Technology has changed our lives and our businesses and in many cases has made planning and organization a whole lot easier. Here are some of my favorite hidden gems from the tech world that I think you should know about if you don’t already. Hopefully I can provide at least one new takeaway to make your life easier and more efficient. Please enjoy our first addition of the Tech Talks.
1) CHARGING STATIONS
An increasingly popular addition to events are portable charging stations. Power up your handheld gadgets at these chic and efficient kiosks. As an event designer, I personally prefer to use anything that helps to keep things cohesive with the decor, like this one from Town and Country Event Rentals.
2) ALLSEATED
Whether you’re an amateur party planner, an event planning pro or a couple planning their own wedding, AllSeated makes diagramming and seating charts a dream. This web-based service allows you to create and view venue maps, manage floor plans and table layouts, create seating arrangements and compose guest lists. And better yet, its free!
3) TIMELINE GENIUS
Looking for a tool that makes creating wedding timelines quick and painless? Timeline Genius saves you hours of work and makes editing a breeze. This intuitive and efficient program saves contact information for all of your vendors, venues, and clients, allowing you to add contacts to your timelines in seconds.
4) BLISS AND BONE’S WEDDING WEBSITE
If you’re shopping around for a customizable wedding website, let me introduce you to Bliss and Bone. Offering up a variety of stunning designs, their modern wedding website templates are polished and refined, offering you access to over 100 prints, fonts and colors. All sites are mobile and tablet friendly and allow you to collect and export your guests info via their RSVP feature. And the impression doesn’t stop there … check out all Bliss and Bone has to offer in invitations, stationary and branding as well.
5) THE PLAYLIST GENERATION
Don’t have the budget to bring in a DJ or Band but also don’t have the time to curate hours of music yourself and would rather not rely on Pandora’s playlists? Contact The Playlist Generation. Curating and executing soundtracks for your soul, The Playlist Generation creates the atmosphere you’re looking for by pulling in your personal music preferences and remixing soundtracks to keep the party moving. Super easy, incredibly affordable and no hassle necessary – leave it to the pros to design playlists specifically for you and your crowd.
6) SILENT DISCO
If your hosting an outdoor party and sound ordinances are cramping your style, Silent Disco might be the perfect solution to pushing past that 10pm mark. Whether it be a DJ or a live band, guests can experience a high energy live musical performance til the wee hours of the morning, just by slipping on a pair of wireless headphones. And better yet, those wishing to abstain from the music can keep meaningful networking and personal conversations alive without having to yell over blaring music. Check out HUSHconcerts for more information.
7) NEXT VR’S VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSETS
Dying to attend Justin Timberlake’s next concert or sit court side at the NBA finals but can’t fork up the dough? NextVR’s Samsung Gear Virtual Reality headset might be the next best thing. Slip on these puppies and dive into a 360 degree all-immersive experience in which you are instantly transported to the Staples Center from the comfort of your own couch. And who knows … this is probably only the beginning of live virtual reality. Give it a year or two and Aunt Ethel might be able to attend your wedding ceremony from another country.
8) LA PHOTO PARTY
Photobooths have come a long way in the past 5 years. If you’re still a lover of this activation but are looking to up your street cred, check out LA Photo Party. Their dynamic services blend fun and innovation and include everything from classic photo strips to 360 degree green screen activations. Better yet, you can instantly upload your photos to social media and email so you can show your friends who couldn’t make it what they missed out on.
9) INTEGRATED SOCIAL MEDIA WALL
Engage attendees at your next event by aggregating content from their own social media. The social media wall harvests and edits social media content live via Twitter and Instagram and then integrates it into animation templates that are then displayed for all to see. Create a win-win situation for you and your guests by featuring a unique hashtag for the event and getting attendees to promote it in their social media posts – not only will it strengthen your event’s presence but it will allowing users to express themselves publicly.
10) EVENTBRITE
Whether your focus is non-profit or corporate events, EventBrite is the platform for you! This one-stop shop for managing event sales and attendees allows you to plan, promote and sell tickets to events, and publish them across social media directly from the website. You can even monitor real-time ticket sales, check-in attendees, track attendance live, and accept fast, secure payment for tickets and merchandise on-site.
11) PERISCOPE
If you haven’t yet heard about Periscope, now’s the time to get on board. Periscope is changing the way we converse, allowing you to peek into someone else’s world. This live-streaming platform allows you to jump into everything from live conferences to concerts and what’s even more cool is that it is partnered with Twitter so you can tweet out your live stream and broadcast it to your community. Interact with your clients, consumers and loyal fans and cater to your target audience by finding out what they want to see from you!
12) DIGITAL MAPPING
Imagine eating a 3-course dinner in Morocco, Istanbul and South Africa … all in one sitting. With digital projection mapping you can do just that, Reshaping the way we experience events, digital mapping can metamorphose a plain space and turn it into a spectacle within a matter of seconds. Using 3D imagery, this is one of my favorite techniques to implement for those with a modest budget, willing to take a risk. While pricey, the payoff can leave a lasting impression with attendees.
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