Seattle XR Unconference, 2024
Topics Covered: Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Extended Reality (XR), Immersive Technology, UX Design, Event Production, Tech Trends
Conference Overall Ratings: Venue (4.5/5) - Food (2.25/5) - Speaker Content (5/5) - Networking Opportunity (5/5) - Likeliness to Return (5/5) - (for more details, see the end of the blog…)
Initial Conference Overview - Why Go?: I had no clue what to expected from this event/topic and I kinda thought it was about UX. But it turned out to be about XR. It’s fun to jump into conversations about emerging tech and creativity.
Photo Collage & Commentary -
Notes from the Event:
So, the way this event works is that people go sit at tables about the prompt they’re most interested in. So the table choices were like “XR with Ai”, “Making XR More Mainstream (I went and did that one). If you scroll down you’ll see some more of the topics.
-Topic: Making XR More Mainstream (I started with this one since obviously “XR” isn’t mainstream enough, since IDK what “XR” is! lol.)
Reduce the barriers for entry. People need to learn new control paradigms. Not everyone owns a headset. The charging only lasts an hour or so at most. These headsets can give headaches to you quickly when they’re not properly weighted, adjusted, and balanced.
Apple doesn’t want to play and build with anyone else. You must build apps for both platforms (android and apple)
As we learned yesterday at the event about video games building for both platforms is a big investment of time and money that can set you back a lot (or you just compromise) if you don’t realize it. Yet, that the guy who went mega viral on his 3rd game said that next time around he’d learned to launch the app on two stores on the same day. Not launch to launch it on one platform initially… then later in life, launch it on the 2nd platform. Be prepared. The reaction from the crowd was dismal on the second launch, even with marketing. Marketing was a topic that he’d said earlier “did the work for itself”..I’m like, again, yikes!! launches are make or break!
They have excellent optics. But when people are reluctant to build on their platform because of so many barriers, this will force Apple to change. Or vise versa, everyone will be forced to also do it Mac’s way.
Headsets can be played longer when they’re plugged in while being played.
XR is in entertainment, healthcare (Coachella has XR features in their app).
-I mentioned this is like what I learned last week. Content screens are designed to mix of reality with augmented reality so the audience can’t tell what’s real and what is not real. Then one of the guys at my table actually had worked in that industry for over a decade and started teaching a lot about it.
Interactive screens and a client’s audience-specific experience is being created. (Muse, for example, has been doing this since the very introduction of XR.)
Real time XR, mix 3D and real world environment.
Sometimes artists will ask for different request, but what they’re asking for would require like 30 cameras, then they don’t have the budget. They may want creative effects to track them, but in the end, the cost doesn’t match the requests. Once technology makes things more cost-efficient or ideas for this investment can be turned into profitable revenue (or at least breaking even) it is hard to justify.
3D Billboards have perspective tricks. Perspective tricks are being used all of the time in entertainment and advertising. Thinking about how the audience interacts with a screen and what they see from their perspective. If you know the room and every place someone could be standing, you can make the experience totally customized, where a screen makes it hard to tell what’s real and what’s not. Especially in a dark room.
If you know the audience’s persepctive and the scene/view is right, you can trick audiences to think they’re seeing holograms/interesting display technology. You render things to perspective. But at some point the perspective breaks, so this works best in a limited environment.
yeah… I was jaw dropped during this conversation.
You can also “steer different viewpoints”
In sports broadcasting, XR is very relevant. A banner can display multiple things depending on who is the audience. The live audience sees something different than the audiences at home. And the audiences at home see different things based on the region .
This is done a lot with soccer, since soccer has so many different audiences. You need to replace advertisements with regional relevant companies. So cameras see/display different things.
This messes with the perimeters of vision display.
“What if kids got used to this and grow up in this environment. Will they get used to it and want it to be even more extreme?”
NFL/NBA there is so much AR being used. The panther in the screen, the nickelodeon goo, audience participation systems.
