Have you attended a virtual event lately?
In the meetings industry, there is a lot of discussion of virtual meetings and events. So what are virtual meetings and events?
Welcome to a virtual event.
Here are how some of the meetings industry pros define virtual events.
A virtual event uses social media technologies to give you everything at a physical event without physically attending.
~ Malcolm L. Lotzof, Co-Founder and CEO of InXpo
A Virtual Event is a gathering of individuals who meet through a computer-generated environment at a prearranged time in order to acquire knowledge, share information, interact with each other and engage in activities of common interest.
~ Ian McGonnigal, Executive Director, Program Strategy at George P Johnson
A virtual event is an occurrence of people gathering together where some or all of the attendees are not physically in the same location but are connected in a common environment. The common environment might be one of many types but is usually enabled through the use of computers and the Internet.
~ Michael Doyle, Publisher/General Manager, VirtualEdge.org
Today’s virtual events are multi-faceted, user friendly and highly interactive. Technologies have advanced to the point where virtual events look and feel remarkably like their physical counterparts. Virtual events can be used to deliver everything from company-wide gatherings, executive presentations, trainings, departmental meetings and product development sessions led by everyone from the CEO and divisional presidents to product engineers and human resources. In doing so, a company can not only cut down on the need for corporate travel, but also build a stronger sense of shared vision and community within the organization.
~ Brent Arslaner, VP of Marketing, Unisfair
A virtual event or show is like an in-person trade show or conference, except everything is done online. With that said, there are four distinct differences between the physical and virtual versions of trade show or conference:
Physical World vs Virtual World
Cocktail Parties vs. Online Chats and Networking
Heavy Conference Bags vs. Digital Documents
Business Cards vs. Online Reporting
~ Cece Salomon-Lee, Director of Marketing at InXpo, Principal at PR Meets Marketing Blog, Former Senior Marketer ON24, Former Public Relatons & Events Manager at Ninth House Inc
Virtual events definition – the use of multiple tactics to create an interactive peers-to-peers experience online. This can include webcasts, chats, blogs, etc.
Panelists, Event Marketing Institute Webinar – Virtual Events are Mainstream
The term “virtual event” can be used to describe many different types of virtual marketing activities. Most people think of virtual events and they think of a trade show with a virtual exposition hall or virtual expo, a virtual conference center and a networking lounge for attendees at the virtual event to talk with one another. In reality, that is just one type of virtual event. Virtual events include virtual meetings, webcasts, webinars, virtual demo areas, and other kinds of virtual marketing activities.
http://www.virtualedge.org/page/free-virtual-edge-resource
So how do you define a virtual event? Add your thoughts and definitions in the comments section.
All interesting definitions. One thing that strikes me is the very first one. Virtual events are not and should not be equivalent to in-person events. Even with virtual reality, the in-person event is far more tactile and subtle.
However, just as a computer can now beat any human at chess, virtual events are also better than in-person events in a few ways.
1) The backchannel is vibrant and important. As much learning goes on in chats as does from presenters. It is not always possible/advisable to be on a backchannel in an in-person event
2) Trying out a session is FAR easier in a virtual event. No walk-outs nor trapsing to the other side of the convention center required
3) Time shifting is possible. If you can’t make the live version of the event, it is recorded for you to participate at any time.
My definition is quite simple. Virtual events are a learning occurrence that takes place over the phone or online. How the interaction happens and what tools are used shouldn’t be part of the definition.
Swan makes a very important point — the virtual technologies enable certain types of interactions to take place that are very powerful. Our virtual events should be designed to leverage those interactions, and not attempt to duplicate the face-to-face experience of an in-person meeting.
“Will virtual events replace in-person events?” is the wrong question (asked elsewhere, not here). The better question is “What kinds of interactions do we want our attendees to have? Then, which formats & technologies will best support those interactions?”
I agree with both of the comments above in terms of virtual technologies (and important to remember that these are just tools/technologies, and not actual strategies) being able to provide different kinds of interactions than face to face events.
