Brandt Krueger


Consultant, Meeting and Event Technology
Owner, Event Technology Consulting
Instructor, Event Leadership Institute

Filtering by Tag: technology

Are Chatbots Really the Next Big Thing in Events?

(An edited version of this article was originally published in MeetingMentor Magazine in Summer 2018. Updated January, 2019)

If you were following the Silicon Valley tech blogs, you would have guessed that by now we’d be living in a world filled with chatbots. But as the years came and went, they just didn’t quite seem to catch on in the way that many pundits were expecting, and headlines such as “The 200 Billion Dollar Chatbot Disruption” also came, and ultimately, went.

The meeting and events industry, on the other hand, seems to have a continued interest in chatbots, with more and more articles being written on the subject, and high-profile events providing the service to their attendees. Could it be that an industry that’s all about connecting people might actually be one of the best suited for the next wave of digital disruption?

So what the heck are they?

First, let’s be clear what we’re talking about when we say “chatbot”. One of the easiest ways to think about chatbots is as a form of digital assistant, like Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa. While these assistants can do quite a bit more than your average chatbot (including home automation control, shopping, games, and more), one of the most common uses is to simply answer our everyday questions. “Hey Google, what’s the weather today?” is a question I hear almost daily in my household as the people get ready in the morning, deciding what to wear. “What’s the drive time to Pizza Luce?”, “How tall is Mount Rushmore?”, and “How do you spell Dubrovnik?” were other questions I’ve heard in just the last week. Where these assistants shine is their ability to hear us ask questions in our normal tone, using our normal language, and (hopefully) give us the right answer.

This ability is called “natural language processing” and is a very narrow subset of (buzzword alert!) Artificial Intelligence. It’s what allow us to interact with our digital assistants in a much more “natural” and conversational manner, and what allows them to interpret what information we’re actually looking for and respond with it. Chatbots use the same technology to interact with us, but instead of talking to our event chatbot, we’re interacting with it using text. This could be through an app like Facebook Messenger or Telegram, through a chat box on a web page, embedded within an event mobile app, or even just texting to a specific number set up for the event.

Ugh, who wants to talk to a robot?

Apparently, millions of people. Over the course of 2017 the number of people using voice-activated assistants grew 128.9% to over 35 Million people in the United States alone, according to a report by Juniper Research. The same report estimates that by 2022, over half of US households will have a voice-enabled smart speaker in them. When it comes specifically to chatbots, another report found that 60% of millennials have used them at some point. Of those that tried them, over 70% reported they had a positive experience, and of those that hadn’t tried them, over half said they’d be interested in trying them.

I think a lot of the resistance to digital assistants and chatbots comes from the horrible customer service experience most of us have had with “phone trees”, another form of automation that was supposed to make our lives easier. Who hasn’t wanted to push their phone through a wall at the 9 different options being presented to you, with none of them being the reason you’re actually calling? Usually that frustration stems from the fact that you just want a simple question answered, and you want it answered quickly. That, folks, is where chatbots shine.

Actually Making Life Easier

That’s really what it boils down to: people just want their question answered in the fastest, easiest way possible, and if that means texting with a chatbot, well… then… great. If they want to know where the reception is that evening, they don’t want to open the event app, wait for it to update, click into the agenda, then into the reception entry, and finally get their answer. Wouldn’t it be so much easier to type in:

“Where is the reception tonight?” 

And get the answer:
“The reception is in the Crowne Ballroom, on the 23rd floor. Just follow the signs in the lobby to the west elevators. Don’t forget, it’s a Hawaiian theme, so be sure to wear your best floral print and flip flops!”

Notice how there’s even more information there than was actually requested, potentially saving time having to ask follow-up questions? The bot might even attach a map to the event in the next message, just in case. How convenient is that? Plus, let’s be honest. No matter how many emails you sent out providing that information, you know a significant percentage will have forgotten the information, or even worse, never read them in the first place!

But what if it doesn’t know the answer?