XR is all over mainstream and allover the place. You just dont’ even know it. It ‘s already here.
XR Tech = you could ask everyone here to get a different definition of XR from everyone. Right now it’s not so clearly defined. It’s growing.
Also, in mainstream ,there is a naming problem. There is no way you can say, “Hey mom, let’s go to the XR Christmas Carols” yeah right. She’s never going with that wording (even though it may feature amazing artist and features she enjoys. Along, XR sounds too exotic/vague/new.
XR will be mainstream when we’re detaching from our phones in exchange for this.
When will there be more devices on our head than in our pockets?
When will we no longer need a personal device and have it all in our minds?
When will we use technology to live together, not as these algorithmic isolation chambers? (I liked this wording a lot)
The ultimate “mainstream” intercepts the human experience to the phone that phones are a pain to take out of our pockets. In the longterm, it’ll happen. We are in the early days of XR and this technology.
Will Humanoid Robots or XR be more mainstream first?
Although humanoid robots are catching on quickly, already so many screens exist. XR is already here.
They don’t make tesla’s fast enough, they don’t repair teslas fast enough. Can they make robots fast enough?
I think that they can use humanoid robots on airplanes. To serve people (or even just small robots) and also, let’s be honest, to be security, etc. Safety providers, etc. I just see that as a business who would adapt robots quickly.
BREAKTIME for those who are “Coffily Inclined” (haha I liked this wording)
Also they mentioned that if you don’t want to be in photos, just ask - no problem. They’ll use these photos to promote the next event. I thought that was nice they mentioned it and it made me feel more supportive of photos being taken. I’m not a fan of the photographers who are extremely in your face at events and you just are supposed to act okay with it.
TOPIC: XR IN Film, TV, Virtual Production
Disney is working on this in many parts of their businesses (the lead of XR Engineering was at the table). They’re working with companies like Pixar, Marvel, National Geographic, etc etc. Making interactive movies, transforming these banners into world brands.
Disney is a funny company to me, personally. When I was a young kid, my grandpa bought me 10 shares of this stock. It’s the company I was taught how stocks work, with. Eventually (much to my financial advisor’s not-wishes) I sold Disney and put it into other things. I just felt like it had done its work, taught me a lesson… but I’m not the biggest fan of their company. I am and I’m not. However, I thought it was really interesting to hear a lot from this guy (and everyone at the table) because they were really knowledgable about this topic, sincere, and seemed pretty nice.
Research and dev on dev use cases. Prototyping theme parks VR.
Animation at game school on East Side of Seattle. Lots of documentary storytelling at production studio.
documentaries on climate change, elephant conservation, social justice, economy, voting… digital series
Leverage time in TV, Film, Digital Storytelling, Gaming, AR… wanna figure out how to create new content to inform, entertain, create community
I ran into someone I’ve seen a few times. At the moment he’s a teacher but all his students are graduating so he’s going to soon step away from that and turn freelance. We talked a bit about the potential I see, as well, in the city and freelancing - but it does take a lot of persistence. Like, 95% of small businesses fail.
This seems like a systematic problem. At the moment it’s hard to take risks and compete and afford to make great things. People keep saying Ai will level the playing field. Let’s see.
Someone at the table had recently quit playing video games entirely. He thought to himself “what is the point” and started using that time “touching grass”. What do people want from XR? Ecotherapy? Exposure to nature? The more you’er in nature, the more it creates sympathy. Exposure to nature creates peace in your body and mind.
XR = “the empathy machine”. It can do this collectively. What if you could tell your story of your life, sharing experiences on how you actually live.
my computer first auto corrected that to “the empty machine” and I just feel like that shouldn’t be ignored hahah…..
Help the entire environment/ppl better understand each other.
Innovating in tech w/ big companies, creating new experience with large audiences connecting to them.
