ABCey’s #TechTuesday: Top 5 Smart Badges for Your Next Event!

#TechTuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world.  Technology is designed to make our lives easier, especially as event planners. With an innovative smart badge, you are able to make things much simpler for attendees, exhibitors, and yourself! Today’s #TechTuesday features a list of amazing smart badges we LOVE!

Why use smart badges?

Smart badges can simplify your event by promoting deeper networking connections between attendees, or by providing a simple method of sharing and exchanging contact information. They can also give event planners access to foot traffic and real-time analytics for their events. Exhibitors can benefit by easily sharing access to information to attendes, and can determine which guests are valuable prospects.

1. RFID Badges and LED Tech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JficYgaK8j8

With the addition of smart LED tech, you can enhance any attendee’s experience! Whether it’s a lanyard or a bracelet, it will come alive and you can decide when. You can choose to light it up at a specific moment, signal an upcoming segment, or set up to interact with sensors, too. You can see them in action in the Coldplay concert in 2016 featured above!

 

2. SmartTrac by Hubvents

Smart Badges – Traco by Hubvents

SmartTrac benefits all. For exhibitors, it notifies them when potential prospects enter their booths. How? With an analysis of attendees’ profiles and behavioral attributes! Moreover, attendees receive and event journey report that includes all their connections, booth visits, and more. Event planners can get an overview of foot traffic and interactions to see which attractions were most popular and for future improvement.

 

3. eventBit by Experient

EventBit has many features your guests will love! We’re all guilty of checking Yelp to look for recommendations.. EventBit can do that for you, but for booths you’d enjoy based on your preferences. In addition, it provides networking opportunities for attendees based on matching interests. Goodbye to awkward small talk! When the event is over, your guests can receive links to access information relevant to their event journeys.

 

4. Proxfinity

Unique features of Proxfinity are the options to brand the badge and to program a specific topic of interest! This will elicit conversations that sponsors and clients intended for the event. Event planners love that Proxfinity provides useful metrics! It includes meaningful interactions made per person, connections between demographics, topics that drive connections and conversations, and much more!

 

5. LiGo by Limefy

Smart Badges – Ligo by Limefy

Like eventBit, this badge signals to guests when someone with mutual interests are in close proximity with flashing lights. Now your guests can spend more time engaging in meaningful connections! Guests are able to easily exchange contact information with each other with a personalized timeline. Additionally, attendees are able to access exhibitor and fellow attendee portals with a messaging platform available if they want to contact them!

 

Will you use smart badges?

 

We love smart badges, and we hope now you do too! Are there any that we missed? Will you be using any of our smart badges at your event? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter! If you’d like to see our past #TechTuesday blogs, click here.


ABCey’s Startup Monday: Modsy

Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that showcases some of the best and most innovative startups based in the San Francisco Bay Area! These are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past. This week, the spotlight’s on Modsy – the company who wants to revolutionize the way we decorate our homes!

What is Modsy?

Modsy

Founded in 2015, Modsy was designed to tackle a common problem: how will you know if the furniture you buy looks good in your house? If you’ve ever furnished or redecorated a house, you know it is a huge feat and involves tons of guesswork. Modsy wanted to make home design fun and easy to cut down all the trips to the furniture store. How? By letting their customers “try on” furniture!

How it worksHow it works

If you’ve ever played The Sims, you’re going to love this! First, you snap a couple pictures of your space and include the measurements, and Modsy will create a 3D model of your space. Then, their team will create a personalized room design based on your vision, budget, and layout needs. If you’re not the biggest fan of the furniture, not to fret! Here’s where your personal touch comes in: you are able to swap out furniture to your liking. If you are head-over-heels in love with the customized design, you can also buy the furniture directly from the layout! There goes the trips to the furniture store out the window!

Why we love Modsy

Why we love Modsy

We love Modsy because decorating our homes used to be a process that entails nail-biting, stressful guesswork in the middle of a showroom! We can see how experts would design our space and also switch elements out for a personal touch! As event planners, we would love to to see if it could use it to design spaces for events! It could be a fun way to try out new designs.

Will you use Modsy? Have you worked with them before? We’d love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

If you’d like to see other San Francisco startups we’ve featured before, click here.

 


ABCey’s #TechTuesday: Make Event Planning Easier with Tech Tools!

#TechTuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. Today’s #TechTuesday features the 10 tech tools to make event planning easier!

