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Recently I came across the latest, (4th) edition, of the Did You Know Youtube video series created by Xplane and The Economist. For those of you who aren’t familiar with these videos the original debuted 3 years ago as “Shift Happens” and addressed the exponential growth our world has made in recent years and will continue to make in the future. The video tackles things such as education, technology, language, and globalization, to name just a few. The latest edition has shifted the focus to social media and technology, their explosive growth, and their effects on the world. It is such a fitting update to this incredibly thought provoking series considering how big of a role social media and technology now play in not only our business plans, but our every day lives.
After watching this video, we at Imaste were inspired to take a look at how far we, and in turn the Virtual Tradeshow Industry itself, have come since our very first events. Progress has been driven by the need to create a smoother, more aesthetically pleasing, and thus better user experience. This is not surprising since customer satisfaction and engagement have become the driving force in most, if not all technological advances. However, in no way, shape or form does this diminish the great strides that have been made.
Originally, attending a Virtual Tradeshow was more comparable to going on a website to swap industry information (Submit your resume and learn about different career opportunities, for example). The graphics resembled cartoons more than real structures or people, and the transitions between booths weren’t very fluid. This created more of a feeling of surfing the web, rather than attending a live event from your computer. In the last few years this has all transformed into an engaging experience featuring customizable booths, a pre-recorded human “guide”, video conferences, video presentations, group or private chats, and improved realistic graphics, all easily navigated and eloquently transitioned in 3D.
Even more promising is what the future holds. With the rise of social media, you can expect to see the integration of platforms like Twitter and Facebook into these events, which will allow for real time tweets and/or sharing of your findings/activities as you navigate the event. The quality of video presentations will continue to improve as technological advances continues to be made, and Skype may be introduced to allow for one-on-one video chatting. And as always, more customisable options will continue to emerge, like being able to upload a staff member’s picture for your booth representative, for example. These are just a few things in the foreseeable future, so one can only imagine what attending a virtual event will be like in two more years.
Noting all the great advances that have been made so rapidly, the growing popularity of virtual events, and the changes that appear to be coming in the near future, I have to wonder: Will the fifth edition of Did You Know touch on Virtual Events?