Production company making commercials for digitial content
55 employees building products for startups and Fortune 500 companies. Autonomous vehicles, headsets, glasses
Films used to be cost prohibitive, but now you have more features with your iPhone than they did while filming Star Wars with real cameras. The barrier is no longer there.
XR = interesting things happening, story and sound experience, engage worth other people
AR = limited to the headset
now everyone can participate in something together
How can XR improve everyday l life and create a connection between people? Geospatial analog. Things don’t move unless they’re moved. Scan and create a twin of the environment/space and share it with others. How that can become a narrative to global society? Rather than living in bubbles. Help the entire environemtn/people better understand each other.
We are closer than ever before so it is exciting
The aspect of getting people outside w/ phone access to historical information about where they are at.
I’m like, okay. except how lately it feels like all of history’s “truth” is in question and a lot of things don’t line up when people are putting everything togther, but this would be a way to enforce and support a story/history further (depending in how the info is sourced). hahah everything is so crazy lately. But… this just makes me think “cool feature, but also… what story will be told?”
People won’t like how it’s limited to a small screen.
We could have incredibly detailed maps of parks, then you choose which decade to see it in. Many cities could come forward and offer tourism expreicnes, where you see what it used to look like and recreate it to be seen digitally.
XR would make this more affordable than rebuilding everything, of course. But you can see what the pictures of the past looked like in real life with XR.
This may be good for local governments, to show how the city has been improved. Show the contrast.
WebXR only on android, so only 50% of people can even access it.
NFC = phone tap, 3¢ AR, no app
“Make cool shit until people like it”
Put everything your portfolio, keep adding to it - but always consider the cost/reward.
If the company you’re working for fails, do you want to start your own company or work for someone else?
Most work comes from referrals.
Make prototypes and first drafts
Experience to play VR w/ Hendrix (then was bought by the Hendrix family).
Add VR to mental health workforce
Help people with high stress jobs
Ai life coaching. XR/VR mascot is a guide (frontline workers who need an escape can use this)
Sound has different effects on your brain.
Hackathons on medical problems.
So much potential with a good team. Hackathon is fun for small projects that don’t have enough proof of concept. You’d realyl need more data, contradictory push/pull, and market research to know this is really the best idea.
Winners of design competitions usually don’t end up making viable products. They are not making it to production. They’re innovative but not making things that are realistically possible.
Big problems will be solved by big companies, but small companies can find lots of money, too, solving small problems well.
You will have trouble beating big companies unless you’re sure that what you’re doing will work.
Creativity has been absorbed into big corporations and then disappeared.
Some businesses completely flop when the environment or technology changes and they can’t pivot in time.
The innovators dilemna:
We run business principals in proven systems that work because they don’t lack innovation, they survived when changes came along.
A business without enough resources, they need more money. “Here is my portfolio, shut up for a few years, you will see results.” This method is proven to work .
without ______ it can’t happen… even the best ideas.
Nasa needed digital images to transfer images from the moon, they liked image technology. Then they invested in chemical photography and optic digital technology.
Also… I’m a person who is not convinced the moon landing was real. The more I see, the more I think it was fake… and many aspects of NASA are fake. Just saying hahaha. You know. Just gotta not leave that out….. but we don’t need to get into it here. But, even “the lighting” of the moon… I’ve seen a lot of good evidence that makes me question its validity. It seems like, as someone who didn’t grow up watching it happen in real time, I have less emotional attachment to this, so it’s easier to consider. Same with the younger generations now totally questioning everything and making that more mainstream. And then the older generations who have been thinking this all along (be it any sector: finance, healthcare, science, etc) are like “yes!! look” and then there is a stronger team and an abundance of information to argue both sides.
The technology should have been more invested in, in the 90’s. As it was in the 50/s.
Sometimes you have your fingers in to much.. Giant ships take forever to turn around.
Ecosystems will change. You don’t know how your environment will change, even if you want to stay in the same place. Your surroundings will change even when you don’t leave.