I think Jay is on the right track with his question about what kinds of interactions we want and which kinds of tools we use to create those.
I’m thinking that we need to kind of define what a virtual “event” is as opposed to virtual interactions and experiences.
It may just be a matter of semantics, but I’m a big believer in categorizing an event as one where people are physically together and experiencing a common activity (which can take many forms). This kind of event can certainly have virtual components to it to extend the reach and complement the live activity, but I question whether something that is only virtual or online can be categorized as an “event”.
If we want to call something virtual an “event”, then I think the way to do that is to connect it in some way to a live event – creating a common experience and connection where the participants share content and an overall experience together in a “live” environment – that is in real time.
We’re starting to see some good examples of that such as the event that @pinnovation ran from ASAE the other day where he brought together live and virtual attendees into one common space and gave them both a shared experience and some different experiences based on their location (in room or in cyberspace), yet it was all live and real time so that there was an “event” element to it.
With things like on demand webcasts and virtual emulation environments (Second Life like environments), often there is a “live” aspect to it, in that it is run at a specific time, but since no one is actually live together in the same physical space – I’m not sure I can call that an “event”. It’s a virtual interaction or experience and has some event-like elements, but it is too disconnected, in my thinking, to be an actual event. So, I prefer the term virtual interaction or experience for these kinds of technologies.
There is no doubt that I am playing with words a little bit here. And, I do believe there are some valuable tools and reporting structures that virtual environments can provide that can help event marketers to create more pipeline and event measurement, but I think it’s important to create some distinctions and not fall prey to what some of the virtual tradeshow platform vendors would have us believe that virtual events are better than physical events and will eventually replace them.
I just don’t believe that, nor do I think it will happen.
It’s probably a losing battle on my part as so many people have already adopted the idea of virtual events to mean anything that is virtual and has content attached to it.
The important thing now is probably to get people to realize that Jay’s questions are the important questions – and call it what you will – it’s still about understanding what you want to do, who your audience is, what will deliver value to them and then finding the right technologies and tools to meet those objectives.
@Paul:
Wow, there’s a lot in this comment that is worth pondering, considering and “chewing the cud” on for some time. Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
I got stuck at the beginning with the semantics of event versus experience. I agree with you in theory and think Jay is asking the right question about interactions and tools. I think the uphill challenge is that Webster defines an event as something that happens : occurrence : a noteworthy happening : a social occasion or activity. We’ll have to explore this more with #eventprofs.
Thanks again for the great feedback. It’s worth gold!
@Jay Great point and I think both you and Swan have provided some good insight. It’s all about designing & structuring the experience and interactions. It’s not about attempting to duplicate F2F experiences. Thanks for adding your point of view. Good stuff!
@Leesa Barnes – That a wondeful, simple yet powerful definition. I like it a lot. Thanks for adding to the discussion!
@Swan – Thanks for adding your feedback. I spent a long time on the phone with Malcolm and I don’t think he believes that virtual events are equivalnet to in-person events at all. I do think Malcolm believes that all face-to-face events like conferences will have some type of virtual component within a couple years.
You bring up some interesting points about virtual events providing a different experience from face-to-face. I’m not willing yet to say they are better, just different. Still wrapping my head around better/worse and different. Great thoughts to ponder for a while. Thanks again.
Hey Jeff, Great post and thanks so much for the mention!
I’d echo what Paul said above…
Regardless of how folks define virtual events, its really important to recognize that they are fundamentally different than face-to-face activities. They serve a different need and purpose in the relationship and sales cycle. A mix of the right marketing touches, whether in-person, virtual or otherwise is required to build and foster relationships between brands and their audience. Understanding the right number, type, frequency and cadence of these touches is the holy grail for marketers…
@Ian
Thanks for stopping by and adding to the conversation. I agree that virtual events/experiences are fundamentally different from face-to-face events and require a different skill set to organize, manage and implement.