One step ahead

e-pixler inauguration party with knowledge transfer, worlds of experience, and culinary delights

The elevator was running at full speed, and that literally. For hours, employees, service staff, customers, guests, and representatives from politics and business “ascended” to the fifth floor of the lamp factory. Here, in the freshly restored, spacious loft in Berlin-Schöneweide with a rooftop terrace and a view of the Spree, the teams of e-pixler and our partner, Suchmeisterei, have been working for several months.

So it was high time to present our new home to a broad audience and celebrate a lovely late-summer party. But we would not be a full-service digital agency if we did not turn this occasion into a comprehensive experience with exciting, innovative impulse talks and surprising live presentations.

Will digitization soon happen without us?

After the official reception and a glass of sparkling wine or juice, the visitors had arrived and began their discovery tours – individually or accompanied by e-pixlers or Suchmeisters. The large conference room quickly and steadily filled up; even standing room became scarce. Lecturer and keynote speaker Ralf Neugebauer made his audience laugh in astonishment and think at the same time. His topic: “One step ahead – Will digitization soon happen without us?” With his food for thought, he ventures into exciting territory. For the answer to the question of whether man or machine is one step ahead will have an impact on each individual’s living and working environment. For example, artificial intelligence will increasingly take over work, and virtual realities will drive us even farther away from reality.

After the talk, everyone could try this in the Live Area who was brave enough to put on a VR headset and fly through the skyscrapers of the big city on a giant swing, only to land happily on the carpet in free fall ... (without the headset).

Impulse talks with a learning effect

Talks and live demonstrations by employees reflected the agency’s everyday work, of course in a more relaxed form for the visitors. For example, there were talks explaining how a website owner can learn insightful details about their users with the help of Google Analytics and the Tag Manager. It was revealed how artificial intelligence is changing the advertising world and how algorithms are driving higher sales. An e-pixler TYPO3 specialist explained the advantages and new possibilities of the open-source content management system.

For his talk “Like and Follow – Where is social media marketing headed?” Marcell Butor from Facebook Europe had traveled all the way from Dublin במיוחד.

Fun and amazement in the live areas

There was a lot of coming and going in the live areas. Everyone tried to experience or try out as much as possible that evening. Of course, it is fun to drive through the office in a luxury car with augmented reality or test the color of the future sofa in a virtual furniture house. It can happen that people standing around get stepped on because the empty living room looks so real.

Those who were genuinely interested in the setup and functioning of professional servers also got their money’s worth. Or if someone wanted to be right there up close during a usability test, they could take a seat.

Culinary delights and sunset

In between, there were savory and sweet snacks and a wide selection of drinks – served by attentive young ladies and gentlemen who were happy to come by two or three times. The weather treated us very well. On the rooftop terrace, a dreamlike sunset made the hearts of those present beat faster. People discussed, danced, or enjoyed the spectacular view until well past midnight.