Webinars Virtual Conferences Love Them Or Hate Them

I joined the UK Electronics Group at LinkedIn a little while back. Unlike a lot of the LinkedIn groups I've come across that one is sweet and small using what seems a great membership of professional types. A discussion came up in which the idea was floated about whether perhaps a conference should be organised somewhere and exactly what it should contain. I made what I thought might well be an unpopular comment, proclaiming that I think it could be good idea to look at organising some type of online conference using webinars. For me this concept solves each of the problems of conferences - having to travel in the united states to many town that is certainly hugely inconvenient for 99% of the attendees, the day or more out of the office understanding that I'd manage to pick and choose what I taken part in. It would also imply a properly organised online event could potentially attract plenty of visitors and earn all this very worthwhile to complete initially. To my surprise the only real other comments for the discussion gave the impression to go along with me - I thought I might get lambasted for suggesting that conducting a conference online could in any way be much better that in the flesh human contact!
This got me thinking of the therapy lamp contributing to the exhibitions conferences are often organised around. It seems obvious if you ask me that online conferences are incredibly much of their infancy right this moment, but get this amazing potential. Speaking as being a company that that's just exhibited at Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2010 I have recent firsthand experience in the woes of being an exhibitor at an exhibition event. I was very surprised to discover that many exhibitors are in reality happy about a just a few decent enquires we have spent large sums of money along with a a lot of staff time for it to be there. For the big companies I guess brand promotion justifies anything, however for many others I spoke to (and us) this indicates quite irratic as to whether they get anywhere all-around properly justifying time and money invested to get there.
So take all of the problems of present day specialist conferences and exhibitions:- the place, the fee to demonstrate, enough time and inconvenience to visit, the amount of exhibitors, the amount of visitors and the number of seminars, speakers or sessions that are in reality of curiosity to visitors (whatever line-up you apply to only certain sessions are of curiosity to various people). These problems are all now solvable in case you we're to position the big event online. Now to anyone that's not participated in a webinar this could appear to be techie geek nonsense. But if you have attended a webinar that has been hosted properly and had content which you we're enthusiastic about then you'll definitely are aware that actually attending a webinar could be a very rewarding experience. This is still an incredibly techie dominated field, but out of the box always the way the idea that the techies are starting to get really with it means that its probably just a couple of years before it hits the mainstream. Firstly the fact that a webinar is definitely an event at the particular serious amounts of in the event you want it then you need being there then is a surprisingly compelling thing. Even though you're going to be watching something online, as well as perhaps not really participating (asking questions, interacting etc) there's about the big event itself as well as the knowledge which you and numerous others is going to be there as well virtual place completely.
So then the wedding itself. Well it's possible to totally cock up as a possible organiser needless to say, however it is also not really that hard to make a celebration which everyone comes from impressed, educated, informed, or no matter the aims are. Its no different that will get website visitors to remain true in the room full of people and speak - if they're interesting, present reasonably well and also have good content for their audience then it works as well online.
However the thing that really got me considering pretty much everything is a webinar I attended today and a virtual conference I've received invites to attend in the near future. Both are doing the work inappropriate in my opinion and I still find it interesting how obvious it seems to perform it right and why these companies get it so wrong. Its really very easy - should you apply real life rules from what you are doing then it can work equally well (and in actual fact could easily be better in lots of ways), but should you use technology to cheat it doesn't. What niggles me is that I can see the perfect way of approaching everything and desire I had enough time and resources to produce the right system, but there aren't enough hours in the day to complete my current job so instead I'll just comment in the sidelines.
Firstly the not so great webinar. I've attended many webinars and possess generally been really impressed regarding how well they technically just work nowadays. This one was laid on with a big worldwide company in the electronics design sector, with the impressive product I already use. They have an extremely progressive program of regular emailed short videos regarding their creation that are incredibly effective in the way that fits into my silly busy working life (a 2 minute video sent regularly showing often really useful tips is an amazingly effective marketing strategy). So I was awaiting the webinar to find out yet more about the system, plus even though it's a meeting that I knew lots of other engineers like me can be attending. It was hosted employing a system from a company called UP Media Group, whoever the hell they may be. Their system was basically rubbish. The experience joining and getting in to the webinar was unfriendly, taught me to be jump through hoops to make use of the precise software and settings they wanted me to use, after which when I got there appeared as if it was designed fifteen years ago. So we wait for the webinar to start out, previously being tipped that individuals could attend early before it starts if we wanted 'to get started on the feeling early'.
