Virtual conferences?

I presented in a virtual conference April 1 sponsored by MarketingProfs.  Joe Pulizzi, who runs Junta42 (specializing in content marketing), invited me to speak.  Some of you who have been around the industry for a few years may remember Joe from the days when he was with Penton’s Logistics Today, which is now Outsourced Logistics.   

When the initial request came in from Joe, I was intrigued by the venue.  In a year when travel budgets are constrained, I thought the medium was worth exploring and expected it to be a success. 

The session went well—but the reason for this blog post is not to promote the conference, but to open a dialogue about the venue.  We’ve all attended webinars, but a virtual conference with concurrent sessions was not something I had ever invested time into attending. 

I think I may have seen a glimpse of the future. This virtual conference had over 14,000 pre-registered and we had over 672 people “visit” our session.  The technology platform that MarketingProfs used made it easy for the presenters and created audience engagement by allowing them to ask hundreds of questions during the presentation.  It was an amazing means for a wide swath of people to come in, grab a bit of knowledge and then depart on their own terms.

I fully acknowledge that a web-based conference model lacks the ability to create networking opportunities and a community like we get at the TMCA annual conference, but as I look at the future of TMCA, I am curious to get the TMCA’s members thoughts on how something like this might fit into our future.  Let me know your thoughts…

Tom Nightingale
VP Communications and Chief Marketing Officer , Con-way, Inc.
Chairman , TMCA

Comments

[Mark Bonchek]

Tom,
One of the great features about the virtual conference is that I was able to review your presentation afterwards, as I was in meetings during the live session. The other thing I like is that I could go back and review parts of the presentation I really liked. I do miss the relationship benefits of a real conference. It was hard to connect with other attendees. But for getting information from thought leaders such as yourself, it was great.

Mark

[Bob Stewart]

Tom, I don't know you. You don't know me. I'm not even a TMCA member but I found this post via Twitter.

Stop and think about what I just wrote. I don't know you. You don't know be. I'm not even a TMCA member, but we're now engaging in dialogue on a topic that is important to TMCA. We're networking.

Now combine that thought with your statement "that a web-based conference model lacks the ability to create networking opportunities and a community like we get at the TMCA annual conference".

I completely agree with your statement, but I also think that everyone needs to look at it from a different perspective. There is nothing like the face-to-face interaction at a conference. There's nothing better than having a drink, sharing a story, and sealing a deal with a handshake.

The different perspective is the core question you address in your blog post. The interactions on Twitter or in MarketingProf's virtual event or even on Facebook and LinkedIn are obviously not face-to-face but they're happening more and more frequently each day. There's information being exchanged, there are contacts being made, and there are relationships being built.

The same as the relationships built over a drink at a conference? Absolutely not. But are these new channels through which relationships can be built ultimately leading to that drink at the bar?

Tom, you're asking the right question. My answer is that an organization like TMCA absolutely has to be looking into virtual events and other social media. These channels, tools, and approaches will be adopted at different speeds by different markets, but they will be adopted, their use will become pervasive, and there will be confluence and overlap during live events. Maybe at the next TMCA Annual Conference you will have a "backchannel" of Twitter activity and liveblogging?

I don't know you. You don't know me. I'm not a TMCA member. Well, that's not completely true anymore. With our connection from the MarketingProfs virtual event through Twitter to your blog to my comments we now know a little bit more about each other. Maybe we'll actually talk (live) and maybe have a drink (in-person) some day?

Bob Stewart

[Adrian Gonzalez]

Tom,

Like Bob Stewart, I found out about this post on LinkedIn. The power of social media technologies is very intriguing.

I see virtual conferences in the same light at Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. They're filling a "white space" that previous options were not addressing. In the past, you either attended a conference or you didn't. This now provides a third option. If attendee-to-attendee networking is important to you, then attending a live event is the best solution. If your main objective is to learn and get information, a virtual conference makes a lot of sense. I don't think one option necessarily replaces another, but in the case of live event organizers, they must shift the value proposition of attending more strongly towards networking and attendee interaction, otherwise virtual conferences will cannibalize some of their audiance.

Adrian

[Cece Salomon-Lee]

Hi Tom,

At InXpo (note - we powered the MarketingProfs virtual conference), we agree that virtual events/conferences will not replace the face-to-face interaction. With that said, as the comments highlights, virtual events can augment the interaction that you have with TMCA members and non-members. The question to consider as you explore virtual events is how does this fit into TCMA's overall event strategy and objectives as an organization.

If you have any questions as you proceed through this process, please feel free to contact me.

Best,
Cece Salomon-Lee
InXpo

[Marcus Scott]

Hi Tom,
I do know you. You do know me. I'm not a TMCA member but I found this post via a LinkedIn update!

I think the interesting thing about virtual events from a networking, not a content pov, is that they can accelerate the networking that occurs in the real world. These days we constantly read about the pace of change accelerating. Virtual tools offer a way to accelerate ways to find (and be found by) people of common interest and initiate interactions that ultimately can result in face-to face meetings. It's still true that we tend to do business with people we people we like and trust - virtual events provide a channel for adding more people to our funnel of contacts that may turn into trusted colleagues.

[JRJ]

Hi Tom -I attended this and really enjoyed it. This is the first one I've been to designed by inXpo-I thought it looked good. I was PM for these at a software company that did these once a quarter. I really think they are great - I like the briefcase features the best.
Thanks for the great session.
JRJ

[William Cassidy]

Hi Tom - We're interested in Virtual Conferences at The Journal of Commerce as well - we've hosted a couple and plan more. It's not the same as a traditional, on-site conference, but that's the point, isn't it? The virtual medium creates an opportunity for even greater participation. Networking opportunities can be created in this environment, through chat rooms, etc. That type of networking will be different - and perhaps, by necessity, more direct - than what you would experience at a conference, but valuable nevertheless. In some ways, it may be simpler to connect with the people you want to meet.

Glad to find you blogging here at TMCA. Check out our Roundtable blog at joc.com. If you're interested in joining, let me know.