Exhibition News March 2020 | Page 41

Tech App-ointment making Tech expert James Morgan takes a closer look at the tech that improves networking at business events Level up relationships How important is efficient networking to your visitors? I’ve seen survey results from many shows where networking continually features in the top three of the most important activities. Because of this, organisers know they have to provide networking opportunities. More than ever they are turning to functions within event apps that contain a networking feature, or they are using a specific application that focuses on networking alone. However networking isn’t just restricted to the show flow. Visitors are already networking outside of the show ecosystem. It should be noted that there are applications that are not event specific but provide networking functions, with some visitors preferring to use these in their everyday lives rather than subscribing to an app on a one-off basis. In essence, networking is an important function of being a modern-day executive – to develop professional networks to aid in job performance, or even to find a new job or opportunity. So this month we are going to explore networking and some of the associated applications that enhance the networking function. Proximity socialisation Let’s start by talking about proximity socialisation. In the event tech world this is using an application to allow people who are in close proximity to meet up and network. Whilst Tinder and Grindr are also proximity socialisation applications, they are specifically for dating rather than meeting professionals in business. A few years ago, there was a native app called AroundThen. It did the matchmaking job very well. The system used a visitors Bluetooth to find and connect with other visitors who also had their Bluetooth turned on. When downloading March — 41