Melbourne-based software development company Cogent has launched a new video platform to share events online, which has already featured big-name speakers including Mia Freedman.
Cogent, founded in 2007 by Marty Andrews and Steve Hayes, focuses on helping its customers bring new products to life while building its own products.
Recent customers include the Real Estate Group, Sensis, Lonely Planet, Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital and Melbourne Business School.
Now, Cogent has announced the launch of a new video platform to share events online. The platform, known as Eventer, was piloted at the SF MusicTech Summit in San Francisco.
The SF MusicTech Summit brings together musicians, entrepreneurs, investors, service providers and journalists, who meet to discuss and do business in a “deal-making” environment”.
This year, Eventer enabled the summit to more than double its audience, with online viewers spending an average time of 40 minutes viewing presentations on Eventer.
Eventer works by simulating a live audience experience for the viewer.
A dual-screen player gives the viewer freedom to switch their focus between a presenter and their slides, or a panel and the audience’s reaction, or to view both at the same time.
In essence, Eventer aims to make viewers feel as if they are physically present at an event, lecture or internal company meeting.
“We wanted to change what it was like to watch an event online, and Eventer is just like being there in the room for a presentation,” Andrews says.
“It captures anything from ‘classic’ style talks with a speaker and slides to panel discussions with crowd interactions.”
Sustaining Women in Business, a support platform for Australian female business owners, chose to showcase a recent conference on Eventer.
Presentations from the conference have been made available online, including Mia Freedman discussing politics, glossy magazines and women in business.
According to Andrews, Eventer made a conscious effort to look for high-profile events locally and internationally, which is how it aligned itself with the SF MusicTech Summit and the SWB conference.
“We picked three or four conferences in different markets and offered them a sponsorship deal to get some interesting content,” he says.
SWB founder Taren Hocking was full of praise for the Eventer platform, which means “more people in more places can be inspired, educated and enriched by… content and sharing of ideas”.
“It also helps promote SWB and build more interest for next year’s event. It’s a win-win,” Hocking said in a statement.
Similarly, SF MusicTech co-founder Brian Zisk said he had a “great experience” working with Eventer.
“If your event has both presenters and projection screens, no other solution can capture both streams of action and present them so strongly online in the appropriate context,” Zisk said.
“While we were excited about the ability for our remote audience to watch the sessions, we had no idea how much exposure the posting of these videos on Eventer would garner.”
In addition to events, Andrews says there are opportunities for Eventer in the education and corporate markets.
