Skift Take

While everyone is looking to event technology to create better opportunities for attendee engagement, event organizers first need to free up the time and space in their programs for people to actually connect.

Skift’s Meetings Innovation Report is a weekly newsletter defining the future of meetings and events by deciphering strategies that drive engagement. Subscribe.

The Future of Meetings & Events

Christine Renaud is the founder of the E-180 event tech company in Montreal and the woman behind the rise of “Brain Dating” via event apps. She told me that her mobile technology is kind of like “Tinder for knowledge sharing.” To make a brain date, attendees search the event app to connect with people who are offering to share their expertise on a particular subject.

According to Renaud, event organizers need to open up more time in their agendas for attendees to start curating their own conference experience and education. There’s a big opportunity today for event participants to supply just as much industry insight as the event speakers, as long as the technology is there to facilitate that.

“We help [organizers] remove some of the static content on their schedule, which is very scary, because people feel when you remove content you remove value,” Renaud said. “Instead, we’re creating room and space so you can have an opportunity for a meaningful conversation.” Read the full story here.

— Greg Oates, Senior Editor

Social Quote of the Day

“How will the #sharingeconomy impact events? Sharing economy pioneers & industry leaders discuss this new reality: http://j.mp/2bx3TqP

@IMEX_Group on Twitter

Next Generation Event UX

Event Apps Take Cues from Tinder and Match.com to Engage Attendees: New event apps use matchmaking algorithms and dating app functionality to help conference attendees tap into the collective knowledge of the entire event community. Read more at Skift

Has The Event App Bubble Burst?: Smartphone app downloads worldwide are slowing down considerably. In an industry battling to raise app adoption and engagement levels, is this the beginning of the end for event mobile apps? Read more at Event Manager Blog

ILEA and VisitScotland Launch ‘Purple Paper’ Following Inaugural Global Event Summit: The International Live Events Association published a report highlighting the findings of the recent ILEA Global Event Summit 2016 in Scotland. According to the paper, the major prioirity shifts for event planners moving forward revolve around the rise of mobile technology and global security. Read more at Special Events

Music Festivals: Does It Matter Who’s Playing?: There are some intriguing alignments here with business events. With music so readily available online, the most popular music festivals are evolving by focusing more on the experience than the music. Read more at The Economist

Revealed: The Psychology of Social Sharing: According to this post, we share content on social media for different reasons, but it’s primarily because, “Those specific pieces of content create reactions within us, and we’re hoping for it to instill the same reaction in others.” Read more at Inbound Marketing

Cities & Spaces

Brazil Tourism President on the Aftermath of the Olympic Games in Rio: Few other Olympic Games in recent memory created as much controversy as Rio 2016, but all of the airport, hotel, and transportation upgrades bode well for continued tourism development over the long-term. Read more at Skift

19 Olympics Sponsor Experiences That Stood Out in Rio: Here’s a look at how brands such as Visa, P&G, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s developed experiential marketing zones to engage existing consumers and develop new ones. Read more at BizBash

Podcast: Behind the Scenes at Visa’s Olympic Activation: This podcast covers the future of wearable payment technology, how to engage over 2,000 guests with an activation, and the challenge of measuring experiential marketing. Listen at BizBash

The City As Innovation Machine: The key processes that motivate technical advance, economic growth, and human progress are the product of not just forward-looking individuals and leading-edge firms, but of cities and regions. Convention bureaus need to pay attention. Read more at Martin Prosperity Institute

The German City Stealing Berlin’s Cool Crown: Hamburg is going to be one of Europe’s hot new cities for meetings and events in 2017 due in part to the massive HafenCity innovation district developing along the old port. Read more at The Irish Times

Event Spotlight

Web Summit: Announcing our First 200 Exhibitors: Illustrating the rise of collaboration between tourism and economic development, Sweden, France, Berlin, Canada, and Oregon are bringing their clusters of tech startups and cultural innovators to Web Summit in Lisbon. Also check out the site’s comprehensive new video section. Read more at Web Summit

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The Skift Meetings Innovation Report is curated by Skift senior editor Greg Oates [[email protected]]. The newsletter is emailed every Wednesday.

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Tags: meetingsiq

Photo credit: Samsung recreated Olympic kayaking in virtual reality for visitors attending the Rio 2016 Games. Samsung

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