While most people see this as a negative, it’s actually one of the more powerful benefits of chatbots. If it doesn’t know the answer, most chatbots will kick the question up to a real, live person for the answer. Why is that a benefit? Because it can help you identify the questions you didn’t anticipate. After all, a chatbot is only as good as the information it’s given, and can only answer the questions to which you’ve given it the answers. If more and more people start asking a question it wasn’t pre-programmed with, you can simply add the answer to the bot’s program on the fly.

It can also help you react to unforeseen issues with your event in real time. If attendees are asking your chatbot, “How do I get to the ballroom from the hotel?” you may have a signage or staffing issue. If quite a few are asking “Where are the Mothers’ Rooms?” and you don’t have any, you can react quickly and get some arranged- an actual example from an event that utilized chatbots.

The Future Bots

Natural language processing technology is only getting better, and event bots have a bright future. Already, providers are able to get a bot up and running in less than 20 minutes by having the planner fill out an online survey. As AI and machine learning get applied, you’ll be able to offer up your current website and printed materials to be analyzed by the service, and then auto-generating the most likely questions and answers based on that information.

The “event app” went from “Why do I need that?” to almost every major event having one in less than five years, and event chatbots could well be on the same trajectory. So what do you think? Have you tried a chatbot at your event? How did it go? If you haven’t, what’s the likelihood you’ll try a chatbot in one of your events this year?

Incorporating Immersive Technology in Live Events

(This article was originally published in MeetingMentor Magazine in Spring 2017)

Augmented reality and virtual reality have been on the event technology buzzword list for a while now, with one or both making a lot of people’s “Hot Technology to Watch” lists as far back as 2015. The subject has always been a little twitchy for event people because a lot of what we do is about in-person experiences. We’re people-people, so the idea of a hundred attendees in a room strapping some device to the top of their heads is going to give a lot of us a severe case of spine shivers. Nonetheless, after years of talking about VR and AR, practical uses are starting to make their way into the meeting and events industry.


Let’s take a moment to get our definitions straight because a lot of people have started to use the term virtual reality a little loosely. Augmented reality is the process of layering something over reality. An example would be the much-maligned Google Glass, in which the user could still see the world, but had text information in the corner of their vision. Whether it’s your smartphone, smart glasses, or full-on cyborgesque headgear, the user can still see and hear the world around them. Whatever information or image that’s being presented to them is being layered over the real world. It is literally reality, augmented.

Virtual reality, on the other hand, is meant to be an immersive experience. It transports us out of the real world - and into a virtual one. These are the headsets that have come on strong in the last year, including offerings from Google, Oculus Rift (which is owned by Facebook), Sony, LG, and other major manufacturers, and are quickly being followed by a host of knock-off, no-name brands. In addition to fully virtual worlds being presented to the wearer of a VR headset, an important subcategory has emerged: immersive video. While not technically virtual reality, filmmakers, documentarians, and extreme sports enthusiasts have begun creating amazingly compelling 360° video, putting the viewer in the middle of the action. The viewer can turn their head and body in any direction to view what’s going on in the scene, but cannot interact with it in any meaningful way.

Much has already been written about the uses of virtual reality as a marketing tool, either by venues or destinations. Immersive video and VR are perfect as in-booth experiences, or even giveaways as low-end VR devices can be as inexpensive as $10 in bulk and can give the viewer a dramatic and powerful view of your product or hotel. But how can event organizers start to take advantage of these emerging technologies, and overcome the healthy skepticism of what is inherently a solitary experience?

While VR headsets intentionally drop the viewer into their own personal world, don’t discount the group experience. Audi and Samsung have worked together to create group virtual reality experiences for their events. Upon arriving, guests were guided to a room of almost 100 Gear VR headsets and seated on space-age spinning chairs. From there they watched, simultaneously, a virtual presentation of amazing graphics and sound, including being seated in their new model vehicle while it rolled through a virtual thrill ride of twists and turns.

Meanwhile, back in “reality”, the room was pumped with smoke and one of the walls was removed. At the conclusion of the virtual presentation, the guests removed their goggles to reveal the actual vehicle to be inspected in person. The photos and videos are incredible, with people laughing, holding hands, and spinning in their chairs. The guests appear to have an amazing time... together.

