The 21st Century Meeting and Event Technologies - Practical Guide

In this review of The 21st Century Meeting and Event Technologies the authors present a practical, up-to-date handbook for planners who must manage meetings in a fast-changing digital environment. The bottom line: this book is for meeting professionals, event marketers, and planners who want clear, actionable guidance on using social media, registration platforms, virtual events, and guest-generated content to improve attendee experience and measure results. It reads like a practitioner's manual rather than an academic treatise, with concrete guidance drawn from three generations of experience.

Key Features

• Comprehensive coverage: The book surveys the most important technology topics affecting meetings today so planners can prioritize tools and tactics.
• Social media guidance: Practical advice on how to harness social platforms to promote events and engage attendees before, during, and after meetings.
• Virtual and hybrid events: Clear coverage of how to hold virtual meetings and events so organizers can adapt to distributed audiences.
• Registration and measurement: Guidance on choosing meeting registration software and on how to measure and evaluate success to justify investment.
• Guest-generated content: Strategies for managing and using attendee-created content to extend reach and authenticity of event marketing.
• Design and crowdsourcing: Tips on selecting room layout design software and using crowdsourcing to collect ideas and feedback.

Who It's For

The book is aimed at meeting planners, event marketers, association managers, and venue professionals who need a practical reference for integrating modern technology into event planning. It is especially useful for professionals looking for step-by-step approaches to registration, promotion, and virtual event logistics.

It is less suited to readers seeking deep technical how-to manuals or exhaustive vendor comparisons; IT specialists or platform developers looking for source code or product-level benchmarks should look elsewhere.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Wide-ranging topics cover current tools and trends, helping planners make informed decisions about technology investments.
• Written by a multigenerational team, the book blends academic perspective with hands-on practitioner experience for balanced advice.
• Actionable chapters on promotion, measurement, and virtual events provide immediate takeaways for upcoming meetings.

Cons

• The book focuses on strategic and practical guidance rather than exhaustive vendor lists, so readers wanting detailed product specs will need supplemental sources.

Specifications

Title	The 21st Century Meeting and Event Technologies
Authors	Seungwon 'Shawn' Lee, Dessislava Boshnakova, Joe Goldblatt
Subject	Technology for meetings, events, promotion, and measurement
Coverage	Social media, crowdsourcing, registration software, virtual events, room design
Approach	Practical, practitioner-focused guidance
Audience	Meeting planners, event marketers, association managers

Our Verdict

The 21st Century Meeting and Event Technologies is a worthwhile purchase for planners who need an accessible, practice-oriented guide to current event technology. It delivers useful frameworks for promotion, registration, virtual events, and measurement without getting bogged down in vendor minutiae, making it good value for professionals seeking pragmatic next steps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this book cover virtual events?
Yes. The authors include practical chapters on how to hold virtual meetings and events and how to adapt promotion and engagement for online audiences.

Will it recommend specific software products?
The book emphasizes criteria for choosing registration and room layout software and offers guidance rather than exhaustive product lists or technical specs.

Who contributed to the book?
It was written by Seungwon 'Shawn' Lee, Dessislava Boshnakova, and Joe Goldblatt, combining academic and practitioner perspectives.