✨ re:compass #53: Eurovision Edition — Together Apart
Navigator for events during 24–30 May 2021
Eurovision has taken lots of my time this week, and I feel no regrets. Seriously, if you are not interested in discovering what all those countries consider to be the “best” of their musical talents, tune in for the comments alone. It’s 3–4 hours non-stop feed with jokes, pokes and sincere compliments from variety of backgrounds. Diversity at its best.
Eurovision is also an event, pushing the first wave of limited in-person festivals as we are phasing out of pandemic lockdowns. Probably the most interesting observation is that many artists opted to do stage performances that were custom-tailored for online or TV viewers, leaving direct attendees in a bit weird situation. Take a look at Ireland’s performance or Greece show this year — looks impressive on the screen while in-person… Uhm, check by yourself.
Regarding the virtual elements, there is a separate website for Eurovision Village which, frankly, has been a cheeky take on visiting Rotterdam while not being really able to do it. There is semi-interactive 3D map of old town, clickable local famous buildings, merch shop, pre-recorded interviews with local famous people — not celebrities per se, just really good chefs, artists, drag queens and other outstanding people from the community. I happily stumbled into Drag Show right before the main event, and haven’t been disappointed with this accident. All has been done with warmth and fun. Yeah, warmth and fun is how I’d describe the whole Eurovision.
Sadly, it is not possible to watch the main show from the Eurovision Village platform, and this has left me wondering about lack of tech solutions for real problems, to be honest. How comes that we still need to use VPN to access live stream on Youtube? Is it really so difficult to sort out rights to the show? And why ffs it is still not possible to have a watch party with friends that would enable video chat and one source for the stream?* How comes that one and half years into pandemic we still face issues to enjoy shared online experiences?
My Eurovision set up includes two screens and three browser windows to watch, chat and tweet. I’m slowly getting a hang on it but hella, don’t we really deserve easier ways to enjoy what we love together while being apart?
* Side note: yes, we have tried couple solutions. They might work well for watching movies but not a live stream.
When: 24–28 May 2021
Access: varies
Format: online festival
The StartmeupHK Festival will run for the entire week virtually featuring 14 main events organised by number of event partners that are experts in their field. Themes range from fintech, AI, proptech, smart city, healthtech to sustainability, female entrepreneurship, and the GBA — some of the most discussed topics of our time. The speaker lineup include marketing maestro and futurist Guy Kawasaki, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Esther Wong of AI unicorn Sensetime, Eva Na of IOT platform Tuya, Christina Gaw from Gaw Capital, ex-NASA astronaut Chris Altman, MD of Zhenfund Le Yin, which has seen 50 exits from its portfolio companies. If you want to be inspired and connected to the startup ecosystem in Hong Kong, the GBA and beyond, sign up and apply for one of the amazing online sessions.
When: 24–27 May 2021
Access: $199 — $249
Format: online conference
With all the news making round about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, it would be wise to join in Consensus and explore the evolution of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. As CoinDesk’s largest event of the year, this four-day experience will bring together more than 10,000 attendees across a variety of educational panels, workshops, keynotes, fire-side chats, networking experiences and more for an up-close look at the good, the bad, the ups, the downs, the excesses and the optimism of crypto.
🌒 60th Anniversary Celebration of Moonshot Thinking
When: 25 May 2021, 15:00 CEST
Access: free
Format: online sessions
On May 25, 1961, John F. Kennedy announced he would land a man on the moon and return him safely back to Earth. Now, 60 years later, we celebrate more than the anniversary of the Moonshot. Join Futur/io and MLOVE in celebrating a mindset that drives innovation and sustainable transformation.
👩💻 Startup Grind Level Up Leadership Summit
When: 25 May 2021, 20:00 BST
Access: free
Format: online mini conference
Part of Startup Grind’s #SGWOMEN month, the Level Up Leadership Summit together some of the top leaders from the tech, business, and investing world for fireside chats, keynotes, and engaging audience Q+A. Whether you’re leading an engineering team, leading your team through a fundraising round, or looking for helpful tips to be a more engaging and supportive leader, these female speakers will help you to level up.
When: 26–27 May 2021
Access: free
Format: online conference
SaaStr Enterprise is a flagship digital event for the top executives and leaders driving innovation in the Cloud to share their playbooks on scaling your business to market and sell to the enterprise. This two-day event is uniquely structured to provide high-impact and measurable value with enterprise content & top speakers as well exclusive CEO + CXO networking.
🦾 WeAreDevelopers Live: Machine Learning Day
When: 26 may 2021, 10:00 CEST
Access: free
Format: online talks
WeAreDevelopers is one of the best developer communities in Europe with their flagship event dedicated to developers and tech entrepreneurship. This platform is also organizing regular online workshops. So, if you are interested to level up skills in machine learning, get ready for this event with exciting insights and best-practices and enjoy multiple talks and a workshop carefully curated for developers.
🤼 Debt vs. equity: What you need to know
When: 26 May 2021, 12:30 BST
Access: free
Format: online session
This Sifted Talks gathers together an expert panel to demystify debt. They will explore tangible scenarios where a mix of debt and equity has been used to help reduce dilution, increase runway and bolster valuations for the next growth phase, all while reducing the cost of capital for both founders and investors.
🔎 3D geolocation is about to transform gaming, service delivery, and more
When: 26 May 2021, 18:00 BST
Access: free
Format: online session
The location technology commonly used in mobile apps and games has been restricted to a flat, 2D world — until now. New geolocation technologies enable accurate vertical location at scale for the first time — and so accurately that it can pinpoint what floor you’re on in a skyscraper. To learn more about the transformative impact of 3D location on mobile apps, gaming, AR, and more join the discussion with the industry leaders who are driving the next generation of location technology in this VB Live event!
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