This kind of scale is probably out of the budget for a lot of events, but it does show that creative event designers are finding ways to turn VR into a group experience. For the short term, most events might need to content themselves with some kind of station with two or three headsets where guests can have a little fun going into a virtual world or playing a game, but as costs come down and technology gets faster, it’s easy to envision group VR presentations becoming more cost-effective.

Things get even more interesting on the augmented reality side. Because these devices are layering information over reality, the experience doesn’t take you out of reality. We will again see the most obvious possibilities for venues, including being able to stand in the middle of an empty ballroom, put on a pair of AR goggles and have important information overlaid on to what the viewer sees. This could include various room setups, decor options, room features, and more - all rendered three-dimensionally and moving as the viewer walks through the environment. The goggles could highlight even more technical items such as ceiling heights, power drops, and rigging points.

Another application is to combine AR technology with other hot-topic technologies. Beacon technology allows for precise device location where GPS might not be available. Now, combine that with information contained within the typical event mobile app. Imagine being an attendee at a busy trade show. While visiting a booth, you receive a notification in your AR-enabled glasses, letting you know it’s time for your appointment at another stand. Your path to your next appointment is highlighted, and (just like Google Maps) it shows you the fastest route.

This technology is coming faster than you might think, with several companies working actively on augmented reality goggles and headsets, and while a little behind their virtual reality cousins, commercial versions should be available soon from the likes of Microsoft and Google. In the meantime, compelling AR experiences can still be achieved using tablets and smartphones, and these will likely continue to be popular and less expensive options for the near future.

Achievement Unlocked - Made it on TWiT

Well, there's one to check off the bucket list. Last week I had the opportunity to be on the TWiT (This Week in Tech) network as part of the "Call for Help" section of their show The New ScreenSavers.

Left: Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ  Right: Leo Laporte  Center: A strangely orange and typically shiny me

The show was prerecorded in advance of the US Thanksgiving holiday and released on November 28th, 2015. On this episode, host Leo Laporte was joined by Father Robert Ballecer, SJ, a specialist in enterprise technology, and a Jesuit priest. How's that for a combo for ya?

I originally reached out to the network during my recent unsuccessful bid to get elected to the Richfield School Board, hoping to get their insights on technology in our schools. While I had a strong suspicion they'd be in favor of Chromebooks over iPads or Windows laptops, I was curious to get their take, as well as their thoughts on lower income families who might not have access to the Internet at home.

Why it was a big bleeping deal for me...

Being on the show was a complete fanboy experience for me, and I was incredibly nervous. You see, there's a direct connection between my discovering The Screen Savers (hosted by Leo Laporte, and featuring the original "Call for Help" segment) on the short-lived cable television network TechTV circa 2002, and my life today. At the time, the programming was just interesting to me- geeks talking about geek stuff, a little bit of hacking, and a lot of basic computer repair. Stuff that's proven extremely valuable to me in my life as a technology guy ever since. Not long after I discovered the network, it began to disintegrate. There just wasn't enough mainstream demand for such focused, geeky content.

Fast forward about 5 years or so: I'm married and have a beautiful daughter. One day while surfing the net I discover that Leo's been making a new show called This Week in Tech- but it wasn't on TV, it was something called a "podcast", and you could download it and listen (or watch it) through iTunes. My world opened up in a way I wouldn't have thought possible

Being a new parent, there wasn't a lot of time to sit around watching TV, much less reading a book. Through podcasting, I could keep up on all the technology news I could handle, all the while bouncing a baby, mowing the lawn, shoveling the walk, doing the dishes... Through the podcast world I learned of Audible, and started listening to audiobooks. I don't think I'd read more than a couple books for leisure in the previous 10 years, now I was devouring them at a rate of one a month. We had another daughter, and I began blogging about my experiences as a GeekDad. Some of the articles still survive at the very beginning of this blog.

