and futuristic design draws attendees in and will be something they will be talking about long after the event ends!

Do you think this wearable device will work for your next event? Would you give it a try?! Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

Start Up Monday: Tint

Do you ever find it tough to keep your audiences alert and engaged at your event? At ABCey Events, we are always on the lookout for new ways to keep our attendees involved and interested. This new San Francisco based company Tint, is the solution we’ve all been searching for! Tint’s mission is to help organizations drive deeper relationships with their customers through social media.

How it Works: Tint helps company’s connect through any page, handle, hashtag, playlist, and/or tagged location from any social network. It also moderates which posts they wish to display in order to generate the best content possible. This software also has the capability to display the message on any website, mobile app, TV display, event wall, or jumbotron!

Why it’s Great For Events: Tint specializes in relationships with customers through social media. When an attendee uses a unique hashtag centered around the event, their tweet or Instagram photo will automatically stream into the event wall/TV screen. This can also be used if your event has a Q&A session! Request that attendees ask questions tagged with your event’s hashtag and use Tint to display a Q&A wall to allow speakers to address the questions. Another option is to use Tint to display pictures and information about your event in a creative and colorful way!

Tint can be used in so many different ways and can really help generate engagement and excitement with your attendees. We can’t wait to see how they grow and develop! Let us know what you think of this social media platform in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

ABCey’s Weekend Lineup: 6.26.14 – 6.29.14

Looking for a quiet and low-key weekend? Think again! It’s Pride Weekend in San Francisco and the city is buzzing with energy. From parades to parties, this one has a ton to offer. Take a peek at our Lineup for ABCey’s fave picks!

Featured Event: 2014 San Francisco Pride Festival |Saturday June 27th and Sunday June 28th |All Day| |Civic Center Plaza |Come experience the 44th annual San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade. The theme is “Color Our World with Pride”. With over 200 parade contingents, 300 exhibitors, and more than twenty community-run stages and venues, the San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade is the largest gathering of LGBT people and friends in the nation. From dance parties to fashion shows, there are a ton of Pride events going on this weekend including some of our favorites Pride on the Pier, Metamorphose, Candy Crush: Pride 2014, and Pink Saturday. We can’t wait to see the streets of San Francisco be filled with excitement and energy for this weekend!

1. Best of the Bay Area Party |Thurs. June 26th|Main Event 7-11 pm | City View at Metreon |San Francisco magazine’s Best of the Bay Area Party brings the July “Best of the Bay Area” issue to life with bites from 40 of San Francisco’s hottest restaurants, wines from 11 of the top wineries, and 12 open bars. There will be Six DJs and live music to get things going on the dance floor, and the night goes on at an exclusive after party. This is a great opportunity to experience all this city has to offer while enjoying views of the San Francisco skyline and indulging in delicious food and cocktails. We wish we were going to this event, but we cant wait to hear all the reviews and insider scoop! Tickets start at $100.

2. Pancakes and Booze Art Show | Fri. June 27th| 8:00 pm-2:00 am| 111 Minna Gallery | Do you love pancakes and art? Then this is the event for you! Come visit SF’s largest underground art show with over 100 emerging artists, live body painting, all you can eat pancake bar, and live music. What a cool and unique event to attend and who can say no to an all you can eat pancake bar?! Grab your fork and head over to Pancakes and Booze! $5 dollar cover.

3. Pink Mammoth Block Party | Sat. June 28th| 12pm-4 am| Mighty,119 Utah St| Pink Mammoth and Mighty present the biggest summer house music block party on the West Coast. In an effort to raise money for Pink Mammoth’s annual production at Burning Man as well as for breast cancer, all proceeds will be donated to these causes.The DJ lineup will feature 37 DJs spinning deep, funky, disco, dirty, and tech house sounds. Food will be provided by Me So Hungry food truck and Oceanic restaurant. There will also be full bars & beer trucks, and local designer vendors. We love a good dance party and this one sounds like a ton of fun! Grab some friends and head over to Pink Mammoth Block Party! Ticket prices rage from $20-55.

4. Treasure Island Flee Market | Sat. June 28th| 10:00 am-4:00 pm|Treasure Island| Looking for something unique to purchase this weekend? Held the last full weekend every month, The Treasure Island Flee Market is a unique outdoor market that offers great shopping with 400+ curated vendors like antiques & collectibles, vintage, indie designers, and artists plus lots of fun & games. Great place to spend a Saturday with the whole family! $3 general admission with kids under 12 free!

