#TECHTUESDAY: SKIDDLE- Weekend’s Matter

#TechTuesday 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!

“A small fish in a big pond” is how any person can feel living in a large city, especially San Francisco! The “Things to do” lists extends for miles, but still some remain unaware of the events and excitement occurring a few steps from their door. Skiddle recognized this detachment and brought a resolution with their Weekends Matter app! Before we even go into the deets, this event library includes more than 100,000 events at any given time! Combining that stealthy number with the additional features, it’s no question why this app is featured on this week’s #TechTuesday!

It’s a Friday night and there’s nothing to do- until you open up your Skiddle app and find all of the events occurring within your location! Events range from anything as large as a music festival to something as simple as an art exhibit. The beauty of this app is that it identifies with all interests, which is why it has such an extensive gallery. Don’t feel like scrolling through an entire archive? That’s okay! You can search events by date, location, category, what’s trending, and even Skiddle’s recommendations!

Every once in awhile there’s an event that’s so good it requires you to pack your things for a few days and explore a new territory! However, planning the housing and transportation can be a little strenuous especially when it’s a group. If you’re looking for simplicity, Skiddle has a search feature to scope out the nearest hotels to your event venue. Still confused on how you’ll get to the actual event? If you’re looking for a lift, Skiddle is integrated with the Uber app (first ride is free for the newbies!) or if you’re within walking distance and choose to sightsee it offers directions to your event location!

Looking for some new music to listen to? This app has access to music clips via Spotify to give you a taste of an artist before purchasing any tickets! Once you find your new favorite artist, you can track them and receive alerts when new events are announced. When your event is finally available and you’re ready to purchase tickets, don’t worry! There are no booking fees with this app and ticket delivery is instantaneous!

Why we love Skiddle Weekend’s Matter: Learning new things is what keeps us young! This progressive app introduces users to a range of events that extends beyond their regular “going out” vocabulary. Discovering new music is as easy as a click, which can inevitably lead to a random night on the town to experience something different! It’s exciting to see how many avenues and options are literally at the tip of our fingers, and how simplistic it’s been made for our convenience. This database was made for enjoyment and that statement is clear with the ease of it’s accessibility!

So, where are you headed next? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: WanderList, A Digital Travel Guide

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! This week we want to introduce you to WanderList, a digital travel guide that provides you with a hand-curated list of things to do in your current city!

WanderList is a digital travel guide which provides recommended restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and hotels around San Francisco with future plans to launch in other cities. This San Francisco startup was inspired by the more than 40 countries its team has explored.

WanderList’s main selling point is that travelers don’t have to lug heavy travel books around when they’re exploring different cities. Instead, they just check in on their phone to see where the best places around them are located. Since the content is frequently updated, globetrotters will always be given the most up-to-date information and be more informed about their traveling decisions.

Why We Love WanderList: Aside from being FREE, WanderList shows us where to go – places only locals know about – and tells us why that particular location is so cool. As event planners, we’re always looking to discover new venues and vendors, which is made so much easier by WanderList who finds us the best of the best. Since we use our phones everyday to call Ubers and post selfies to Instagram, why not discover favorite spots on your phone as well. Exploring cities was never easier!

What city would you want to explore with WanderList? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: Capay Valley Farm Shop

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 ability to think outside the box!

Whether they’re on your way home from work or as part of your weekend morning routine, farmers’ markets are one the favorite food stops for Bay Area locals. Capay Valley Farm Shop is the up and coming provider of farm fresh goods, but they take it to the next stop by bringing it to your door!

Capay Valley Farm Shop offers a rare opportunity for families and institutions to buy 100% local, season food, directly from 40 small, family farms throughout the Capay Valley.

Check out their website and raid the farm shop pantry, or order a biweekly bundle of fresh veggies, eggs, chicken and honey to your own doorstep. Every item for sale is locally, ethically and lovingly produced. Where else can you find small-town farmer’s market quality goods without having to leave your desk? Add in their homegrown jams, lotions and oils for a special treat in your next box.

Capay Valley is using technology to help us progress towards a healthier, more humane society while also making our lives easier. Demand for local and unprocessed food is on the rise, especially in the Bay Area, so they couldn’t ask for a better market! They are spreading the word with their e-newsletter which not only entices you to sign up for their farm fresh goodies, but also spices up your week with new recipes!

What do you think of this convenient healthy tech-savvy company? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: Maximizing Event ROI

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!

ROI applies to everything. From your events to your event management tech, being able to measure your return on investment is a vital element to your organizational success for both attendees & planners. If you are looking to increase your event ROI, one of the best places to start is with your technology! Here are our top 3 picks for the best apps & software to consider to help with this task!

1. iWaz.at: We all know the feeling. We enter a conference and realize we don’t know anything about anyone there. iWaz.at automatically generates detail-rich profiles for each and every attendee. It’s impossible to talk to everyone at a conference, so iWaz.at helps you discover things about attendees so that you can make the most of the event! Agendas, exhibitor profiles, event info, and branding can all be built to improve the conference experience. For organizers, raising audience engagement can mean increased attendance, greater positive referrals and a boost to your bottom line!