Listening to podcasts, I discovered Twitter. Within weeks of being on Twitter I started to meet event industry folks that remain my friends to this day. I started going to conferences and meetups, and eventually started speaking publicly. From there I began recording classes at the Event Leadership Institute, which in turn led me to doing more public speaking at conferences, as well as my all day intensive classes on technical production. I met even more meeting and event people, and the next thing I knew I was a co-hosting a podcast myself. Lindsey Rosenthal, Tahira Endean, and I produced a year of weekly industry podcasts called The Event Alley Show. When that came to a halt, I was approached by BizBash to host a new podcast, GatherGeeks.

I've often said that my biggest professional regret was not getting involved in the industry earlier. Basically I lived in my own little company bubble for 15 years. When I started to get out and meet all the fantastic meeting and event people from all over the world, my universe began to change. I went from liking what I do, to loving what I do, and I started my own company.

And if I hadn't stumbled upon Leo Laporte, The Screen Savers, and TWiT, none of that would have happened.


The New Screen Savers Episode 30

GatherGeeks- A Podcast by BizBash

The Event Alley Show

Interactive Polling: Reading the Minds of Your Audience




  • APT (Audience Polling Technology)
  • ART (Audience Response Technology)
  • Voting Keypads
  • Reply System (A brand name of voting keypad)
  • Audience Clickers














By any other name...



The definition of augmented reality:







Like what?




Where it falls apart










The future's so bright, I gotta eat bacon























Originally published at


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***Update 6/21/11

On Recording Meetings - Avoid Post Event Trauma and Save Money by Asking a Few Questions

An image of a DV-HDV DeckI'm noticing a trend in the meetings industry:Easily 5 out of the last 6 shows I've worked on have requested the recorded video of their meeting.

While that's not all that unusual in and of itself, what's different is that they're requesting it almost immediately after the program, and are wanting it in a digital format so that they can edit it and get it up on either their internal or external websites.

What does this mean for meeting planners?  You might think, "Nothing" or "No big deal" or even "Duh."  With the proliferation of high bandwidth internet connections, smart phones, and the ubiquitous YouTube videos (and their ease of creation), clients are naturally expecting to be able to get bits and pieces of their event onto the Internet in short order.

What it does is add one more conversation that needs to happen before the event, and preferably before the equipment budget is finalized.  There are many different "levels" of recording a show, varying from "goes in a box somewhere" to "going to be sold as a Blu-Ray DVD", and that level not only has a direct impact on the equipment needed for the meeting, but also can affect the out of pocket expenses of the client before, during, and after the show.  Put simply? Planning ahead can save everyone involved headaches and money- most of which are caused by having the wrong level of record, or one that doesn't meet the clients expectations even if they aren't sure what those expectations are themselves.

Here's the low down on the various types of meeting and event records:

Level 0: "No recording." Frankly, this rarely if ever happens when there's a camera in play, but it never hurts to ask your AV provider if recording is included in the price.

Level 1: "Goes in a box somewhere." For this level we usually see one of two types of record strategies.  First, there is the on-camera record.  Only the video taken by the camera is put on the tape.  On slightly older cameras these are usually DVCAM tapes, and on newer "pro-sumer" HD models the video is recorded on what's called HDV tapes.  The cost increase from level one is the cost of tapes, which aren't cheap. Almost $35 per 184 minute tape.

The second option is a "program feed" record.  A separate record deck is inserted into the video rig, and whatever's being sent to the screen is recorded.  Be careful- there's a terminology trap here. Some AV vendors (and myself, before being bitten in the rear one too many times) use the terms "Line Cut" and "Program Feed" interchangeably, however... "Line Cut" is a term derived from Television production, and refers to a particular edit that just contains camera angle switches.  A "Program Feed" should include anything that's being shown on the screen.  Make sure you know which you're getting!  Most vendors are capable of doing this kind of record, but you have to ask for it.  The cost goes up by not only the price of the tapes, but also the cost of the deck.

When the show is over, your AV vendor gives you or your clients the tapes, and they go in a box somewhere.

