Technology

For a technology brand with the word “invent” as its slogan an early foray into the world of virtual events may not seem like much of a stretch. It was Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard after all who first staked out territory in Silicon Valley in 1939 founding one of the most successful high-tech companies in the world out of a one-car garage and bringing to market over the next 75 years industry firsts like calculators handheld devices email programs laser printers and touchscreen PCs.

Facebook has more than 150 million monthly active users. Twitter visits have skyrocketed 1 400 percent in the past year. And according to a recent Nielsen report the time consumers spend on social networks has increased 73 percent since 2008. Yes social media is exploding all around us. Even our moms are giving it a go.
Yet despite its popularity the social networking space is a vast and tricky medium to activate in.

Mobile phones have become more than just a device for making calls. More than ever they’re an integral part of people’s lifestyles and their identities. People are watching movies and listening to music on their cell phones taking pictures and playing video games and getting their daily dose of news.

If Larry King can Twitter then anybody can. The recent Twitter popularity contest between the CNN host and actor Ashton Kutcher (a.k.a. Mr. Demi Moore) to see who could gain a million followers first had crowds tweeting fast and furiously to put their favored celebrity on top. Kutcher took the trophy but in the end Twitter won the biggest popularity contest of all.

For many event marketers and their customers taking the leap into virtual events can feel like a trip to a foreign land. Whether they are using a virtual platform to complement or replace a live event marketers worry that their attendees won’t sign up won’t show up or won’t know how to participate once they get there. But what they may not know is that virtual events are strikingly similar to live events. Yep that’s right Dorothy. It may feel like you’re not in Kansas anymore but rest assured there’s no wizard behind the virtual curtain.