2.Pickevent: Pickevent is the world’s first professional events network that connects attendees, speakers, and event organizers. Started by Jose Bart in February, it ensures that you never end up at an event that doesn’t interest you. It helps you find events worth attending based on your personal interests. And the networking doesn’t stop once the event is over! You can review the speakers and event organizers to inform the community about what works and what doesn’t.

3. evvnt: For organizers, getting your event out there isn’t easy. There’s a veritable plethora of places that you can advertise with and listing each one can a time consuming & labor intensive process. Launched by Richard Green in April 2013, event does the legwork for you, distributing your event to a network of listing sites. They can add your event to as many as 90 sites & apps, from Eventbrite and Facebook to local listings exactly where you need them! Within 24 hours of listing each event, you will receive a full report, showing where your events are listed, how many people have seen them and how many clicks you’ve received…Talk about networking!

Will you be using any of these apps or software prior to attending or planning a conference or event?! Let us know which one you think seems most useful in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: A Lesson In Bright Lighting Trends

Event planners aim to pull your ideas together and create the perfect atmosphere. Event lighting can be a cost-effective and versatile solution when you are looking to transform your venue from drab to fab with rich beautiful color! In recent years, event lighting has advanced miles by utilizing wireless Light Emitting Diodes (LED). LED has been around for a long time but now, they are more affordable than ever thanks to efficient manufacturing technology. There are many options out there, but we have compiled highlights of some of the newest tech and trends in Lighting

1. LED lights: These are commonly used and are the backbone to event decor for up-lighting along the walls, or pinspotting buffets, spotlights, etc. Eco-Shift Power announced earlier this week its revolutionary highbay LED fixture, the most energy efficient LED fixture on the market with increased strength to powerfully light any area. These wireless lights are battery powered and remote controlled, removing the hassle of hidden wires or tripped-over tape trails. LED lights come in every color under the rainbow and can be combined to perfectly match event colors. These lights are also eco-friendly, which we always love!

2. Intelligent Lighting: This is the next step up from standard wall or overhead lighting and can make your event come to life by using the most up to date technology, moving heads and scanners. Movings heads are lights that have the ability to change colors and patters. They offer more movement in the head than scanners do, but scanners feature a moving mirror that can project patterns and colors through the room. Moving lights are great to match a beat or spark the audience’s interest.

3. Gobo’s: Another tech we have fun with at events utilizing gobos, a pattern cut out that fits over the light, and adds visual interest and depth to the lighting design because any image can be transformed into lighted wall art. Try plastic gobo’s, a welcome diversion from bank-breaking glass or steel gobos, previously the only material of gobo that allowed for a full spectrum of color.

4. RGB Lighting: We love what 3form is doing with RGB lighting technology. The company uses translucent materials to create color lighted walls and sections, which can be utilized to make subtle ambience or bright statements.

5. 3-D Projection Mapping: Last, and certainly not least (actually our favorite) is 3-d projection mapping, featured recently on CNN for spectacular video projections. Projection mapping uses a projector to map light onto ANY surface, instead of traditional uses that limit the images to a flat screen. This allows everyday images to turn into a 3-d display. In the event world, planners use this to showcase products, decorate and turn free space into an interactive, fascinating display!

ABCey utilized 3-d projection mapping at one of our most recent events, Guardians of the Galaxy for FireEye. It allowed us to project cyborgs onto mannequin bodies with different guests faces! It turned out really cool, and the attendees loved it! There are so many innovative applications of 3-d projection mapping, and it is sure to be a hit at any event!

Have you started using the newest lighting technologies at your events? What ideas do you have for projection mapping? Let us know what you think in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: 3 Apps to Engage Conference Goers

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 #eventprofs, we understand that one of the major goals of conference planning is attendee engagement! Whether it be before the conference begins, during the Q&A, or a post-event evaluation; we must continue to elevate the experience. We’ve found 3 great new apps that will help increase engagement for your conference throughout!

Before: Topi | During large conferences, it can be daunting to look around a convention center without knowing many individuals. At events, Topi is synced to include the individuals attending the conference and split people into different categories. Before the guests arrive on site, they will have access to the Topi app to identify the most relevant individuals attending. The app allows guests to expand networks and be better prepared to meet others!

During: Crowd Mics | Suddenly the long Q&A session at the end of a speaker session no longer seems as dreadful! Crowd Mics is an app that will turn a smartphone into a portable microphone that can be heard through a room’s sound system. It also has the ability for text commenting, for those individuals less willing to share. We love how Crowd Mics is engaging audiences and creating greater interaction between guests and speakers!

