Interactive

The bike scene in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was a memorable moment in film history, and it had another appearance in the spotlight June 15. Fans of the iconic Steven Spielberg movie celebrated its 30th anniversary and forthcoming release on Blu-ray at a free outdoor screening at FIGat7th in conjunction with the Los Angeles Film Festival presented by Film Independent. The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition gathered attendees to pay homage to the well-known (and much beloved) scene in which Henry Thomas’s character rides his bike with E.T.; more than 100 people biked to the scene and recreated that moment near the entrance of the event.

For the Golden Gate Bridge 75th anniversary event in San Francisco, Events in Motion’s sister company Infinity Marketing produced an event featuring two 10-by-10-foot jumbo, fully functional Utlrabooks that made attendees stop and take notice. Guests competed in an interactive trivia challenges on the machines as they answered questions pertaining to the bridge and HP’s newest products.

The dessert course meets the cocktail hour in a hot summer food trend: alcohol-infused desserts. Served at the Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C.'s Lobby Bar and Lounge, these boozy snow cones come in several vodka-infused flavors, including 'Lemonade Thyme,' 'Strawberry Basil,' and 'Blueberry Mojito.'

Creative staging marked Sunday’s Much Music Video Awards in Toronto, platforms that included explosions, movement, and “MMVA12” in block letters that seemed to project forward.

At the Summer Fancy Food Show, which was held Sunday to Tuesday in Washington, D.C., Arthur Schuman cheeses created its display directly from the product itself by carving out samples from each of three cheese wheels, which then became a serving bowl for attendees.

At the Power Plant’s annual fund-raiser in Toronto June 14, organizers incorporated playful activations from sponsors such as Hugo Boss and Jaguar Land Rover. Placed near a tree that was hung with Kobo e-readers, a swing invited guests to “Take a moment to breathe.”

On Wednesday, Samsung hit New York to launch its Galaxy SIII smartphone, hosting a late-night party to show off the device's features. The entrance to the event was a tunnel filled with voice recordings of frustrated smartphone users, designed to contrast the setting inside.

At Nivea's celebration of National PDA Day Wednesday in New York, the brand and 700 guests celebrated skin at several booths: a "spin the bottle" booth invited guests spin a roulette wheel for a chance to win Nivea products, a kissing booth welcomed amorous couples, and a photo booth allowed couples to take and print photos on site, while Nivea uploaded them to its Facebook page and let guests tag themselves.

Bringing four-legged guests to events can add energy as well as create can't-miss photo opportunities that people will want to share on social media. At the Shedd Aquarium’s Luminescence Gala June 9, a Shedd trainer holding a penguin modeled an auction prize, a pendant that was inspired by the Chicago institution’s beaux arts clock.

In a new social promotion, Bonnaroo attendees swiped wristbands with radio frequency identification (R.F.I.D.) technology at one of 20 check-in portals around the 700-acre venue. There were more than 200,000 swipes, which generated check-ins on Facebook that shared their daily activities at the music fest with their online friends.

Bizzabo launched in June, making it one of the newest products in this arena. Co-founder Alon Alroy said Bizzabo is intended to become “the standard app for networking at events” because it aggregates information from multiple events on one mobile platform, available for free on iOS and Android. Planners add an event to the app by inputting the event’s name, address, date, hashtag, and description on the Bizzabo Web site, free of charge (they can also import information from Eventbrite). Once added, anyone using the app can find the event, unless the planner opts to make it a private community. Attendees join by connecting their LinkedIn account, and they can also connect their Twitter account and add other professional information. Then users can browse the list of attendees to find people with common interests, send messages in real time, and find future events that like-minded people will be attending.

Planners can also use the app to communicate with attendees and get real-time analytics on usage, while exhibitors can send Groupon-style offers through Bizzabo, such as providing a gift to the first 20 people who click on an offer in the app. Alroy said in the future planners will be able to use the platform to generate revenue from sponsors and exhibitors by providing them with more targeted leads.

Shhmooze does not require buy-in from the planner or company organizing an event. "We designed this around the needs of the attendee more than the organizer," said Michelle Gallen, co-founder of Shhmooze. An attendee can download the free app (currently only available for iOS, but coming soon for Android) and create a profile by linking to LinkedIn, Twitter, Foursquare, and Meetup accounts. That profile can be used for any event the user attends. Shhmooze is integrated with Meetup and Eventbrite, so events from those platforms are automatically listed. Shhmooze tells the user which of their connections are also at the event, and also suggests new connections by analyzing Foursquare check-ins, tweets with the event hashtag, LinkedIn profiles, and other social network activity, even from people not using the Shhmooze app. Users can search for people by skill or company name to identify attendees who meet their needs or interests.

Gallen said they are working on an algorithm that will provide what it calls “smart recommendations” of whom to meet based on the user’s social graph and interests. Shhmooze will also add tools to allow planners to add schedules, speaker profiles, logos, and other elements, possibly for a fee.

Shpare adds an extra layer of networking assistance by offering a personalized list of the 20 people each attendee should meet at an event. The process begins when the planner imports attendee information into the online system. Shpare then pulls public information from each person’s Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts to create a profile for each attendee. A few days before the event, each attendee receives an email explaining the service and inviting them to edit their profile—for example, by adding keywords of specific products or services they are interested in. The system analyzes tweets going back three months prior to the event, as well as likes on Facebook and LinkedIn information (including prior work experience) to generate a list of the 20 best matches. The system does not share personal contact information; instead, attendees click on the “matches” they want to meet, and the system sends a meeting request to that person.Shpare is intended primarily for events with exhibitors and sponsors, who each pay a fee (typically 10 percent of their booth cost) to receive leads generated by the system. That revenue is shared by the planner and Shpare. The matching between attendees is included free of charge as long there are a minimum number of exhibitors and sponsors participating.

Presdo Match creates an invitation-only social network for an event. Organizers pay for the service based on the number of attendees; rates start at $1,499 for events with as many as 300 people. The system creates profiles on attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors using data from the event registration profile and LinkedIn. “A couple months prior to the event, the network is launched and the attendees have a chance to interact with people before they get there,” said Presdo C.E.O. Eric Ly. Users receive recommendations on other attendees with matching interests, and they can use the network to communicate and schedule meetings.

Attendees can also share the event through social networks, creating “attendee marketing,” said Ly. Planners can use the network to display session information and share speakers’ LinkedIn profiles, and they also receive reports on confirmed and requested meetings. The network is accessible as a Web site and mobile application, and planners can customize it with the event name, logo, and color scheme.

MKG designed Delta’s Stillness in Motion space with soft curves of fabric to evoke a sense of calm.

Before stepping inside the capsule, each guest received a silicone orb that had an LED sensor and lights inside. After the experience, the lights pulsed at the same pace as the guest's lowest heart rate. Delta invited them to take the orb with them as a reminder of their "stillest moment."

MKG constructed the stillness capsule using glass and mirrored walls. From the outside, other TED attendees could see the illuminated space, which was intended to spur their curiosity to try the activity.

Sitting inside the Delta's stillness capsule, guests could see their reflections in the glass walls.

After exiting the capsule, guests could choose to share the photo of their experience on social media.

Author Pico Iyer visited Delta's lounge to talk about the role of stillness in enhancing productivity.