James O’Brien writing for Mashable shares how technology is affecting the events business. In it, O’Brien shares thoughts from Brian Solis’ popular presentation at Elevate in NY, which was delivered to an audience of events organizers.

Events and event planning are evolving into new, dynamic formats. Old models are falling away and technology is giving both planners and event participants an opportunity to grow and revisit the underlying ideas about how event spaces work.

“It’s been fascinating watching just how fast things have changed,” said Brian Solis, principal at Altimeter Group, at a New York conference this year. He spoke about next steps and generational shifts in the ways we approach and interact with the events we attend.

“We all have to think — as planners, as organizers, as experience-architects — what that will look like,” Solis said. “There was a time we’d ask you to turn your phones off. There was a time when we wouldn’t provide Wi-Fi. And there was a time when we actually expected you to make eye contact with the person on a stage. Now, I’m actually better off if I just see your foreheads lift up. It means you’re sharing the experience.”

Let’s look at some of the new roles technology is playing in the events landscape — key fronts where it’s changing the planning and experience we’ve come to expect.

Click here for the full article.