Clear advantage

Livestreaming connects, increases reach and is authentic.

  • Be connected: Livestreaming connects you with your audience in real time and offers the opportunity for immediate feedback and interaction. This creates a more personal and engaging experience for viewers and helps build a stronger connection between you, your product, your service and your customers.
  • Expand reach: Livestreaming reaches a wider audience than traditional ways of reaching people, as it is shared and viewed by people all over the world. This increases your visibility, expands your audience and brings you into contact with people who might not otherwise have discovered your content.
  • Costs under control: Livestreaming is a cost-effective way to create and share content as it requires minimal equipment and can be done from almost anywhere with an internet connection. This makes it particularly interesting for small companies, start-ups or individuals who want to build up their online presence.
  • Be authentic: Livestreaming shows you authentically and personally. Trust and credibility are enhanced. Through conversations and interactions in real time, you show who you are and what you and your offer stand for. The result is a more authentic and sincere connection.
  • Relaxed enjoyment: Livestreaming is relaxing for both broadcasters and viewers, as it allows flexibility in terms of time and location. Broadcasters can create and share content from almost anywhere, while viewers can watch and engage with content from the comfort of their own homes or on the move.

The future of virtual events

We connect people through the use of innovative technologies and contribute to the exchange of knowledge and experience. We are convinced that virtual and hybrid events, in combination with the diverse possibilities of social media, will make an important contribution to shaping the future.

Virtual and hybrid events are becoming increasingly anchored in all groups of society. We use our human and technical resources to facilitate personal discussions, debates and the exchange of information and knowledge — worldwide, without spatial or temporal boundaries.

We see great growth in both virtual and hybrid events, fueled by the desire to reduce costly travel for events and meetings in order to reduce an individual’s personal carbon footprint.

The pandemic has made it clear that virtual and hybrid events are a real alternative to face-to-face events. Modern events are no longer up to date without virtual and hybrid elements.

In order to realize a high-quality virtual or hybrid event, comprehensive knowledge of the diverse conceptual and technical possibilities is required. The multi-professional Streamboxstudios team has the experience and knowledge to make your event, whether hybrid or virtual, a success.

Virtual events are already a big trend
Online events play their part in growing your audience. Online events can attract countless viewers. This requires a technical setup that is both powerful and interactive in order to involve the entire audience.

You can increase the number of participants at your events without much effort. Just think of the possibilities of streaming via large platforms such as YouTube or Twitch, the possibility of customer sharing via social media or the use of powerful event platforms such as Wonder or Hopin. This also improves the possibilities for specially customized sponsorship packages.

The advantages of organizing high-quality virtual events
We use state-of-the-art technology to bring together a broader spectrum of visionaries, speakers and teachers worldwide, while helping to optimize costs.

Advantages of switching to a virtual platform:

  • more sustainable events
  • Various participation options
  • Reduced CO2 footprint for all participants
  • Detailed insight through analysis tools to optimize future contributions
  • Lower event costs for space, food and drinks
  • More opportunities to integrate event sponsors and achieve a better ROI
  • Broader educational opportunities through low-threshold access
  • Simple and efficient networking

Add-ons:
Involve analog and digital participants seamlessly and encourage them to subscribe to your social media channels, become followers and develop into brand ambassadors. Since participants do not travel to your event, your online event can be shorter and last several days.

Scaling communication through streaming

By using live streaming, you can scale your communication. Live streaming of audio or video content in real time reaches in particular all those who, for example, do not want to make a long journey or cannot come to your face-to-face event for other professional or private reasons. If you offer your livestream via a suitable platform such as YouTube, Vimeo or Twitch, to name but a few, you will reach completely new user groups.

