Hybrid Happenings 

Look for more hybrid partnerships like this one out of the UK: Innside Manchester and Sterling Event Group, where a hotel group makes space onsite for a virtual production company. 

Ahead by a Hop

In the tortoise/hare race to create the best virtual platform, the best events we're seeing these days happen on Hopin. But don't take our word for it. Hopin is planning a big day on February 3 -- kind of like Zoomtopia. With their new investment money, the company just bought StreamYard, which gives them a watch-where-you-like, live-streaming edge on the competition. Expect lots of tips, new product launches and the best practices. You can sign up for free attendance. Go Johnny, go. 

Tools You Can Use

Quarantine has left us all with way too much time to take surveys, so add survey fatigue to the list. Typeform lets you create really slick, really fast surveys. And because they look so good, people will be more likely to answer. Typeform's sister product, Videoform, lets you put a human face on surveys. Try them for free. You'll be a Nate Silver in no time.

Also, try Restream. We"ll be using it for our upcoming Zoom meetup to attempt the Houdini-like feat of broadcasting live to LinkedIn and Facebook Live. If you want to be part of the maiden launch, just RSVP. 

Go or No-Go

Risk tolerance, backup plans, and hedging your bets. That's the name of the 2021 game. The IMEX Group is a no-go for their large Frankfurt Show scheduled to take place at the end of May. (Poor things. This is the second year in a row that they've had to cancel.). But The Cannes Film Festival, on the other hand, is going live at the end of May (at least for the moment, and yes, in Cannes, France). Sometimes I think "stars" believe they operate under a separate set of rules... but wait, late-breaking news is that they may push to June or July.

Language Watch

A hybrid? A real-life event? A digital event? What do you call 'em? We're struggling to create a new events-world language. Co-opted from Jim Louderback at Vidcon, we're trying out IRL vs. URL to see how it rolls off the tongue.

Next question. What do you think a hybrid event should look like? Small meeting rooms IRL and vast crowds in URL? Same programming live and online? Special VIP programming to justify the cost of travel and tickets for IRL. We'll be discussing these variations on a theme in our upcoming sessions. Reach out to us to let us know your take, and if you need a brain starter, try Mixly's highly readable handbook on hybrids.

People Watch

Alfred Poor, one of our Advisory Board Members, shares his "must know" knowledge about virtual events. And Jim Louderback, another VEG advisor and our first speaker at VEG events, shares his take on virtual engagement with the editors of BizBash. 

The Arts of the Event

If you think your events are tough to coordinate, watch Tyshawn Sorey and Alarm Will Sound on building this remote composition in a series called the Video Chat Variations. The cues alone would kill us. 

Then you've got to visit with Reah Kim (her name means Child of Tomorrow in Korean). She's 23 years old, an influencer, and a completely digital fabrication from LG. I'm sure she's available to host. 

As you all know, websites are unlike magazines in that they have no "must launch by" date. So they tend to get over-fiddled. But we're ready to get this baby out in front of you. We'll start with platform and tool reviews. Ultimately we want it to be your one-stop-shop from everything from ring lights to mentalists. (Promise the Lorem ipsum will be gone!)