Working in the XR industry has been an incredible experience. For the past 5 years, I have attended many conferences and expos all over the world. Having been to so many (CES, GDC, ITW, SXSW, Gamescom, etc.), I can easily say that the Augmented World Expo (AWE) is my personal favorite. Don’t get me wrong, all of these shows are great in their own way, but there’s one major thing that sets AWE apart from the rest: EVERYTHING is XR related. Every vendor, every person you meet, every after-event you attend. All XR!
During the day at the convention center, you are offered a wide variety of programming, workshops & demos. AWE has some of the best speakers in the industry on stage, sharing their wisdom and giving invaluable insights into so many parts of the industry that took them years to acquire. The show floor has so many amazing demos and pieces of cutting edge tech that will blow you away, all under one roof! When I leave for AWE and my family & friends ask where I’m off to, I always tell them I’m going to my version of Disney World.
The most special part of any expo, in my opinion, is the after-events. It’s great being in the audience while some of the best and brightest share the secrets to their success, and it’s so much fun trying all of the newest XR tech. However, it’s truly special to chat with the people making our beloved industry what it is today in a laid back social environment. Getting to really know the people who make up the XR space on a personal level is what keeps me coming back to all of these events; the people and the relationships.
Building connections to build the future
This year, AWE has found a new home in Long Beach, California! Previously, AWE was held in Santa Clara, California in the northern part of the state in the Bay area. With this change and a new city of venues, my company, Impact Reality, thought it would be great to help everyone find out where all of these after-events would be taking place. We have created a centralized spot for people to see where they should spend their time after the convention center doors close each night.
Never miss another party
We’ve put together this shared doc to make things a little easier for everyone. I would love your help in making this list valuable for everyone by adding any after events that you know of. There’s a form linked at the top of the document where you can submit the details of these events so we can add them to the master list.
I personally cannot wait to meet all the new people coming to the Augmented World Expo this year at its new location, and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone again whom I’ve met at prior events.
AWE brings such value to our community with the immense knowledge and experience shared and the incredible networking opportunities.
Many members of our team at Impact Reality (an XR-only PR & Marketing Firm) and Flat2VR Studios (bringing the flat video game titles that people know and love to VR) will be in attendance and also speaking at the event. We can’t wait to meet you all soon!