Raised in a small university town in North Carolina, where both of his parents were English professors, Joe Davy was self-taught when it came to tech smarts, which have been top of mind for him since childhood. 

“I learned to program on our 386 PC desktop at home using a manual for a Tandy 2000 computer that I found in a box of free books at my parents’ office,” he said. 

Davy’s early interest in technology and programming eventually turned into an interest in business and entrepreneurship.

The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) has partnered with software company JUNO to offer an enhanced platform for its audiences to experience content and connect with each other year-round.

It's no secret that events deliver valuable content but maximizing the value of that content after the fact is often overlooked. Organizations often capture and archive video content from their live events and webinars, and based on a recent survey, 65.9% of event organizers also make their virtual event content available on-demand after the live broadcast.

Creating community around events has become an increasingly important way to build awareness, boost engagement, drive attendance and deliver on ROI goals.

Leave it to the IMEX Group to always make you feel like you’re part of their great big family. Event professionals unable to attend IMEX America in person this year are in luck. The group announced plans to debut IMEX BuzzHub Live, offering a unique virtual window into the world of the show, which takes place Nov. 9-11 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.   

Event technology is continuing to evolve at record speed, with new tools and platforms significantly improving the experience for organizers and attendees. Here are some of the most recent developments. 

Ensuring the health and safety of attendees, exhibitors and employees working at host venues has become a paramount priority as the industry returns to in-person events. An increasing number of organizers are opting to implement COVID-19 vaccine mandates or negative test requirements in addition to several other health and safety measures. With these trends, the need for streamlined ways to verify proof of health status electronically is on the rise.

If the human species is good at one thing, it’s adapting. So too is the trade show and events industry, which was forced to “pivot” during the worst of the pandemic by moving into a more innovative, forward-thinking mindset via the leveraging of virtual event technology. What has resulted is a digital events revolution and a growing hybrid evolution that is likely to be a mainstay in the events world for the foreseeable future.  

Guests attending or exhibiting at trade shows held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) are going to notice a futuristic presence in their midst: a 5G smart robot combining 5G network and artificial intelligence technologies designed to enhance security and operational efficiency at the massive facility.

Technology and live event professionals seem to come from two different worlds. One is comfortable pivoting, disrupting and scaling, while the other focuses more on human interaction, creativity and hospitality to build impactful live experiences. But with the ever-increasing crossover of technology into the events space, both parties will be joined at the hip moving forward as event clients demand more data proofs, ROI and results.