5. Passport to Healthy Skin Event: A Guide to Living Well From the Inside Out |Sat. June 28th| 12:00 pm-4:00 pm| Justin Herman Plaza |This daylong, free event will inform attendees how city living (both the elements and lifestyle habits) can make skin sensitive and what solutions will work best for your city skin. Each attendee will be given a Passport to Healthy Skin to experience the event’s four zones: food, fitness, wellness, and relaxation. Additional event activities include a healthy eats & detox tea garden, on site yoga, relaxation chair massages, and free samples of beauty products. Sign us up! This seems like a perfect way to pamper yourself on a Saturday! Who doesn’t love free beauty products? RSVP to attend!

Will you be attending any of these events this weekend? Which ones?! Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: 3 Technologies to Wow Attendees

Tech Tuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming companies for their innovative ideas and ability to think outside the box!

As event professionals, we are constantly looking for ways to be creative and offer attendees something unique and special during events. Here at ABCey, we have found three great event technologies to help capture attendee’s attention and increase engagement!

1. Beak Labs| During an event, it is expected to have visuals and pictures but with Beak Labs, the visuals become a story through design and technology using short film, smartphones, and tablets. They combine media and technology to create immersive and interactive digital art experiences for attendees. In addition to video installation, Beak Labs can create “Tweetlantis” and “Planet140”, large-scale digital backdrops showcasing social media during the event. What a cool way to impress your audience and create something they will remember!

2.Blippar | Hosting an event with some big brand name sponsors? Or, just looking for a new way to engage your attendees? Blippar is a free app enabling users to bring the world around them to life using the camera on their smartphone. The app scans and recognizes graphic images such as logos or ads and offers exclusive content and interactive opportunities including games, videos, and virtual photo booths! The content can be anything the brand or event host wants to share and can range from event calendars to a virtual photo frame that can be shared on social media. We love that this app has so many features that can really help create a memorable experience for your attendees.

3. CrowdSync | Ever wish you could see those pictures or video that the person next to you is taking? This app allows users to relive events by merging attendee’s pictures and videos at the same time and same place. When the user uploads their content, it will be matched to other content from the same event. This app is also a great way to connect and expand your network! Let your attendees know about this app and unlock some awesome post event footage.

Would you try any of this event tech for your next event? Let us know in the comments below, or on Facebook and Twitter.

Top 5 Gifts For The Techy Father!

With Father’s Day coming up this Sunday, the only question is – what do you get for the tech-savvy dad in your life? Even if he’s got all the basics covered, there are still plenty of gadgets out there to surprise him with! At ABCey Events, we did some brainstorming and came up with a list of high-tech gift ideas we think he’ll love. These could also be great additions to a gift bag for your next event!

1. Fitbit |$60 |For all those active dads out there, we suggest Fitbit. Named as one of the most wearable technology devices out there, Fitbit tracks steps taken, distance traveled, and calories burned. Fitbit even continuously syncs your stats to your computer and smartphone. This is a total time saver and can help dad keep up his healthy lifestyle!

2. Mophie Juice Pack | $79.95| This one is for the dad that are constantly on their iPhone. Whether it’s checking emails, FaceTiming, or just playing Candy Crush, his battery probably drains pretty fast. A Mophie Juice Pack almost doubles the length of the charge while guarding the smartphone from every-day wear and tear.

3. Piper| $239.00|The Piper is an all in one security system that helps you safeguard your home while you’re away. Piper is equipped with a motion detector, microphone, and a siren. It also has a 180 degree wide angle lens to view a whole room. The best part of the Piper is that it can send updates and notifications straight to your phone! Give your dad some peace of mind knowing his home and family are being safely watched.

4. The Brydge:Keyboard for the iPad| $99| This high quality aluminum keyboard and stereo speaker is great for all the dads that travel. The keyboard is linked via Bluetooth and makes the iPad more like a laptop in minutes! It also protects the display when closed and provides stereo speakers instead of the iPad’s monospeaker for a clearer, louder sound system.

5.Google Chromecast | $35|This thumb sized USB device plugs straight into the HDMI port of your television. Set it up with a simple app, then send your favorite shows, movies, music, and more to your TV using your smartphone, tablet or laptop. It supports Netflix, Youtube, Hulu Plus, and Chrome. So if your dad ever wants to watch NBA/NFL YouTube highlights on the big screen, this is the present for him!