Sometimes you have your fingers in too much. The founder syndrome is when you think it’s a bad idea if it’s not your own idea. But big ships take forever to turn around, you need group think, you need to get others ideas and consider them.
Create prototypes, start small, build quickly, fail quickly. Move on.
How much did this work cost in price and time… quick prototypes are good to justify the ROI when it doesn’t immediately come back. Sometimes to justify ROI, you’ve got to be certain about the amount of risk you’re taking on, because nothing is guaranteed.
My help = my rule, my conditions.
Often people shut down when they’re so close to a solution or problem.
You may have a great idea and the ability to execute it, but just need resources and capital. Sometimes you have to say to investors “now sit down, be quiet, and leave me alone for three years.” This strategy is proven to work.
Find someone who can find the best people and then let them go as fast as they can towards the goal.
Kodak invented a new industry, saved the past of ruse to see in the future.
But soon we’re going to lose all o four data and pics… eventually. JPEGs destroy themselves over time.
We need to figure out how to keep memories, hold all of these memories.
Thousands of years ago, they made things out of clay. Because clay can hold its shape for thousands and thousands of years.
Google Drive won’t last this long.
Rivian does this clay casting, both physical and digital
Right now there are so many ways to communicate, it can be too complicated. Texting, phone calls, getting together in person, whats app, Facebook messenger, instagram, DM… we’re losing touch with how to communicate
are we? for me, I think I’m getting better at communicating (like, listening to my mind and saying what I think) and talking to others more calm/intentionally… but maybe that’s part of growing up too. I just don’t know if that above statement was accurate. I think that the different ways of communicating let you say things in different ways at different times. But.. also this could be really stressful in some environments. Having people contact you all the time who you don’t like or something. IDK. I just thought that statement could have been picked apart more.
Ai should be solving communication problems
I think Ai helps me A LOT with communication. But even “using ai” is a skill you need to get used to, and using Ai for different things. But that’s also why I feel like, in some ways, technology IS helping with communication… but I’m not sure if that’s true for everyone, and if even that information could be gathered objectively.
Ai should be filling gaps. Not taking jobs. It should be used to help.
“Our company is in the freezer at the moment” - someone said this and I loved it. It’s kinda similar to my situation. So I appreciated this wording.
TOPIC: 100,000 Person Events in Ai
100,000 people gathered together all at the same time, gathered around the world - it’s an idea on media, entertainment, cultural impact
Nothing gives you the same experience as walking your ass down to a stadium and sitting into a seat. You can not recreate the energy. Tech is adding to it. Tech adds a layer of design to the reality. In a stadium, every single piece and detail of the experience someone has thought of. This is a multi thousand year form of entertainment that we are constantly refining.
How do we maintain simultaneous connections? Will each person get the same experience? What is the average image of what is going on?
How do we make this an interactive experience?
The nosebleeds and the front row are at the same event. How do we bring both value? Both are not guaranteed to have a good time, either. Though both could have a great time.
Physical arena gatherings broadcast shared experience. We’re all connected by the common thread. But there can be overlays of different info over a shared experience.
What’s the value of the experience? People together, energy of the crowd… what’s the point to create the experience?
Get people’s emotions to arise in certain ways. Creating an illusion
I’m like wahhh! hahah. okay…. no comment quite yet…. but… okay. I did bring up that this reminds me of “Josie and the Pussycats” where they use the band to get the multi-million audience to wear headphones that make the audience think they’re listening to music but actually they’re also listening to subliminal brainwashing messages & advertising. eyeroooollllllll.
This can be used in exposure therapy - though it needs to be done “correctly”. If you do exposure therapy “wrong” it can make things even worse. People need to be comfortable, often better delivered in therapy than just in a room. Like if someone is scared of getting on the subway, they practice here with VR.
Well meaning developers can totally mess up.
Even if you have enough marketing, if your product is shit, it won’t be worth it in the end.
