SOLVING FOR TECH
 
THE VIRTUAL EVENTS GROUP
 
Join us for a virtual turkey pardon and a heap of dessert and our November 20, 2020 VEG meeting. RSVP here.
 
 
 
 
 
NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF VIRTUAL EVENTS
 
 
We’re Not Going Anywhere Yet
Based on the rising numbers of COVID cases, it’s clear that live events (unless you’re thinking about New Zealand) are off the table. Optimists are looking at May for the reopening of live events, but we’re not so sure. But that’s alright. It gives us more time to hone our skills.
 
 
What Skills Have You Cultivated?
For me, it’s ironing. I hadn’t picked up my iron since the invention of spandex, but now it’s my go-to tool every time the green screen needs a touchup.
 
 
 

 
Hubbub Over Hublio?
 
It took Hublio just 20 days in January to pivot from being a live events company to a virtual one. A clean UX, an impressive response time adding features based on customer input, a focus on audience interaction and gamification, and a large live events rolodex in India appear to have caught the attention of investors.
 
 
Techcruch reports a $4.5 million seed round, led by Lightspeed. Hublio forecasts a $10 million+ bookings run rate and will host more than one million attendees over the next few months. Brands like the United Nations, Roche, Informa Markets, Tech In Asia, Fortune, and GITEX are using the platform. Read about Hublio’s lightning-paced pivot in Venturebeat.
 
 
Ka-Ching
Others that have received recent startup investments include HopIn, a London-based startup that raised a $40 million Series A led by IVP, Salesforce Ventures, and the Slack Fund.

Run the World, an events platform that hails from Silicon Valley, raised $10.8 million in a funding round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. The venture funds of American actor Will Smith and comedian Kevin Hart have joined as new investors too.
 
 
You Are What You Zoom
The camera angle, body language, lighting, and backdrop have become the defining elements of your persona. Shelly Palmer, who’s been experimenting with virtual networking since the early pandemic days, has some simple tips to keep top of mind.
 
 
TikTok Targets Virtual Kids with Hardware Setup
On a strong bet that virtual everything is here to stay, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance introduced the Dali lamp ($119, available in China only). It’s a combo light, built in camera and phone holder to let kids manage their virtual studies and also let parents check up on them through a remote app. One more sign of virtual world adoption.
 
 
10 weeks. 72 hackers.
2 sides. One champion. That’s how Socio, an events company, announces its Event Hack Hybrid Games, where event planners compete to creatively solve an events problem. A team of pro judges and the audience vote on the best ideas. Subjects tackled include sponsorships, revenues, lead gen, and more. Older episodes are archived.
 
 
Cautionary Tales
Whhoopps! Zoom happens. Here’s a memo from the Christian Women in Media Association about the cancellation of their Power Lunch:

Dear Friends,
We want to first apologize for not being able to hold today’s CWIMA Power Lunch on Zoom, but we were the object of a crude and lewd attack from a hacker, just minutes prior to our meeting. Because of that, we have postponed the event for one week. The new date for our Zoom Power Lunch will be Thursday, September 24, 2020, again at Noon, and will require registration for the event.
 
 
And here’s the true confessions from an events marketer who suffered the slings of underpowered servers.
 
 
Mark your calendar
 
November 20
 
Hear Mary Ann Pierce from MAP Digital discuss how to reuse and track assets and content and Will Curran from Endless Events on the tools he offers to help planners do their thing, and the tricks he uses to make virtual events a blast. Plus a chance to network with a great group of fellow VEGers. You can register to attend our next session, which will focus on making the most of your content assets. Hope to see you there.
 
REGISTER NOW
 
 
 
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Contact Us
 
For More information, contact Robin Raskin, Founder,
Solving For Tech
201.564.7900 | 917.215.3160
[email protected] | @robinr