First let me start by saying hello. My name is Ceasare (Chez-uh-ray) Orlando. (Picture for reference… #007)
I am NOT a writer. English was my least favorite subject in school. Yet here I am writing a blog post for Neon Owl. As a matter of fact, it is the very first blog post I have ever written… why do it??? Well, Elaine ask me to and who can say no to that face?!?
I guess I am what you would call a content creator. I write and produce music, DJ, play multiple instruments, sing, act, shoot photography, videography, have been a dancer my entire life, have had multiple businesses and am always trying to do the things that I am passionate about while connecting with like minded individuals to grow and make a positive impact on the world. (I’m sure that’s probably a really bad run on sentence.) But ya, that’s me.
So when Elaine asked if I wanted to go to this event, I had no idea what it was about. All I knew was that there would be people there from companies like Eventbrite, Thuzi, the NFL, major music festivals and many more who would be great to network with. So I said
“Why not?”. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. Now, I consider myself a pretty technical person and am well educated but a lot of what was being talked about was basically another language that I did not understand. Like, I’m a nerd. Straight up. But because I am not in the analytics industry, there were bits and pieces that were just over my head.
Here are a couple of things that I thought were pretty interesting from XLIVECon.
Data collection is important and extremely easy. With this generation so willing to provide personal information via social media, it is very easy for a company to collect a lot of your personal data and use it along with hundreds of thousands if not millions of others. This data collection is so the brands can find out about who is going to their events, so they can better allocate their marketing dollars to others in the same or similar demographics. Have you ever given your email address or other info for a chance to win a prize or contest? Have you ever registered a festival ticket and had to fill out all of your personal info in order to activate you wristband??? (Cough-Coachella-cough) All that data not only is used to target marketing but also to track who is buying multiple tickets, VIP, cabanas, so on and so forth. They know a lot about us!
Technology is constantly growing and with it so are the opportunities for companies to make sales easier. Easier
for who though? The use of RFID has been going on for some time now. RFID or Radio-frequency identification uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects (wristbands). The tags contain electronically stored information (your info). Passive tags collect energy from a nearby RFID reader’s interrogating radio waves (where you tap your wristband). Some festivals have been incorporating the ability to register a credit or debit card to a wristband and have the whole festival be a cash free zone. No having to pull out a wallet to get a card or fumble through cash hoping you don’t drop some. You want a slice of pizza??? Tap your wristband at the register. Want some cool merch??? Tap away! It is more convenient, that’s for sure. But when you’re getting lost in having a good time, who is keeping track of the bill as it adds up? It also makes it a lot easier for the vendors and festivals to get more money out of the attendees. The common consensus is that RFID technology is going to eventually be replaced with a person’s mobile device and apps.
There are a few different companies out there who have developed LED wearable’s that can turn the audience into a massive visual effect where each person is a pixel and the whole crowd can be a part of the programed light show! These wearable’s can also transfer data so if you meet someone and want to share contact info, they will send a digital business card of sorts to each other. The venue can also set up beacons that will track your location so they can tell how long you were at a particular activation or artists set. They can also cross-reference this data with a mobile app for the event. So if you “Create your schedule” in the app and plan that you are going to see Kendrick on the main stage but then half way through you leave and go see Marshmello, the beacons set up can track that.
One of the biggest problems that we as attendees always face is never having cell signal or wifi so we can contact people or post to social media. This is a constant problem in the industry and experts are still trying to find a way to provide better coverage at big events. The main concern is always the cost. It’s expensive!!!
There was so much more that different keynote speakers talked about but I don’t want to make this blog post to long! The main thing I learned by attending this event was that so much of our data and info is out there! Companies are spending a lot of money to get this data and are using it to not only make more money but to create a better and more entertaining experience for all of us, the Headliners!
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