Posted By: Anthony Story Date : 20 Oct 2008 10:50am
Technology (as discussed in the blogs below) is helping events reach a wider audience. In fact some events are being staged purely online with no physical presence at all. Great for costs savings, but for many people a step too far, too soon.
How far can you push the events envelope without scaring off core delegates? The latest innovation is the ‘virtual world’, of which Second Life is perhaps the front runner.
(If you don’t know Second Life, it’s an online 3D virtual world where residents live a ‘virtual’ life, interacting with one another through computer generated representations of themselves (an avatar). Residents meet friends, chat with strangers, visit interesting places - from virtual bars to museums. It looks like a computer game, just with all the characters being controlled by different people, around the world).
To stage the virtual conference, you set up a 3D conference venue and invite people to attend – just as you would a real world event. Live video of your presenters is streamed directly into the virtual venue and a message board is provided for conversation. You can even set up trade show tables around the arena where businesses can market their products. But the real selling point is the ability to meet other people.
Your avatar hangs out in a room with the other delegates – you can approach other avatar/people, strike up a conversation and take it from there. You can talk via instant messaging or, if you’ve got a microphone, using voice. In fact it’s not that different from the experience of a real networking session – just without the warm chardonnay and dodgy nibbles!
What you end up with is a place where you can see and hear presentations, ask questions, give answers, network, talk to strangers, promote yourself, learn new things. In fact all the things you can do at a traditional conference. So why don’t we see more of it being used?
The technology is young and still doesn’t appeal to everyone – it hasn’t reached a critical mass of take up either. It’s also a little ‘clunky’ to use. If you’re a computer gamer you’ll have an advantage, but it takes a while to master controlling an avatar.
But it does have merit. I wonder if it would be better to use the concept and ditch the avatars, for now at least; Just provide the functions in a traditional browser layout: streaming video, message board and a list of online participants (name, company, job title & a photo) – clicking on a name would strike up a conversation.
Even this approach is a tough sell for many, but with environmental issues pressing, staging an event without requiring anyone to travel could have a massive impact on our carbon footprints. There’s always a reason to dislike technology – but perhaps this will be the issue which proves the tipping point in eroding the conference event format as we know (and love) it.
How far can you push the events envelope without scaring off core delegates? The latest innovation is the ‘virtual world’, of which Second Life is perhaps the front runner.
(If you don’t know Second Life, it’s an online 3D virtual world where residents live a ‘virtual’ life, interacting with one another through computer generated representations of themselves (an avatar). Residents meet friends, chat with strangers, visit interesting places - from virtual bars to museums. It looks like a computer game, just with all the characters being controlled by different people, around the world).
To stage the virtual conference, you set up a 3D conference venue and invite people to attend – just as you would a real world event. Live video of your presenters is streamed directly into the virtual venue and a message board is provided for conversation. You can even set up trade show tables around the arena where businesses can market their products. But the real selling point is the ability to meet other people.
Your avatar hangs out in a room with the other delegates – you can approach other avatar/people, strike up a conversation and take it from there. You can talk via instant messaging or, if you’ve got a microphone, using voice. In fact it’s not that different from the experience of a real networking session – just without the warm chardonnay and dodgy nibbles!
What you end up with is a place where you can see and hear presentations, ask questions, give answers, network, talk to strangers, promote yourself, learn new things. In fact all the things you can do at a traditional conference. So why don’t we see more of it being used?
The technology is young and still doesn’t appeal to everyone – it hasn’t reached a critical mass of take up either. It’s also a little ‘clunky’ to use. If you’re a computer gamer you’ll have an advantage, but it takes a while to master controlling an avatar.
But it does have merit. I wonder if it would be better to use the concept and ditch the avatars, for now at least; Just provide the functions in a traditional browser layout: streaming video, message board and a list of online participants (name, company, job title & a photo) – clicking on a name would strike up a conversation.
Even this approach is a tough sell for many, but with environmental issues pressing, staging an event without requiring anyone to travel could have a massive impact on our carbon footprints. There’s always a reason to dislike technology – but perhaps this will be the issue which proves the tipping point in eroding the conference event format as we know (and love) it.