This experience involved just one scrolling chat window, also designed fifteen years ago. It was nice in the sense which it was kind of fun to determine each of the people posting silly comments and to acquire a true feel for being there wonderful other people, but when you've got more than 5 people on this type of system its basically pointless as all of the messages randomly can be found in quick succession. I've not seen anyone try this bit right yet, but there are some really obvious innovations to generate this experience great and turn a webinar into a rewarding semi networking type event also. The idea of appearing early and being 'part' from it is appealing when the big event is very niche and may attract people who specialise in the particular field - a lot of us did. So provide us with an experience spend time at all these well matched people joining together. Show us maps in the attendees there who're geographically close to us (I don't value people in Spain, but I'm interested to view who's there from your UK or as time goes on from me). Let us easily enter some info, upload a photograph, provide our LinkedIn page, Facebook page, etc, etc. We're all there to have interaction and see cure is there so make that experience work in the really fulfilling way for everyone. Finally increase the risk for chat experience work correctly.
It's not difficult. When someone responds to somebody else show it that way, let's join specific discussions, show us all of the things individuals are talking about and then we can find compatible folk to participate with, not simply a stupid listing of random comments. With the speed of connections currently giving us audio and webcam functionality therefore we can speak to see others in smaller groups, or maybe listen in is not very implausible. You do it when you hang around outside a real world conference, so why not online? Actually online could be much better for meeting new contacts since its easier to try a fast hello online behind the protection of the PC rather in the flesh should your not the confident sort. I could embark on, but this stuff is all so solvable currently, really would not be challenging to implement and could transform the experience into something very cool indeed.
So then the webinar starts. Well for me personally a minimum of it falls over, disconnects more than once, shows me error messages before finally it starts. Its fine, nonetheless its only a PowerPoint & audio type experience which is frustrating when you know that it's all technically very feasible to show a certain amount of low res video in the speaker alongside, other information on stuff, other visitors, promotion material etc I can scan throughout the boring bits I'm not into. About a half-hour in my connection goes down for reasons unknown so I reconnect. The webinar starts again through the beginning. Not only can there be no means for me to skip through to the purpose I left or to the live feed (I'm not going to re-watch the thirty minutes I've already seen), additionally, it becomes completely obvious that this webinar is not live at all. Live streaming meetings 's pre-recorded. You can just understand the big corporate company bosses deciding to do this. Pre-record it, make sure it's perfect and make sure there won't be any hiccups. What they don't get is the fact that for implementing this they've violated normally the one rule of providing a live webinar - it needs to be live. When you realise it is not all from the reasons to attend vanish immediately and you'll never make use of that companies webinars again. Live streaming Australia 's just a bloody video with someone there to resolve a couple of questions live towards the end.
So about the virtual conference. Conference live streaming is termed Virtual PCB and I like this idea. Its not happened yet nevertheless it appears to be it could possibly be an interesting knowledge about seminars as well as a virtual hall of exhibitors to serve and interact with. Again oahu is the live thing that I think is really compelling. If you want to visit you have to go there while it's on and if you do then a exhibitors is going to be readily available to meet you, albeit virtually via your PC. However it's already broken personally before its even started for two main reasons. Firstly I had a fast consider the costs the exhibitors need to pay and it is really expensive. I'm all because there like a decent cost barrier to entry for exhibitors - it means get a fantastic quality of relevant exhibitors for that visitors. But this is often a virtual exhibition with simply a fraction in the costs to wear over a down to earth event. The prices they are charging seem ridiculous to me and definately will undoubtedly put off a lot of companies exhibiting that I'd actually prefer to find. However the major reason it's broken may be the visitor registration.
To subscribe you've got to give your current email address naturally, and answer each of the questions about what you're into. Nothing strange there - all conferences want this inside hope you'll forget to tick this area saying you simply can't use my details for marketing. However this manner does not have any such box and you cannot sign-up without answering every category. I complain for the organisers this can be a violation of people's directly to privacy also it's illegal in several countries worldwide like the UK. I've not a reply. On the form it states that you give them permission to present these records to their sponsors.
Sorry but I don't walk around a real world exhibition wonderful of my contact information and preferences emblazoned on my T-shirt, why that is known would I accept this for the online equivalent? I choose who I give my details to. No doubt they'll be also tracking all of one's movements with the exhibition and can they be sharing this using the exhibitors for a small fee - this person looked through these bits of your respective stuff for 5 minutes and here's all his details so that you can bombard him with spam. There's something horribly eerie about knowing people will probably be told you are looking by daring to consider a page (it does not take thing about LinkedIn I really wish they'd change). In this point in time I think it is a terrible attitude for a conference organiser to possess and demonstrates an entire deficiency of regard for visitors plus their exhibitors in that many people like me will just not attend because from it.
So that's my wee rant over. It felt good, but really it's a rant wishing someone would fix every one of these things and present me the truly amazing online conference and exhibition experiences I want. I really want to be capable of attend these things, learn a new challenge, meet new people and corporations. The realities with the real world conferences and exhibitions imply I can rarely actually justify it though. Once someone out there gets it right inside online space forex trading is going being massive.