Information for Delegates

Hopin

As some of you already know because you registered there, we are using a platform called Hopin for this event.

Hopin allows for much more conference-like ways to meet up with people and run multiple sessions side-by-side. An event like this is also far easier to navigate than on Zoom.

Hopin plays in a browser. If you are using a desktop or laptop computer, please use Chrome or Firefox as the browser as all other browsers will not work properly. If you are using a mobile device you will find downloadable apps for whichever device you use at the appropriate app stores. However Hopin recommends you use a computer wherever possible as mobile devices will not give you the full experience.

Registering for the event

If you originally registered on the Borrowed Time website then you need to go over to Hopin and create an account. If you originally registered at Hopin then you have already created an account and you will already have joined the event (you can skip to the next section).

First, click on this link which will bring you to the page below. Here you can also scroll down and see the schedule.

Select ‘General Registration – Prepad’ and add 1 to your basket. Then click ‘Create new account‘. Do not try to login with your Borrowed Time password – it will not work!

Once you have created your account then you can go ahead and Join the Event.

After you arrive

After you have set up your Hopin account and joined the event you will come to the Reception area.

This is called the Repection area. Before the event opens there’s not much you can do here, but you can create your profile so that others will know more about you and you can ask a question in the chat.

If you are would like to test your system when there is no event running, use this page.

This will also check your internet connection. Don’t be alarmed if it gives you bad news – Hopin has rather high expectations of what is ‘normal’.

Hopin test says ‘not supported’

The Hopin test is quite strict but if the test come back with ‘not supported’ for either audio or video, there are things you can do to help.

Not supported just means that Hopin thinks your internet connection is not ‘good enough’ and in some cases of course they may be right. But there are things you can do to help the situation:

1. If you use Dropbox or any other service that backs up or syncs your files with the cloud, turn them off. Dropbox can completely blitz your internet connection and make it too slow for Hopin to function. This in our own experience is also true of Apple’s iCloud and is likely true with many other cloud services.
2. Try to miminise the number of other devices using your internet connection.
3. If someone in your household is watching a streaming TV service (like Netflix) ask them to stop, just for a little while! This too can eat up quite a lot of your internet connection.

If you do as many of these things as you can without discripting your entire household, try the test again and this time you may come up with a different reault.

If you don’t, Hopin’s idea of ‘not supported’ is a bit extreme in our experience, and although you may find joining a session ‘in the room’ troublesome you may have no trouble at all watching sessions or anything on the Main Stage.

In addition to your internet connection there is one other thing that can have a significant impact on the quality of your Hopin image.

Hopin expect your computer to be ‘reasonably’ new. If your computer or laptop is more than 8 years old it’s quite possible that the quality of the images or the sound will not be very good and your connection to Hopin may keep failing. If your computer is a budget model then it could struggle if it is only 5 years old. Sadly, there’s nothing we can do about this to help other than encouraging you to beg, steal or borrow another machine. Generally, though, if you’ve been using Zoom you should probably be OK on Hopin (whatever their test may tell you).

It’s also important to be sure you are using the most up-to-date versions of software your computer can support, particularly Chrome and MacOS or Windows.

If you use the Hopin test it may well flag up these problems.

Once the event is opened the reception area will become fully live.

You can use the Chat (look on the right of th screen) to contact anyone or ask for help from the team. The chat is public so everyone will see it.

You can also click on ‘People’ where you will see a list of other people who have registered.  

You will see this wgere you are able to either Invite to a (private) video call on Hopin, Schedule a one-to-one meeting or send a direct message.

Schedule

Scroll further down the page to see the schedule.

If you see a session you are interested in, look to the left where you will Add to My Agenda. This is a simple way of creating your own schedule so that you can remember which sessions you want to attend. Over on the right of the screen, there is a ‘My Agenda’ tab which will list everything you have added.

Hopin has several sections: Stage, Sessions, Expo and Replay.

Stage is where all of the keynote events and performances take place. Think of this as the ‘Main Stage’. Things are only happening on the Stage when nothing else is happening.

Sessions are where the breakout sessions take place and there may be more than one happening at the same time. Sessions will only show up here when they are active. Just click on one and it will take you to the open session.

Expo is kind of like the table at conferences where people can leave information for you to browse and pick up. It also have our Borrowed Time film screenings.

And finally, Replay is where you can go to listen again to any session you have missed or want to see again.

Once you get used to finding things it’s all really quite intuitive.

If you get stuck send us a message in the Event chat which you will always find to your right..

There is also a chat and a Q&A for the stage and for each of the sessions. Use the chat to make comments, use the Q&A to ask questions. Someone will be monitoring this and will send questions over to the presenter.

When you return to Hopin make sure you are logged in.

As long as you are logged in, clicking ‘Join Event’ will bring you straight to reception.

If you didn’t create a Hopin account when you registered (do you have a password? if you do then you have an account) you will need to make one now. As long as you use the same email address you used when you registered Hopin will remember your registration.

If you are asked to register again then you are not logged in. You may not be able to register twice.

We’re sorry this is sometimes not straightforward. The problem seems to be that Hopin allows people to register for events without creating a Hopin account – so when you come back to visit the event it doesn’t know who you are if you are not logged in.

This page has more detail.