RP1 Solutions, power tournament, 3D role model. You see dots with all the names on it and all the people with avatars. Then you can see the event, just jump to different places. Each person may be an avatar, or just simply a dot. You can fly and see different places.
What does it matter? How are we going to make it meaningful?
Things can’t be static, either. Will the virtual age a bit?
Use XR to bridge people from singular to shared experience. Not just an isolation chamber again and again.
The shared experience is instant synchronicity between a large number of people.
XR makes it more amplified for designed/curated experiences.
Do we want to all be aligned on certain things?
What are harmless things to be aligned on? What is good to have struggle with?
What did wells when people stopped getting the news from simply just the newspaper? Then the TV? Now anyone can have the news instantly. Now anyone can share news. They’re not health to journalistic standards at all.
There is a loss of third places. No longer a shared collective, no water cooler conversations.
Concerts created alongside concerts feel like a party. “The guide” if people are scared to go, want a tour, etc - can take you with them
you can join a family member at an event, even if you can’t go yourself.
Create an experience for someone to have attending an event live-streamed high quality, interactive, virtual.
I actually like this idea so much, in some ways, and think it’s 100% going to happen. Like it or not. And it’ll be turned into video games/movies - maybe even a crossover. Virtual experiences to experience worlds/stories… but also attend events virtually with family/friends while they’re all there in person. The example they used is cause maybe someone was in the hospital longterm, so this was a ways they can join the fun.
You can audit the population of countries.
lol, okay, what? hahah. This is out of nowhere.
If you have money and education, you’re not having children. Your’e not having as many children. Upper middle class families are less likely to have many children.
A world without birth control would be very different
provided with good education, you can reach great heights.
Take the children out of bed environments and educate them
XR can equal the playing field (but with less barrier to entry… even I don’t about it, and i’m fairly educated, etc… so idk how much kids are experiencing it - but I will as my daughter grows up!)
Poverty creates a lot of stress. This can give you even cognitive disabilities.
I mentioned that projected Pokemon fighting would probably be a thing in the future. How it reminds me of the amazing Tekken I saw live competition at the PAX West event and how extremely fun that was… I could see a world where people raise their virtual Pokemon (maybe this can be tied to blockchain and NFT’s somehow, GameStop even tied in - I’m wearing their sweatshirt while wrapping up this blog, you knowww) and then you could watch people fight their Pokemon in stadiums! This could be so fun. Niche, for sure. But so fun!!
Others added that the audience could contribute to live XR events adding game mechanics and interactions/contributions.
I said that sounds like the hunger games when they send in things to the competitors.
Then we talked about how this already happens on a small scale with audience involvement at live games… cheering, cell phones
What would 100,000 people get together for in Seattle?
even if you work in Tech, you may still like a life off the internet outside of the office. Or, if you live in a digital world, maybe your favorite thing to do is go play a game where you’re actually a dragon. Sometimes you do less physical because you’re addicted to the digital world.
Is it bad to spend more time in the digital world than the physical world? What is the ultimate goal? Do you use the digital world to make your physical world better or vise versa?
Were humans made to be together?
Society is getting more isolated.
We used to live in tribes of 20-150 people.
Now, you can find these 30-150 people similar to you globally in communities. Is it okay to have that global community?
When the president speaks, the media and world around it translate it. We used to have a sense of media obligation.
Wish the world had the tools to get things in an unbiased way, but also allow people to lean more and more into their weird/wonderful ways, full-fledge as a human.
Why is fantasy separate from reality?
We are social creatures, but also when we are separated, we have less going on in our mind. More info often distracts and disconnects us.
“People often don’t realize bias, especially when they’re uneducated or educated”. Much of the world isnt’ taught to think critically. That’s why the majority thinks this way." I have had this argument said to me recently, and I have an idea where it’s coming from… but I think it’s a bit close minded sometimes, but also has accuracies. I dont want to get into it, but I think this is a trending way of thinking lately, but more of a crutch than a look in the mirror.
