Since the pandemic began, I have slowly started to feel rustier when it comes to socializing, event planning, and meeting new people. The current lockdown restrictions and the reality of COVID-19 limits who we can see. The typical university experience is talked up to be the best time of our lives; we are told to expand our horizons and grow as people, yet we're unable to leave our homes and truly immerse ourselves in this experience. Having to adapt to our new way of living, we all turned to virtual events to stay social and remain connected with the world even when it physically wasn’t possible to do so. Struggling to think of fresh and exciting virtual events, I turned to Bounce to alleviate the stress that arises from a lack of ideas. With the help of Bounce, whether online or in-person, event hosting is ten times easier. Bounce was founded on the premise that event planning didn’t have to be managed across many different platforms but could be bundled into one easy-to-use platform. As someone who has attended many online events, I can say that using Bounce has made my life significantly easier. Rather than using various platforms to access a Zoom call, Bounce keeps everything in one easy and accessible place. Having experienced the ups and downs of attending and planning events, here are my key tips and tricks for the most successful event using Bounce, an all-in-one platform for event planning that we’ve always needed and wanted!Tip #1: Make sure you choose the right event to hostTo know how to get the most out of Bounce, you need to first know what types of events you can host on Bounce. The versatility of Bounce provides you with the ability to accommodate any event of any format. With Bounce, you can host team meetings, frosh events, charity events and any virtual event you can think of – it has been a massive resource to the MUSE team throughout COVID for all of our virtual event needs! Bounce is also fantastic for in-person events whether you’re hosting a party, a barbeque, a charity event, or an exec social! Using Bounce lets you view and manage your guest list, invite your friends and collect payment with ease. Tip #2: Pay through the appIf you're with your friends on a night out and ever need to pay back your friends for food, drinks, Ubers, etc., Bounce also lets you request and send money to your friends through the app. This is one of my favourite aspects of Bounce as my friends and I often forget about paying each other back. Using Bounce, all we need to do is send a money request to someone and by clicking accept, they've paid us back! This is a considerable asset for events given that attendees only need to use one platform for all of their event needs. The platform also operates using as few clicks as possible, making it super user-friendly and quick. But, beyond that, these money transfers work for paying your housemates back for utilities, rent and Uber eats bills which in my eyes is a game-changer for how we send money virtually. Tip #3: Connect with people who have common interests As you attend your first event on Bounce, try and connect with others on the platform. As the university experience has shifted online, it can be difficult to connect with people you meet at events and to create new friendships. Bounce allows you to share your interests, connect your social media accounts, and add people on the platform, helping create new friendships with people you otherwise would not have met! As cheesy as it sounds, that’s the purpose of this platform—  to make events more straightforward and improve the university experience. I challenge you in the next event you attend on Bounce to add one new friend and start a conversation – this is a fantastic way to take full advantage of the social benefits of Bounce! By being able to connect with people you attend events with, and people who you would have never been able to track down if the event had been run using a CheddarUp, the university experience has been reimagined.Tip #4: Manage your social life on Bounce Bounce is the new go-to platform for managing your social life. Whether it is your study group on Monday, a Speaker Series on Tuesday, or a Darty on Saturday, you can live your whole social life on Bounce. With the launch of their new app, you can now take Bounce with you anywhere. Bounce aims to shape your university experience for the better by making it exponentially more social by connecting with others who you may not have typically been able to meet. Now that you've made some new friends on the platform, I urge you to take full advantage of their services. Bounce is a platform that is constantly growing and adapting to meet the evolving needs of university students, so whether you're planning your next event, paying back your friends, or trying to make friends at events you attend, the Bounce platform is there to support you. 

ALL IMAGES FROM BOUNCE.