After: waggl | One tough issue we face as event planners is gaining feedback from conference attendees post event! This new app allows planners to pose a question to guests, who can then respond on mobile devices. Once an attendee anonymously responds to the question, they can vote on responses by other guests to the same question. As more votes are tallied to the question, a leaderboard is formed to show the top 5 responses to the initial question. This type of feedback will garner new insights for the future as guests are able to give responses in a fast and helpful manner!

How do you see these apps helping attendee engagement?! Let us know in the comments below, or on Facebook and Twitter.

Tech Tuesday: On Location Engagements

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!

Now a days, consumers expect on the spot information sent to their devices wherever and whenever. On Location Engagements is a location based content delivery system used for events. This device uses small beacons and low energy Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to communicate and connect with attendees’ smartphones. It works with iOS and Android and requires no hardware or QR scanners and doesn’t require attendees to know a code! They just need the app! All the planner needs to do is upload their floor plan and information to an online system and decide where to place the beacons.

Inside of each beacon could be different information such as maps, videos, surveys, or product information. Attendees can access the information through an app and view all material. When the attendees are in range of the beacon, the necessary information pops up on their devices. This sounds like a great way to involve attendees and get them the information right away!

After the event, event planners can receive analytics of the interactions per beacon including information on number of clicks and time and length of stay at each beacon.

Why We Love OLE:

It allows venues to come to life and makes the content enjoyable for attendees
It increases engagement with visitors! One of the biggest challenges during an event is getting your audience involved, and OLE specializes in engagement
It’s simple and intuitive! Attendees won’t have to spend hours figuring out how to access the information and its something they probably haven’t seen before!
It gives event planners analytics. Post evaluation of an event is extremely important and having an app to help with this process is great!

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

Tech Tuesday: Maptiv8

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!

In today’s events world, we are always looking for ways to engage event attendees. Maptiv8, founded by Seth Familian of Familian&1, is a new private directory visualization platform for students, alumni, event attendees, and supporters.

The Map Admin sets branding and adds the member list, which enables you to visualize the list in an appealing and simple way. Maptiv8 will then invite members via email, and reveal affinities within the community. Once members sign in with Facebook, LinkedIn, or email, the map will automatically take shape! This ignites connections and actions among the Map members.

Some of Maptiv8’s powerful features are an easy 30-second profile setup, activity feeds and profile notes, up to three custom affinity groups which can be based off of cities, industries, or companies, campaigns and events, and volunteer tools to drive engagement.

What’s great about this platform is there are three different options that can be used based on the type of groups you are involved with. GradMap is designed for students, alumni, faculty and staff. OrgMap is for members and supporters of both non-profits and for-profits. RSVPeeps is for attendees of events and conferences to utilize, which will enable event networking!

The pricing is straightforward and aligned with the number of Map members. Mini is used for up to 100 members, Midsize is up to 500 members, and Mega is up to 5,000 members. We love Maptiv8 because it has so much versatility and adheres to audiences made up of different groups and sizes!

Would you use Maptiv8 to engage your attendees?! Which features do you like best? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: 5 Event Startups to Engage your Audience

The world of technology is constantly changing and is adding value to the event industry! Here at ABCey, we love to keep up on current startups and trends that can enhance the event experience for attendees. We did some digging to find 5 event startups that will engage your audience and make them active participants throughout your event.

1. Postano: Put your attendees in the spotlight and make them feel like social media rockstars through this unique platform! Bring your conversation to life at your next event by showcasing your attendees’ social content, tweets and Instagrams on social media displays. Attendees can actively participate rather than simply listen and this will enrich their experience and create visibility for your event.

2. Catchbox: The world’s first throwable microphone was created for audience engagement. It is a great way to get participants talking! Catchbox lowers the barrier for people to comment and present questions. The box comes in different bright colors and is easy to throw or pass from one audience member to the next, making participation easy and fun!

3. PowerVote: Maximize the value of your event by engaging your audience, encouraging your participants, and encouraging their feedback. If you want your to gather information about your audience’s opinion, PowerVote can instantly display voting results in an graphical format. Presentations can be directly streamed to the audience’s mobile devices and people can vote or provide feedback in the moment.

4. Sopreso: Through this unique platform, your audience can ask, comment, and like your presentation live. Once you develop a presentation and run Sopreso on your laptop, the audience can connect to the presentation with their smart devices. Additionally, this platform extends the lifetime of your presentation! You can easily follow up on your leads, answer all questions, and keep the community alive.

5. TweetWall Pro: A TweetWall offers a great opportunity to interact with audiences. Rather than asking a few audience members questions, inspire all attendees to share their thoughts. People can ask questions on Twitter and get live responses. Interesting topics can quietly be discussed, and interaction is highly encouraged. Onlookers of TweetWalls find it difficult not to participate, inspiring engagement from all viewers. Post event reports allow you to follow up with attendees directly!

With so many advances in technology, passive audience participation is coming to an end. We love each of these startups, and Postano really stands out to us because you can see what people are saying about your event and what popular topics of interest are, as well as create visibility for your event! Which of these unique event startups would you use to engage your audience members? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!