People who read my columns may be forgiven for thinking that I’m a bit of a pessimist because I’m less than evangelical about the impact that the majority of new technology will have on events. I prefer to call myself a realist who is able to take a holistic view based on my interest in individual and group behaviour and of course new technology. While certain technologies are having an impact on the way we live, it is wrong to assume that they will therefore impact on the way we create and manage our events.
I think a lot of the positivity we see about new tech comes from a misplaced urge to please. If you announce a new business venture to your friends, they are all eager to exclaim that it’s a wonderful idea, until you ask them to buy in or invest and they proffer a huge list of excuses.
As we come towards the end of 2019 we will see a plethora of evangelists list the technology that will impact on events in 2020, but the realist in me urges you to proceed with caution and review what they said five or even 10 years ago. You will find that hardly any of the predictions had any impact or came true.
