Ticketing has long been a pain in the side for event planners—high demand, the potential for resale, the risk of forgery.

But with blockchain a hot technology looking for a use case, the ticketing problem might prove a perfect fit, the Event Manager Blog explains in a new guide.

“Traditional networks are centralized, meaning dependent on a central node,” the article says. “Blockchain networks are decentralized, meaning that there is no control over the network and all information is accessible to all nodes.”

Beyond making it easier to track the source of an original ticket, the blockchain could make a ticketing system less susceptible to hacking attempts—a problem Ticketmaster has infamously had to deal with in recent years. Each piece of information is added to the network in blocks to a chain that records them, and whenever a part of the overall puzzle is changed, the tech will record it as a new block of the chain.

Because tickets can easily be forged, blockchain ticketing solutions give planners more control over who has access to attendee data.

“Most ticketing platforms are still numb to the risks associated with ticket forging or ticket resale to individuals who are not the intended recipients of the tickets,” the article continues. “This makes blockchain ticketing very appealing for events that have security in mind and want to be able to have stricter control over who gains access to the event.”

What Goes on a Meeting Badge?

What should go on your attendee badges? On the blog we break down the anatomy of a good event badge: https://t.co/kfFCqVSXPF #eventtech #eventprofs #events #assnchat

— Jeff Cooper (@JeffCooper_ELI) February 12, 2019

Meeting badges might seem like a small part of your event, but they can greatly affect the attendee experience. “A well-designed badge provides the most pertinent information to attendees while letting them easily make meaningful connections with one another,” says Katie Cook in a post on the Expo Logic blog.

Cook recommends keeping event badge designs as clean and simple as possible—but don’t be afraid to get creative with your meeting logo, either. When it comes to content, be sure to include only information that is relevant to your meeting purpose. “For example,” Cook says, “if the goal of the badge is to create easy networking opportunities for attendees, you might color-code the badges to guide networking groups or include the attendee’s social media handles.” You can also consider using your meeting badge as a potential sponsorship opportunity to bring in extra revenue.

Other Links of Note

Hosting a free event? The Eventbrite blog offers strategies to increase turnout.

Most associations follow similar membership content models. The Membership Guys discuss other uncommon yet effective content ideas in their latest podcast.

Speaking of podcasts, Slate is rolling out Supporting Cast, a technology service aimed at helping podcast publishers set up paid subscriptions or membership programs.

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