The New Eventtech Directory, Hopin’s Big Raise and the New Microsoft Mesh Platform!
Welcome back to The Lookout! It’s been a great and busy start to March for PIRATEx. We’ve had a huge production week, putting together 5 different productions, in 3 different cities. For us, there is no better feeling than bringing an event from vision to reality and showcased to attendees from all around the world. But we also worked on releasing our Eventtech Directory!
Outside of the productions, we’ve been overwhelmed by the feedback from last week’s release of the Eventtech Landscape Map for Online Experiences. It has been so incredible to hear from many in the industry. One of the things we kept hearing was how we could make the Landscape Map more useful and actionable for event professionals. Based on that feedback, the team has just released the Eventtech Tools Directory, a place where you can look up and search many different technologies to build, market, stream, and showcase your online event.
This has been a big undertaking, but we could not have done it without the support from the incredible community of event organizers. We’ve added over 60 different new tools based on suggestions from the community, and we’re continuing to add them as we discover more.
The team will keep this directory continually updated, and will be adding new features in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we’d appreciate any suggestions to help make this resource more useful for you!
Outside of PIRATEx, there have been a ton of things happening in the online event world. Let’s get to it!
What’s happening:
Scientists want the virtual show to go on: A poll of scientists and researchers by industry publication Nature found that nearly 75% of respondents think conferences should continue to be virtual, or have a virtual component after the pandemic. The majority of respondents appreciated that online conferences were more accessible, and that they had a lower carbon footprint than traditional, in person gatherings. In one example cited, the 2019 Fell Meeting of the American Geophysical Union produced the equivalent of 80,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from participant travel.
Scientists want virtual meetings to stay after the COVID pandemic [Nature]
German trade fair industry demands concept for re-start: AUMA Chairman Harting: Exhibitors and organisers need a concrete perspective
ISE Tradefair plans to go forward, in person: The Integrated Systems Europe fair held in Barcelona and scheduled for June 1-4, 2021 “with a plan to provide an engaging event in Barcelona for those who wish to be a part of it”. The ISE community of over 1,000 exhibitors and nearly 100,000 attendees is one the largest European trade fairs that is likely to return in person in 2021.
Statement to Exhibitors
#EventTech:
Hopin’s big raise now values the company at $5.65B: Hopin’s much speculated funding news has finally been made public, with a $400M series C round. The company shared a rollout of new plans to accompany the announcement, with new offerings in the works for hybrid events, digital offices and internal communications tools.
Microsoft Mesh gives a glimpse of the virtual future: This week Microsoft released Mesh, a new mixed reality platform powered by Azure to allow people in different physical locations to join together on different devices. The product was unveiled at Microsoft’s first keynote event designed entirely for mixed reality, experiencing a holographic world.
Zoom’s record year: The recent Zoom earnings call shared their year-end revenues as $2.65 billion — a 326 percent increase from the previous year. They also increased customer accounts by 470%.
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- Zoom Leverages a Homebound World for Record Year [EventMB]
- vFairs and Zoom sign partnership [Conferences and Meetings World]
- vFairs Integrates Zoom into its Platform to Support Large Scale Hybrid Virtual Events [eSchool]
Cisco’s Webex debuts real-time translation from English to 100+ languages [Zdnet]
Kahoot! to pay $6 mln for year-old Finnish Whiteboard [Arctic Startup]
Looped raises $7.7M to expand its interactive live event platform [TechCrunch]
Skittish is a virtual event space built from the lessons of the pandemic [The Verge]
After pivoting last year to get a ‘grip’ on the new virtual event landscape, this event networking app raises €10.7M [Silicon Canals]
How to do it:
Tipps und Eckpunkte für eine gute digitale Moderation [Event Partner]
Level up your Conference Cred – Improve video, sound and add some OBS magic [Pirate Skills]
10 Requirements for an Interactive Hybrid Event [Smart Meetings]
Solving the Engagement Problem at Virtual Events [GatherGeeks]
4 Guiding Principles for Virtual Events [Associations Now]
Not to be missed:
How New York Fashion Week Plans to Turn Your Home Into a Runway [Bizbash]
The Year of Virtual: What 22 Event Producers Have Learned From Going On-site to Online [Bizbash]
Probing the Science of Human Behavior for Better Event Engagement [EventMB]
Deutsche Messe turns to DT and Siemens for mega 5G campus [Telecoms]
Clubhouse’s Inevitability [Straechery]
Companies Double Down On Virtual Events But Face Virtual Fatigue Challenges [PR News]
Marriott International offers new hybrid meeting solutions [Hotel Business]
Scientists want virtual meetings to stay after the COVID pandemic [Nature]
Changing Face Of Event Hospitality Industry In A Virtual World [Everything Experimental]
Publishers look for new opportunities in events businesses after a transformative 2020 [Digiday]
Virtual Events Awards: January Winner’s Interview – Orson Francescone, MD, FT Live.
Berlin’s bautec to be terminated [Exhibition World]
IMEX to deliver four-month digital activation ahead of US return [M&IT Magazine]
That’s it for this edition of The Lookout! Don’t forget, you can subscribe to our weekly newsletter to always be updated on the news from the online event world! Read more edition of our newsletter here.
The Lookout Newsletter #15
Written by:
Felix Josephi
PIRATEx Managing Director
