Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

Recently I had the pleasure of listening to Juan Pablo De Vera, President of Reed South America, as he delivered a keynote to the delegates of ExpoSystems in Sao Paulo.

His topic was the future of events and social media. Among his many relevant examples where technology is supporting social media these three are of particular importance.

Google Glass. These are eyeglasses worn by an individual with a small computer display similar to a blue tooth headset but longer which extends slightly beyond the person’s face. As this person walks along the street or down the aisles of an exhibition, they can participate in live discussions with other google glass users According to Google engineers this same technology will someday be able to be inserted into a contact lens eliminating the need for the headset.

Meetup.com. this is an interesting site where people can meet like-minded individuals at places or during activities that both have express an interest in. Go to MeetUp.com and see how meetings are arranged by location, date and special interest. Then imagine what a powerful addition this tool will be to the world of exhibitions.

KLM – Meet and seat. Think about the last time you flew and were seated beside a stranger for 3 or 4 hours. Now imagine a situation where you could influence your travel companion by choosing a seat beside someone you wanted to spend a few hours with and have the chance to learn something from this person. This is available as a new initiative at KLM and if successful it seems a natural offering for all airlines.

These were but three examples Juan Pablo used to show the audience how social media and the world of exhibitions can complement each other.