To scale your communication through streaming, various tools and platforms are available to reach a large target group. Here are some examples:

  1. Webinar platforms: Webinar platforms such as Zoom, MS Teams and Webex offer features such as screen sharing, live polls and Q&A sessions that allow you to deliver engaging and interactive presentations to a large audience.
  2. Live streaming on social media: Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter offer live streaming functions that allow you to reach a large target group in real time. These platforms are ideal for broadcasting events, product launches or any other event that requires immediate and wide distribution.
  3. Content delivery networks (CDNs): CDNs like Akamai and Cloudflare help you deliver live streams to a large audience by storing your content on servers around the world, providing fast and reliable access for viewers.
  4. Streaming services: Streaming services such as YouTube Live, Twitch and Vimeo offer a platform for hosting live events and streaming content. These platforms enable real-time interaction with viewers and are therefore ideal for scaling communication.

Overall, scaling communications through streaming requires a combination of the right tools, platforms and content delivery networks to ensure your messages are delivered efficiently, effectively and to the right audience.

Livestreaming and hybrid events 2.0 — one-hit wonder or a genre with a future

It wasn’t all that long ago that the terms livestreaming and hybrid events were something for tech geeks in the know. Today, in the summer of 2022, most of us can sing a song about virtual meetings with ZOOM, MS Teams or WebEx. The verses deal with webcams and microphones, bandwidths and network connections, green screens and virtual backgrounds. Although two years of the pandemic have given digitalization a powerful boost, the song is now hanging out of our ears. Will livestreams and hybrid events be remembered as one-hit wonders, or is a previously unknown genre currently in a temporary slump and soon to soar to new heights?

Perhaps it will help if we take another look at the characteristics of digital events and take a closer look at the notes, so to speak. We discovered the microphones and webcams on our laptops because face-to-face meetings were simply not possible. The justified concern about infection and the further spread of the pandemic is too great. In a way, it is a tool to contain the pandemic, but also to stay in contact and exchange ideas despite the restrictions. First on a small scale, within private communities, and then quite quickly on a large scale, within companies, locally, regionally and internationally.

Service providers of video platforms recognized their opportunities, successively expanded their offerings and designed increasingly user-friendly software. On the user side, confidence in dealing with a wide range of software products grew with each additional virtual meeting. What was once only of interest to a few has become general digital knowledge. Virtual life, on numerous channels, at all times.

Until March 2020, I myself only used the video function on my laptop occasionally, and I hardly ever used my cameras, and when I did, it was only very rarely. Both the time required for creation and post-processing and the necessary investment in computer power were too high for me. This view changed abruptly at the start of the pandemic.

I was gripped by the newly discovered possibilities. On the one hand out of entrepreneurial interest, because my field of work of photographic event documentation came to a complete standstill within a very short time and a new source of income had to be found. On the other hand, because of the instruments that are becoming increasingly recognizable to me, their individual sounds and the associated opportunities for design. Today I no longer see a single instrument. I see an entire orchestra and thus the option of diverse and varied audiovisual streams.

But what are the reasons for always playing the same notes in the same sequence?

We want security. A desire that is firmly anchored in human nature. The playful approach from the initial phase has given way to rigid sequences and structures. Streaming scenarios that have been tested for the first time and then rehearsed in realization are consolidated and always implemented in the same way. This makes sense, because not every event or meeting needs shots from multiple perspectives, varied lighting or a creative combination of the numerous possibilities for interaction between participants on location and in front of the end devices. And yes, the more the numerous options have to be combined and coordinated with each other, the more they may not work according to plan. It therefore makes sense to weigh up the effort involved and the associated potential risks.

However, if this takes us in a direction that results in every digital event being produced in the same way, boredom and oversaturation are inevitable. If opportunities and possibilities remain unused and the digital keyboard is not played with ease, there will be no new audiovisual sounds. What helps is a “back to square one”, but with the diverse experiences from the livestreams and hybrid events produced so far.

Virtual events are valuable

The learning curve in 2020–22 was steep. One of the most important findings is that virtual events are not a stopgap solution, but can offer real added value.

Time is relative: the transition from purely face-to-face events to digital, hybrid, virtual events does not mean transferring everything to the digital world on a 1:1 scale. A new orientation is needed. What are the participants’ motivations? How must the offer be prepared so that it is accepted both on site and on digital devices? The value of participation arises from the joint development of ideas, from joint learning and from the resulting connections — and not from the time invested.

