While attending the Academic Event Professionals conference earlier this month, I had the chance to sit in on Brady Miller, CSEP’s session “#EventTech for #AEProfs: 10 + Ways to Get Started with Event Technology”.
Miller’s goal was to provide fellow academic event professionals with apps and technology to help with their roles. While his presentation is certainly applicable to the academic industry, I thought that the products he mentioned could very easily be applied by event professionals in every vertical of the hospitality industry.
Here are the apps/technologies that Miller recommends, and how you can incorporate these into your events and daily life:
1. Slido
Slido is a tool for polling your audience and doing a Q&A. I was impressed with sli.do because instead of raising my hand and yelling my question around the room, I was able to anonymously submit my question to the presenter.
2. PowToon:
PowToon is a presentation software that lets you make interactive cartoon-style videos that can be shared online. Indiana University used PowToon to animate the steps you needed to complete before commencement, making it fun and getting the attention of their audience.
3. Crowd Mics:
Crowd Mics is one of the best event apps I’ve seen recently. Crowd Mics works on Android and iOS devices and lets your crowd have a microphone right at their seat.
4. Bubbli:
Bubbli is a free solution that takes a spherical image based on where you are standing. This is a great way to remember what your venue looks like, get an idea of what an event would look like for your audience, or to capture all of the hard work that you’ve put in.
5. InitLive
InitLive is another one of the “OMG” apps I’ve seen in the last year. It lets you qualify staff and volunteers, and handles scheduling and communications. Not only can you easily find and message last minute replacements for a sick volunteer, but you can also use this for communicating with every staff/volunteer at the event (hellllooo emergency preparedness!).
6. Dark Sky:
What happens when you see clouds heading towards your event but don’t know when to move everyone inside? That’s what Dark Sky is here for. Dark Sky gives you a minute by minute update to the weather so you can always be a step ahead.
Just as important as knowing the weather, event professionals rely on knowing when they will or will not have sunlight. This app will not only show you the days info on sunrise and sunset, but you can plug in another city as well as a future date.
8. IFTTT: If This Then That.
I’ve used this program before for setting automatic emails and some basic reminders, but I’ve never seen a power user like Brady! You can set up IFTTT to post pictures from Instagram to Twitter for your event without the annoying “posted from Instagram” notification, send you the scores of the basketball game, and much more.
9. Cloud Storage
Say it with me: No. More. Binders. By using cloud storage such as Dropbox, Box, or Google Drive, you can save all of your event files in one place and access from a phone or a tablet. You can have “offline” mode so even if you are in a venue or event space with limited network, you will be able to pull up your files.
10. Drone Video Footage
What happens when you’ve just brought a new building online but can’t take 200 donors into a construction zone? Here is where you can use drone footage to create an experience. Taking drone video footage allows you to get a bird’s eye view of any space on or off campus and you can incorporate that footage into your event to create an experience.
11. Social Tables Pocket Planner
How many trash cans, club sodas and serving dishes does one event need? Pocket Planner will do the math for you!
Learn more about Brady:
Brady Miller, CSEP, currently serves as the Director of Special and Academic Events for Indiana University, developing and executing key special events and ceremonies that take place across an eight-campus university system serving more than 115,000 students. Prior to his move to Indiana University Bloomington, Miller worked as the Special Projects Manager to the Chancellor at Indiana University Southeast and as the Assistant Director of Events for the Kansas State University Foundation.
He has won numerous awards in special events from ISES Indiana and CASE Districts V and VI, and in 2012, Miller garnered international recognition when a fundraiser and awards program for Indiana University Southeast was named the Best Event for a Nonprofit Organization with a Budget under $75,000 in ISES’ Esprit Awards program. In 2013, Event Solutions Magazine named Miller as one of five finalists for its Spotlight Award for Organizational Planner of the Year.
Connect with Brady today using @BradyKMiller on Twitter.
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