Level 2: "There's a chance we might use it someday," or "We might want to at least watch it." Basically you're looking at the same as above, but you need to keep a couple things in mind.  If you just hand your clients the tapes, they probably can't watch them.  Most people don't have a DVCAM or HDV (or BETACAM, which still rears its ugly head from time to time) deck lying around the office.  Your AV vendor or production company obviously does, as you just used one on your event.  See if they'll include a basic video transfer to DVD so that at least you can give the client those, which should be watchable on any consumer DVD player or computer.  If they can't, there's usually at least one company in every major city that specializes in media format changes- VHS->DVD for example.  They can usually do this for a moderate fee.  For our part, metroConnections usually includes this transfer of the program feed to DVD in the price of production.

Level 3: "We're definitely going to use it at some point." Either of the previous two options will work for some clients.  Hopefully you've handed them the tapes along with a DVD copy.  They can watch the DVD, decide what they like, hand the tapes over to a video editing company and have their footage professionally edited and put together.  If the client knows this is going to happen, though, you might throw one more option at them- the combination of both the "on camera" record (also sometimes known as ISO) as well as the program feed.  This is especially helpful when PowerPoints or other PC/Mac-based presentations are involved.  The client can provide the video editors both sets of tapes, and the editor can use the program feed as a reference to add the PowerPoints back into the final edit.  By having the ISOs as well as the original PowerPoint materials, the editor can precisely edit when the speaker is on the screen and when the slide is- something that doesn't always come out perfectly with the on-site switching that gets sent to the program feed.

Level 4: "We're definitely going to use it next week." One of the biggest problems with the above scenarios are that they're all tape-based.  That means that when it comes time to get that information off the tape, it has to happen in real time- just like all those VHS tapes you have in your basement somewhere.  If your conference was three days long, eight hours a day, guess how long it will take just to get the footage into an editable form? Yup. Ouch.  This is probably the biggest "gotcha" point." Video houses are probably going to charge you or your client wicked rush charges to turn around that much footage in a short amount of time, or simply won't have time to do it.  If your client knows they're going to use the footage, try and get a reasonable understanding of when they intend to do so, and set their expectations accordingly.

Another option is to use a hard drive recorder.  This is basically the same as the tape decks of old, but records the video directly to either an internal or external hard drive.  These are definitely going to be more expensive than DVCAM or HDV decks, but you can turn around the footage much faster.  Usually they write to a format that can be edited almost right away in Final Cut.

If you get the right cameras, you can record them on hard drives there as well.   Then you're able to get the benefits mentioned in "Level 3".  Again it's more expensive on the front end, but theoretically you or the client is saving money on rush charges and editing time.  If you don't have ISO records, the editor has to guess where the PPT slides go, and this usually involves watching the program from start to finish.  If you have both the program feeds and the ISOs, you can skim around and look for the changes.

It's important to note that all of the options above involve some kind of specialty equipment at some point in the process before the client gets the footage in their hands.  DVCAM Tapes require tape decks that can read DVCAM tapes, HDV decks the same, and even when recording to hard disk, chances are you're going to need a Mac (most of the formats I've seen are QuickTime variations that don't play nice with Windows).

There's a bunch of levels in between the ones I've laid out here, but these are the most common ones I've run into.  I mentioned the "Going to be put out on Blu-Ray" level- if that's the case, you need to have a very serious talk about expectations, because in most cases that's going to involve an entirely separate record crew from the normal production crew, essentially doubling your costs.

Hopefully though, this is enough to get the conversation started, and enough to give you an informed viewpoint in that conversation.  Ultimately you should be able to guide your client into the right fit for what they want balanced with what they can afford to pay.

Top Five Watches the GeekDad in Chief Should be Wearing

by Brandt Krueger, Geek Dad since 2007 Obama w Superman_02Much has been made about the geektitude of our current president, from his use (and correct pronunciation) of Superman lore, to his insistance on keeping his BlackBerry, to his ability to properly give the vulcan hand sign of "Live Long and Prosper."  So when I found out that there was a website where a mere mortal like myself could buy the President's watch, I had to check it out.  Needless to say, I was a looking for something a little more geeky than what I found.jorg-gray-watch-debut-2

I don't know, I guess I figured the GeekDad in Chief would have something like an original Casio CA53W.