On the stage! A classic presence presentation puts the brand, the service, the product in the foreground. A change of perspective places the audience on the stage and integrates them. The associated user experience makes the brand, the service and the product tangible. Value proposition becomes a value experience. Watching becomes doing.

Organize finances: To date, income from events has been generated from exhibitor fees, advertising contracts, sponsorship and ticket sales. It’s time to rethink the forms of financing and take advantage of the opportunities opened up by streaming. Video-on-demand for a fee, customized sponsoring based on completely new reach or the diverse possibilities of scaling open up new avenues. Revenues rise, costs per participant fall.

Read measured values: Digital always means measured values. The breadth and depth of possible information is enormous. Not every one helps or makes sense. Read, interpret and use suitable information to optimize offers and adapt them to the needs of users.

The future of the event industry will also be decided in the digital space. Future-oriented event organizers take advantage of the opportunities and possibilities of the digital format. They adapt individually and ensure successful implementation. The learning curve remains steep.

The future of learning: EdTech

New technologies have an impact on the way we teach and learn. The term “EdTech” (Educational Technology) stands for these changes. It covers the development and implementation of digital tools, platforms and resources that are used to support educational processes. These include online learning platforms, educational software, digital textbooks and mobile applications.

EdTech can also refer to the use of technology to support administrative tasks, such as student management systems and assessment tools. The field of EdTech is evolving rapidly and has the potential to transform the way education is delivered and accessed, making it more flexible, personalized and accessible to learners of all ages and backgrounds.

Developments that could shape the future of EdTech:

  • Personalized learning: Edtech will enable personalized learning experiences tailored to learners’ individual needs and preferences. Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and machine learning will help analyze data to create personalized learning paths and adapt teaching methods to different learning styles.
  • Virtual and augmented reality: Virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technology enables immersion in interactive 3D learning environments that can simulate real-life experiences. This is particularly useful for scientific subjects, technology or medicine.
  • Gamification: When elements from games are used in non-game contexts, such as in education, this is referred to as gamification. The future belongs to learning in an appealing and entertaining way.
  • Mobile learning: Mobile devices will continue to play an essential role in education as they enable learners to access learning materials and resources anytime, anywhere. Mobile learning apps and platforms will become more and more popular. Learning on the go.
  • Collaborative learning: Collaborative learning is facilitated by EdTech tools, as collaboration and communication between learners and teachers is possible in real time, regardless of their physical location.

The future of EdTech will offer new and innovative ways to support teaching and learning and make education more accessible, engaging and effective for all.

Educational institutions that expand their offering to include digital and hybrid events are seen as contemporary and modern. The way to achieve this lies in adapted didactics and the best possible technical implementation.

Possible digital offers are:

  • Livestreams from lecture halls or seminar rooms
  • Recording of lectures or conferences, available at any time (video-on-demand)
  • hybrid events so that they can be followed on site or live on screen, depending on the life situation
  • Short learning videos to reinforce key aspects
  • Motivational speeches as a livestream or recording
  • Image videos

Walk on red — stand on green

Many people are not used to it, some ignore it completely: the tally light. A small light above the camera lights up in either red or green and indicates the perspective from which the picture is or will be taken. Red means “recording”, green means “preparation”. And it’s not like in road traffic.

Desktop microphones are often also equipped with a small signal lamp. The speakers therefore know whether they are “on air” or not. Nevertheless, it sometimes happens that — despite prior information about the meaning of the signal lights — a questioning look (“Where do I have to look again?”) or a tap on the microphone followed by a “Do you understand me?” interrupts the transmission process a little. For the perfectionists among us, this may be a serious mistake, but ultimately it is an expression of tension — and this needs to be released. Nothing makes a program more exciting than authentic people. This sometimes includes a questioning look and a gentle knock. It will be better next time.