Skip the ties and socks this year and get your dad a cool new tech gift! Which one would your dad love? Tell us in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

ABCey’s Weekend Lineup 6.5.14- 6.8.14

The summer kickoff parties are in full swing this weekend and here at ABCey Events, we can’t wait to attend some of these fun and exciting events in the Bay Area! As usual, there are plenty of events to choose from and this weekend we narrowed down some of our favorites including parties, fairs, and festivals!

Featured Event: DISTRIKT Revel Station| Saturday, June 7th|1:00 pm-10pm|16th Train Station Oakland|Head over just across the bridge to Oakland and attend DISTRIKT Revel Station. This event is a non-profit electronic music party and the only fundraiser in the Bay Area prior to Burning Man. The party will feature 4 areas of sound by DJ’s DISTRIKT, Dusty Rhino, Friends and Family, and Opulent Temple. Food and beverages will be offered and a cool new lounge area will be built making this year the biggest year DISTRIKT Revel Station has had! This sounds so fun and we can’t wait to see pictures and hear how this event goes! This event is 21 and over with $20 presale / $30 door.

1. Sunset Artisan Fair |Saturday June 7th|11:00 am-4:00pm|3635 Lawton St. San Francisco|The Artisan Fair is an annual event featuring handmade DIY(do it yourself) crafts by local artisans. These include jewelry, art, sewn goods, accessories, and more. Also included at the event are gourmet street food and deserts with live music! Every year 100% of the proceeds go to a charity organization. Sounds like a great way to spend a Saturday!

2.Basic Training Hayes Valley Launch Party |Saturday June 7th|12:00 pm-4:00 pm|432 Octavia St. San Francisco|Do you love to workout outdoors? Come attend the launch of The Basic Training fitness hub, an innovative outdoor workout space for public use in Hayes Valley. The free, pop-up fitness pod will transform a previously unused parking lot to a colorful, bright, multi-use space. The day kicks off with free Basic Training workout classes from 8 am until 12 noon at the top of every hour. Starting at noon, the party begins with free food, free drinks, music, and giveaways until 4 pm. So get sweaty with Basic Training’s day of fitness and fun!

3. Union Street Festival|Saturday, June 7th-June 8th|10:00 am-6:00 pm|Union Street to Gough to Steiner Street., San Francisco|Looking for a place to try new food, craft beer, and wine all while enjoying local art and community groups? Come visit the Union Street Festival this weekend. For the 2014 festival, the six blocks of the event will feature a unique collection of fashion, food, technology, crafts, and health and fitness booths. Grab a couple of friends and experience this long-standing San Francisco event.Free to attend but bring money for food and drinks!

4. Silent Frisco| Sunday, June 8th| 11:00 am| Ocean Beach San Francisco|Love to dance and listen to music? This San Francisco based event uses cutting edge technology to enable artistic expressions with headphones! Silent Frisco will provide more than 3,000 two channel festival optimized headphones for attendees. These headphones operate on two simultaneous long-range feeds providing the best audio. This enables attendees to enjoy the music while neighbors enjoy peace and quiet. Silent Frisco always tries to find places where concerts normally wouldn’t be and their mission is to get people under the stars, out in fields, or at this year’s venue, Ocean Beach! Silent Frisco is featuring 2 channels: Boys Vs. Girls. The two hour set will include: Kraak & Smaak • An a Sia• P um pkin• J *Labs• Motion Potion• LAURA Lisbona• DEEJAY THEORY• HOLLY RICH• DING DONG • KIMBA• Matt Haze. We can’t wait to see this event come to life!

5.California Dreaming- Poolside Party+ Fashion Show +Trunk Show |Sunday June 8th|12:00 pm-7:00 pm|The Hotel Phoenix 601 Eddy St. San Francisco|Come check out the best of the best in local San Francisco DJ’s and Designers while enjoying some poolside fun in the sun! The second annual party will feature eleven DJ’s and seventeen, with more to be announced, designers. This is a great chance to bring along some friends and support local talent! We love a good pool party and this one sounds like a ton of fun!

This weekend is guaranteed to be a great time with all these fun events. The girls at ABCey want to hear what you will be up to! Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter.