A Return to “Normal”: The Near Future of In-Person Events
Over the past few weeks, society has slowly tread back into life outside of the house. With shelter-in-place orders lifted, businesses have been able to reopen, workers have returned to offices and people have started hosting social gatherings with friends and family again.
And the response has been huge. People have been flocking to restaurants, to beaches, to stores and offices—because of their insatiable appetite for human interaction. In fact, according to one study, a majority 86% of workers want to return to their offices, and subsequently, their colleagues. This, no doubt, also stems from the increased phenomenon known as “Zoom Fatigue.” While virtual tools have allowed us to digitally bridge gaps in real-time, they’ve also created new issues—such as excessive burnout from having too much screen time, where the natural flow of interaction is disrupted by the lack of in-person intimacy and technical glitches.
Taking this a step further, it’s not just businesses getting back on track, but schools too have issued announcements about welcoming students back on campus in the fall. A survey done by Michigan State University found that 79% of students would be comfortable returning to in-person classes with social distancing measures in place. So what does this all mean? It points to one overarching reality—people are ready to come out of their silos and connect with one another, without a screen, as long as it’s done safely.
And the best weapon in our arsenal to achieve that is social distancing, because it works. Studies have shown that by staying at least one meter away from one another, the risk of infection is only 3%—and that number drops in half with every meter added.
Beyond the ways in which we work and learn, the need to have authentic in-person connection also extends to events, and people coming together in celebration of different interests. And while most organizations sidelined events in the face of COVID-19, going virtual or postponing or canceling all together, the tide is turning. Just last week, the CEA, which puts on CES—the biggest global event for consumer tech—announced it is moving forward as usual for its annual event in January 2021.
At Proxfinity, we’ve heard it from clients too—that they are ready and eager to start planning for in-person events in the coming months. After all, live events offer a 360-degree sensory experience, and create an energy and impromptu opportunities that virtual tools, despite how helpful, just can’t replicate. But that begs the question, just how do we do that safely? As we explored above, social distancing measures are paramount, but how can we make them part of the overall experience, instead of a jarring distraction? We may have an answer.
Our CUE smart badge was built to help people network and make greater connections at events by signaling when participants have shared interests as they come within close proximity of one another. And since it registered by distance, using each “person” as the signal, it has also become a helpful tool for alerting people when they’ve broken social distance barriers. By simply slipping a badge around their neck, they have access to information that helps them find the right participants for fruitful conversation, but also a device programmed to notify them if they’ve gotten too close to others to create safe foot traffic throughout the event. Instead of it interrupting the flow of conversation and the experience all together, it becomes part of it—and builds on it—by using the signals not just for safety, but for making the event more successful. In that way, we can address both a human need and a business need in one.
We know things will look different as events resume, but just because they’ll introduce more caution, doesn’t mean we have to dilute their value. By pairing social distancing with technology meant to elevate the activity happening on a show floor, we can bring people together, without compromising our safety.
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