1. Loopd

Make Event Planning Easier – Loopd

Loopd is a system that uses Bluetooth beacons placed around an event venue and chips guests wear around their neck to enable location-tracking for planners and guests. It keeps track of which exhibit booths and sessions attendees visit and also helps with networking! With one tap, guests are able to share contact information, so forget about shuffling around to pull out your phone! Additionally, guests can receive marketing materials and fliers from all the booths they visited via the Loopd app!

2. Hootsuite

Nowadays, every event planner turns to social media to promote their event, and we don’t blame them! It reaches large audiences and is extremely easy to use! The only downside is how many social media platforms are out there. With Hootsuite, you can manage all your social media platforms in one space, so you can close all your tabs!

3. Estimote

Make Event Planning Easier – Estimote

Ever wish the TV in front of you showed you exactly what you wanted to see? Estimote, with the help of Bluetooth beacons, can personalize content displayed on digital screens for guests! These beacons communicate with the smartphone in your pocket to show information based on your interests and buying habits. Now all your guests will have a custom experience and event planners won’t need to be concerned with irrelevant content!

 

4.  Eventbrite Organizer

Make Event Planning Easier – Eventbrite Organizer

Lines are a huge deterrent, especially check-in lines! Eventbrite Organizer helps cut the lines by allowing the user to scan tickets directly from their phone! Also, you are able to check real-time ticket sales and can even become a mobile box office!

 

5. SelfieSpott

Make Event Planning Easier – SelfieSpott

Instead of creating elaborate backdrops with only a small space for your event logo, event planners can design a graphic overlay with their event logo and some information on the back, if desired. SelfieSpott allows guests to receive their photos instantly and ready for social media by simply texting a number! Also, with their permission, planners can have access to the numbers for a follow-up!

 

6. Social Tables

Creating to-scale diagrams has never been easier, so put down those toothpicks and cut-out tables and pull out your computer! With the Social Tables software, you can adjust the placement of tables and also create a seating chart for your guests. You are able to customize every aspect of it to your liking, whether it be color, size, or label! It’ll make event planning easier by far!

 

7. Facial Recognition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3A9_XDirW4

Looking to amaze your guests and reduce check-in lines? Zenus has constructed a kiosk that will scan and display a guest’s badge upon their approach. If you prefer a less bulky option, their facial recognition software pairs with any device that possesses a camera, like an iPad! Check-in will be quick and your guests no longer have to waste precious time waiting to be checked in!

 

8. Slack

Make Event Planning Easier – Slack

If you find yourself switching between iMessage, Facebook Messenger, and other channels just to reach all your event staff, we recommend you try Slack! It’s a workplace messaging system that can help you keep all your communications in one channel. Also, you can create groups within the chat to help you keep organized!

 

9. Speecheo

Make Event Planning Easier – Speecheo

Ditch the pen and paper! Speecheo allows all your guests to take notes while simultaneously providing feedback to the speaker! Planners and speakers can see the most popular part of the presentation, and the audience can create bookmarks and record audio to later share on social media.

 

10. Dropbox

Make Event Planning Easier – Dropbox

Forget lugging around huge binders full of documents! Dropbox keeps all your necessary documents in one secure place. Access can also be shared among all your event staff to avoid losing printed copies and to be a little eco-friendly!

 

How will you make event planning easier?

 

We know that event planning can be extremely difficult and demanding. These tech tools are meant to help every planner be a little more organized and to make event planning easier! Are there any tech tools you use? Which ones did we miss? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!


ABCey’s #TechTuesday: Candy Mechanics

#TechTuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world.  In today’s #TechTuesday, we feature Candy Mechanics, a 3D scanning CNC Chocolate machine.

Candy Mechanics

Candy Mechanics 3D Printer

 

Who doesn’t love chocolate? Candy Mechanics has a created a hand-held portable 3D scanner, which is used to scan a persons head. After this is completed, the scan is created into a 3D model by using a ‘Candy Carve’ to sculpt the head out of chocolate in under 5 minutes! These chocolate treats are the ultimate addition to any event!

Candy Mechanics

These personalized and delicious chocolates are a fun gift that your guests will love! This new technology allows people to create their own face as a 3D chocolate Lolpop. Candy Mechanics also has customizable Candy Cards, which carves personalized letters onto chocolates. Candy Cards and Lolpops would make the perfect party favor for any occasion! Bring these fun chocolates to your next event with their Mobile Candy Card and make your event truly unique!

What do you think about Candy Mechanics? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter and Facebook!