Field Notes
Original research on event networking
Frameworks, field-tested tactics and hard-won insights on how event organisers can build networking that attendees actually remember. New posts every week.
All Field Notes posts
Speaker selection is a networking decision, not a marketing one
Programme teams pick speakers for ticket sales. The speakers who actually produce the most networking value in the room are usually a different set entirely.
By Cate Trotter · Co-founder and Product Lead, All Along
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The first hour of a conference matters more than the keynote
Most organisers pour their best thinking into the keynote. First-time attendees have usually made up their minds about your event long before the speaker walks on stage.
By Alex Shiell · Co-founder and GTM Lead, All Along
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How to tell if your event networking actually worked
Most organisers judge their networking by how it felt in the room. That method tells you almost nothing useful.
By Cate Trotter · Co-founder and Product Lead, All Along
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Trade show networking fails - and it is not the booths' fault
Trade show organisers treat the show floor as the centre of the universe. The conversations that actually drive trade show value tend to happen in the rooms nobody puts on the floor plan.
By Alex Shiell · Co-founder and GTM Lead, All Along
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Which event session formats actually generate real conversations
Not all session formats are created equal. Some produce genuine conversation. Others quietly shut it down while everyone nods politely. The research is clearer than you might think.
By Cate Trotter · Co-founder and Product Lead, All Along
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How to plan a networking event that people actually remember
Most networking events follow the same script: pack people into a room, hand them a drink, and hope. Here's what actually works.
By Alex Shiell · Co-founder and GTM Lead, All Along
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Why your big conference needs micro networking events
Big conferences lose people in the crowd. The fix is not a bigger room - it is five smaller ones. The micro networking events I keep seeing organisers under-use.
By Alex Shiell · Co-founder and GTM Lead, All Along
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Why the coffee break is where event networking goes to die
The coffee break is the one part of every conference agenda I have never seen an organiser defend. And yet it is still the main way most events try to make networking happen.
By Cate Trotter · Co-founder and Product Lead, All Along
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Inclusive networking ideas every organiser should run
Most events are quietly designed for the loudest 20%. Five inclusive networking ideas that work for the rest - and the rest is most of your room.
By Cate Trotter · Co-founder and Product Lead, All Along
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Business networking event software: what to look for
Most shortlists for business networking event software are built on features, not outcomes. Here's the short list I actually work from.
By Alex Shiell · Co-founder and GTM Lead, All Along
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Optical trade show matchmaking: the buyer-first playbook
Optical and eyewear shows are a matchmaking format pretending to be a trade show. Here is how I would run the buyer diary if I were programming one tomorrow.
By Alex Shiell · Co-founder and GTM Lead, All Along
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How to use audience insights for events: a practical guide
Most audience insights work at events stops at a demographic breakdown. That's where the problem starts - not where the answer is.
By Cate Trotter · Co-founder and Product Lead, All Along
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What attendee matchmaking actually means
Attendee matchmaking isn't a fancy word for networking. It's a quieter, more specific discipline - and most events still haven't noticed the difference.
By Cate Trotter · Co-founder and Product Lead, All Along
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Attendee interest survey questions that produce matchable data
Most registration forms ask who attendees are. The ones that produce great networking ask what they actually want.
By Alex Shiell · Co-founder and GTM Lead, All Along
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How does AI event matchmaking actually work?
Most organisers aren't sure what AI matchmaking does differently to a spreadsheet filter. Here's how it actually works.
By Cate Trotter · Co-founder and Product Lead, All Along
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How to network effectively: a calmer, more human guide to real professional connections
Most 'how to network effectively' advice treats it as a performance. It isn't. It's a small, repeatable habit - and the people who treat it that way end up with the strongest networks.
By Cate Trotter · Co-founder and Product Lead, All Along
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What event sponsors actually want - and why most organisers can't give it to them
Sponsors are asking harder questions. Most organisers can't answer them. Here's what sponsors actually want and how to deliver it.
By Alex Shiell · Co-founder and GTM Lead, All Along
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How to make event networking work for introverts (and everyone else)
Walk into most networking events and you'll see the same scene: a handful of confident people working the room, and a larger group feeling uncomfortable. Your event is failing them.
By Cate Trotter · Co-founder and Product Lead, All Along
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Why networking is the reason members join - and the reason they quietly leave
Networking is the top reason members join. Most events leave it to chance. That gap is costing associations more than they realise.
By Alex Shiell · Co-founder and GTM Lead, All Along
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What your registration form already knows about your audience
Most organisers treat registration as a logistics tool. The ones who get great results read it as an intelligence brief.
By Alex Shiell · Co-founder and GTM Lead, All Along
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Why your event networking should start before day one
Organisers treat networking as something that happens at coffee breaks. The research says the opposite: the best connections start weeks before the venue opens.
By Cate Trotter · Co-founder and Product Lead, All Along
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Why your event networking tool isn't delivering
Most organisers invest in better tools than ever and still watch attendees cluster with people they already know. The problem isn't the tool. It's something much simpler.
By Cate Trotter · Co-founder and Product Lead, All Along
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The perception gap killing your event networking results
78% of organisers believe their event delivers memorable moments. Only 40% of attendees agree. That 38-point gap explains why your repeat bookings are flat.
By Alex Shiell · Co-founder and GTM Lead, All Along
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