Time and attention is more filled than ever before.
“The Allegory of the Cave”: Education is the process of leaving the cave. The true complexities hurt your eye, its is so painful, so you go back into your cave. Then when you go back, no one believes you. They pull you back in. If you try to help people get out, they often want to stay in the cave. People are content in the cave. They don’t realize they are uneducated.
Who are we to say that hey should leave? Some want to stay or go, who are we to say what they should do? Making an assumption on what another human needs to live life in the you think is the wy… Is it okay that people/societies are going to live this way? Are you adopting values of oppression?
What if we implemented a mandatory “no technology/devices for 2 years” on each person. Like some countries demand military contribution.
Are we living in a world where high level government decisions will start being made by Ai?
What around the world brings the most people together?
Follow along with concert or conference attendees. Remote attendeeds
Walk around Costco with the cost guy, , follow me!
Walk around the library with me, come on!
Let’s go to Disney like a pro, come with me!
TOPIC: WEB XR
all headsets support it
there are varying opinions on WEB XR. Some are extremely skeptical, some think its the future.
It is at least a decade from mattering in the world around you?
WEB XR is not practical until it’s enabled by everyone - including apple devices.
WEBXR’s purpose is to VR/MR/AR devices as the web was to creens
WEB XR isn’t meant to be accessed as much by phones as larger screens. It may not be as valuable.
The adaption of headsets isn’t there
It’s not meant to replaces HTML
it’s a way to interact with 3D without having to download new apps or new technology, to an extent.
You can take pictures of things online and place them into your room or onto yourself to see how they look. If you wanted to buy a bag, you could try it on with different outfits.
It does take a while to load everything and sync up, but this technology can surely grow its uses and purposes
Amazon works on a very small margin. XR helps you show the value. Why you’ve improved. It adds to the value proposition. XR can help communicate this by modeling and interactive viewing. It’s a huge use case.
WEB XR is no longer questioned of its success or not… it’s here and it’s very useful.
There is a big hesitation with WEB XRs’ usefulness.. it’s very limited in what it can be useful with. No apple phones/most devices.
Apple will never be the first to do something lately. They want to see others do it well and others succeed. Then once they know they can succeed, they go for it.
Eight Wall is having so much success with the NFL, etc.
WebXR is holistically growing. The Spec is funny to sit around and talk about. What part does it play in the ecosystem? How will it grow? Where do we need it?
A lot of technology is already here.
Every stadium is noting players, tracking fingers, every small detail to help with the refs.
This data is imported into AR experiences.
They can capture live data… but when you watch the game at home you can see the live data on your screen… can you bring the live data to the audience experience in the stadium? Add even more value? Give the audience more incentive to attend?
WEBXR Demos: Package experiences, cool special work on the web
Apple Vision Pro - a sad “could have been”, billions were poured into it, but it’s not getting a lot of mainstream success. Many people are returning them and complaining about headaches
it is just part of the process, it’s improving but not there yet.
Apple will be forced to adapt because people aren’t developing on it.
Immersive videos: figure out the shots, are they too close for the viewer? this new perspective takes time to figure out.
Figure out your shots, your screens have different views.
You want to make movies and the aesthetic with a cinematic, technical approach.
Conference “Overall Rating” Further Elaboration:
VENUE - 4.5/5
Room for Improvement:I liked this place a whole lot. It was sunny, pleasant, nice to work in… just a really good vibe for this event. The right size and right features. I do think it was a little far from me… but also, it wasn’t far from lots of people (it was within walking distance of public transit… the subway! so, I mean, that’s a “me” problem kinda. But yeah, I thought it was very great. Very great for this event. I only discount it cause it’s ugly outside, tbh (not even ugly… just no character!! and nothing going on hardly, no art or nature hardly… feels so businessy/mundane/lonely in a crowd - so many empty buildings around like just waiting to be constructed… feels a bit forgotten/in development, not caring about the current day to day life and experience. and as I said, I got SO lost there.. and its like a tiny part of town, right upon leaving the subway. you’d think it’d be a bit easier to navigate. So, that’s more “the neighborhood’s” problem than the venue.