You know, for tackling those pesky budgets and figuring out how to pay for universal healthcare without raising taxes.

Don't get me wrong, the watch he wears is a nice watch and all.  It has all your standard geeky dials and dates, but I can't help but feel like he might be neglecting an important presidential accessory.  And so I present to you,

The Top Five Watches the GeekDad in Chief should be Wearing:

5.  LED Binary Watch

Basic, and self explanatory to even low-level geeks.  Baffling to the non-geek.

4. Casio Telememo 150

Ok, so the calculator watch is still an option.  I was surprised to see that Casio was still pumping out these babies, updated for the new century.  And what does almost 30 years of calculator watch get you over the CA35?  Semi-permanent EEPROM memory of 150 "pages" consisting of 8 letters and twelve numerals per page.  Perfect for the POTUS to keep track of his schedule, and to be alerted he's got an important "MEETIN" to go to (see photo).

3.  Missile Command

When I ran across the title for this watch in my searches, I was really hoping it would look like this: Missile Command Watch

No such luck.  Apparently Atari didn't cash in on the Missile Command franchise in the watch department.  You gotta admit, though, that would have been pretty cool.  Still would.  Somebody get on that.

Anyway, even though it looks like this...

Chase Durer Missile Command Watch...this watch is still worth an honorable mention, and the President is, after all, the ultimate Missile Commander for our country.

2.  25th Aniversary G-Shock

25th Aniversary G-Shock

The G-Shock is the gold standard for geek watches.  Nobody's sure why, as most of its functionality is based on athletic pursuits (something geeks are not generally known for).  Nonetheless, the watch became so popular for so long, Casio released the 25th Anniversary edition in white and gold, perfect for those fancy White House dinner parties with foreign dignitaries.

1.  Nixie Tube Watch

Nixie Tube WatchA favorite of "The Woz", the Nixie Tube Watch is the perfect mix of geek chic and old school tech.  Nothing says "I represent change!" better than a ridiculously over-sized vacuum tube watch.   Press the button and the two digits flash the hours, minutes and seconds.  I love the fact that the inventor has a detailed history on his site of how he developed it from breadboard to production.  Click on the photo to check it out!

So snap to it, Mr. Prez, and embrace your inner geek!  I want to see one of those watches on your wrist before the August recess...

Happy GeekDaddy Day! BUG Labs tutorial for building your own web enabled baby monitor

by Brandt Krueger, Geek Dad since 2007 Happy Father's Day, Geek Dads!  It's your day, so why not spend it doing some hard core geeking?  I can currently think of no better example of GeedDaddyness than this tutorial from BUG Labs, which uses their modular device building system to help you create your own baby monitor.

The levels of geek cred on this project are many and varied.  Any project that contains these terms- "Open Source", "Linux-Based", "Web Enabled", and "Motion Sensing" -has got it goin' on!

Full feature on BUGLabs to come, but in the meantime be sure and poke around their site and see what else folks have built using the BUG.  There's some very cool stuff!

Don't Be too Proud of this Technological Terror You've Constructed

Just an observation, and a warning, to the Geek Dads of the world: Despite the good intentions of this site, there's something you need to know. No amount of technology, no amount of circuits, No amount of kilohertz, megahertz, or gigahertz, No amount of kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, or petabytes, No amount of GPUs, CPUs, DSPs, or PSPs, No amount of coding, transcoding, hypercoding, speedcoding, softcoding, noncoding, geocoding, geotagging, metatagging, mobile tagging, RFID tagging, or frag tagging, No amount of Macs, spacks, tracks, brute force attacks, or server racks, No amount of black boxes, set top boxes, grooveboxes, sandboxes, gameboxes, Game Boys, fanboys, bitboys, bitTorrents, YouTorrents, YouTubes, or intertubes...

...can make something magically appear faster than your cupped hands to catch your daughter's vomit before it gets all over her, her PJs, and her bed. Get yer hands out there and suck it up.

Technology FAIL