Events Apps Take Cues from Tinder and Match.com to Engage Attendees
Photo Credit: Delegates at C2 Montreal this year scheduled more than 2,300 "Brain Dates" with each other in creative locations using the E-180 event app. C2 Montreal
Skift Take
New event apps use matchmaking algorithms and dating app functionality to help conference attendees tap into the collective knowledge of the entire event community.
How can you meet the people you want to meet efficiently when you're attending a conference with 5,000 other people?
You can't, really, at least not with today's event technology.
For the last decade, a growing array of tech companies have been developing dedicated event apps to help connect like-minded people with aligned personal and/or professional interests.
Most apps today typically include a full list of attendees, and that's great if you already know who you want to message. More advanced apps let users tag their profiles with specific labels, ranging from personal things like "dog owner" to work-related skills like "UX designer," to help people with common interests connect.
Still, for most people, extensive attendee lists are often too unwieldy to navigate in a phone at a busy conference. In fact, the apps themselves are proving to be too jam-packed with digital tools altogether, including weather forecasts and hashtagged event photos, making some app d