FOOD - 2.25/5
Room for Improvement: Okay. Two point two five is harsh. because I know they are nonprofit and this was a donation based event. And they had an amazing amount of tea, drinks, coffee. That was really nice and I was so happy to have a lot of tea… howeverrrrr - they forgot to even make time for people to go get lunch (even to announce it). I stepped away at 2:30, like “am I crazy for wanting lunch?” so. Then, also they did have snacks, but it was bags of chips and nutragrain bars. I just felt like, at least tell people to go get lunch for half hour nearby, keep networking. There was a good deli/cafe nearby orrr - Maybe you tell people to bring their own lunch? Hahah. Idk. :).Also, Nutragrain bars are fake healthy. Chips aren’t healthy. I always appreciate healthy effortless options, or even effort requiring healthy options :)
SPEAKER CONTENT - 5/5
Allow me to Elaborate: I’d give this a 6/5 even hahaha. I just thought this was super interesting and fun to hear from many people who were all pretty much experts in the field. People spoke up when they felt like they knew what they were talking about). People were even debating at tables!! Lol. I thought it was cool to pick what you wanted to hear/talk about - you curated the experience. And at any point you could get up and leave and go to another table. I did that 2 of the 4 sessions, just cause there were a few conversations (like, both “XR in Business Ownership” and “XR in Film, Media, TV” I want to hear at the same time. #FestivalProblems am I right? hahah. Like wanting to see 2 bands playing at the same time. Not that I go to many festivals, but it felt like a good analogy. So, yeah! I loved this learning style and was so surprised by it. I think schools could adapt this as well (though, tbh, in school you’d totally goof off in this situation and use it to socialize. It only works when you’re really an expert or passionate about something. For this, people were really passionate to talk about it or experts - but for school, it depends on the class…I would have totally had the group goofing off in most topics tbh… hahaha. but maybe not! if the conversation was interesting :)
NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES - 5/5
Allow me to Elaborate: This event was fantastic for networking - even for me!! The anti-social-seeker, lately. I thought it was, like that other day when someone was like “introverts* are misinterpreted” - I think it was 3 or 4 events ago… when they said introverts like to talk, but in smaller groups. I think it was so nice to talk in these small groups about certain topics - and I learned so much and you got to know so many people. I felt it was really fun and you could find some people who were extra interesting to listen to. Also they had an after party/hang out - the breaks were so social, the entire thing was interactive and social. It was very networking-successful. I think it was very good to learn from. PS, here is the quote on introverts from that Ikigai event: “Introverts are often mislabeled and misunderstood. They still like to socialize with people. They like interactions. But maybe they like smaller groups, specific activities together alongside socializing, etc.” Hahah so spot on!
LIKELINESS TO RETURN - 5/5
Allow me to Elaborate: Yeah, even though it was so far away, I think the quality of this event was very fantastic. I learned so much in a short amount of time, was so entertained. Legit, 6 hours flew by! That’s hard to believe. I thought it was a fun and great event that lots of people there enjoyed. I think there is so much to learn and this field is expanding, so meeting again woudl be a similarly fulfilling experience to learn a lot, once again. And curate your experience.
Kelly’s Remaining Questions:
What are the highest profiting trends in XR at the moment?
Who is embracing XR the most lately (companies? countries? etc?)
Where is XR being most used?
Who is funding XR the most and what are their goals with XR?
Until next time, I wish you the motivation and success to search for opportunities around your area. Search and explore: Who is out there giving talks? There are new things happening all of the time
Find relatable or interesting topics you like and check them out! Maybe even something hosted at a cool venue, if there’s no other reason to go. Let’s see what you can learn and discover not too far from home. 😊
