Latest headlines: Bob Snyder on ISE’s RISE Spotlight, Mark Coxon on (the absence of) an AV Sandbox, plus news from Prolights, Poly and more
February 25, 2021 | Volume: 15 | Issue: 4
While it does seem like there’s a light faintly glimmering now at the end of the long, dark COVID tunnel, I’ve been thinking more about when we might feel like we’ve actually emerged. Will there be a day when health experts, collectively, say, “Go forth and remove your masks. The pandemic is over. You are safe.”? I kinda doubt it.
I read a good article in The Atlantic about what we might be looking at, which you can read here (this article is focused on the U.S. in particular). The end is hopefully not that far away, but unfortunately, that’s really only true for those of us in developed countries. Some estimates say that low-income countries might not be vaccinated until 2023 or 2024, with concerns about having increasing capacity enough to meet demand, particularly if the emerging variants or getting hard-to-preserve vaccines out to hard-to-reach areas.
In picturing a new world, I wonder what it will actually look like. Will we see regular mask-wearing out in public by some people, as was already more common in parts of Asia? Even if life starts to seem more like it was on a day-to-day basis, will international travel be limited for many years to come, either by law/border security or people being cautious? Will we ever be comfortable being in tightly packed, large crowds again? I’m not sure, but the last question is certainly one that I’m sure the events industry thinks about quite a bit. Everyone will certainly be desperate to get out and do something. With warmer weather approaching for many of us, now’s the time to think about how to court consumers who will be eager to be out of the house, yet still a bit reticent to be crammed in next to strangers for hours on end. I hope you all find some opportunity there.
Oh, how much we all miss live events. No matter how much you miss live events, you can’t possibly miss them as much as the people whose entire livelihood is based on live events. The latest thought-leading RISE series by ISE, turned its “Spotlight” on live event experiences and the “reinvention” that will mark their return.
Kevin Carroll’s emphasis on play during LAVNCH WEEK 3.0 reinforced an idea I’ve had for a while and highlighted something I feel may be a huge gap in the industry — the absence of an AV Sandbox. If our designs are too logical and need to mirror human behavior, then where is the place where we are testing our interfaces with real people? Where is the knowledge sharing between companies of how people interact with different systems, workflows and interfaces?
