We love to rename things that already have perfectly good names just to show that we’re keeping fresh. And so it goes with the word “event.” It is so passé. Call it a journey, a 360-degree adventure, a community, an experience—just not an event. Events have defined beginnings and endings but new times demand a much more circular approach. 

Now that we’re getting a bit of clarity on 2022’s event season, here’s what we know:

1. We’re heavy into reconstruction. Born of the pandemic, new events will look more like journeys with a pre-event, event and post-event that will keep the long tail of the event alive long after the lights go off.

2. Digital tools will create opportunities for monetizing new inventory (like a live-streaming stage) to personalize your attendees path through the event, based on data.

3. Social tokens—digital assets that you collect for your experiences—will become the in-show currency in much the same way that in-game currencies work.

4. Tech-stack integration is going to give us all a giant migraine, forcing all event creators to not just evaluate single tools or platforms but also how well they integrate with each other.

5. Watch for more mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships to remove the integration pain for users.

We’re going to be rolling up our sleeves this fall and dicing up the VEGgies. We want you to be involved. On our community board you’ll see a schedule for small group meetings that tackle specific topics. The idea is to share information, make connections, and find new ways to do business. We’ve identified the following areas and would love to hear which ones interest you. These smaller groups will let us dive into the weeds, and get the hard work of digital transformation done.

Focus Group Areas

• Metaverse and Web 3.0

• Cool Tools for Better Meetings

• Platforms and Tech Stack

• Data and Standards

• Community Building 

Just one month away, Consensus is the largest event devoted to exploring the full ecosystem of blockchain and crypto. Normally it’s held in NYC but this year it’s moving to Austin (a more decentralized place, says Brad Spies, Managing Director of Consensus, the event’s creator). 

You can check out the program and ambitious agenda but here’s the secret sauce. When you buy your ticket to the event you’ll also be invited to open a digital wallet that you can fill with DESK, the event’s unique social token. DESK is not a financial asset. It’s an engagement asset. The more things you do at the conference—attend a session, visit an exhibitor, head to the networking lounge—the more DESK tokens you collect. They’re redeemable for everything from merchandise to free food and drink. The more you participate, the more you earn. Exhibitors will be given DESK tokens as part of their exhibition package so they can kickstart their own activations. Consensus will have armies of folks helping people onboard and they are committed to making this social experiment in engaging events a win for all. Best of all, it’s a feedback loop for the Consensus team to understand who’s attracted to what. CoinDesk gets my vote for next-gen event execution.

Image credit: CoinDesk
The Consensus event will be built around a social token called DESK
that lets you earn and redeem tokens for engaging at the event.