The Real Deal
Do More Virtual Meetings Mean Fewer Real Planners?
by Amy Lillard | Published in August 2007 Focus on Technology
When the last presentation at the Architect2Architect conference was complete, Saira left the bustling conference hall and zipped over to the lively exhibition hall, filled with sponsors and other attendees.
She chatted up a few reps at the Hewlett-Packard and Green Hat Software booths, exchanging business cards, asking some questions and learning more about partnerships. A full day done, she packed up her briefcase with the documents she’d received earlier at the resource center, and headed off to network.
A typical day at a typical conference. Except that on this day, for this attendee, the networking didn’t happen over drinks or dinner. The business cards from reps weren’t tangible pieces of paper. The name wasn’t one given at birth. And her briefcase? Nothing remotely like that shoulder-wrenching tote bag you’re accustomed to.
This event was entirely online, a conference planned and executed in virtual space.
In this land created by a company called Unisfair, attendees visited mock halls for online presentations, wandered virtual booths with a mouse click, conducted live chats with sponsor and attendee avatars, and worked the room through the ping of instant messages.
Unisfair is just one of many companies offering virtual innovations for our world of meetings, conferences and trade shows. Virtual meetings represent the best of the future, addressing the perennial issues of time and money in a revolutionary way — but along with the excitement, you may be getting some cold sweats. Is the boom in virtual meetings the beginning of the end of in-person events?
The consensus? A big fat “No.” But a qualified no.
The Virtual Universe
To understand the complicated attitudes about virtual meetings, let’s first take a look at the existing technology.
There are the simple systems. Think WebEx, which allows users to share any applications running on your system, communicate via whiteboard and even hear remarks through audio conferencing. Think Microsoft LiveMeeting, where users can share applications, annotate on-screen, chat with others, make and reorganize seating charts, and record and share the session.
Then there are the more complex and in-demand software and services, such as those Unisfair offers.
Second Life could be the most promising — and threatening — of the technology options, given its booming popularity. Some see the online virtual world as a game, while others see it as a money-making venture, with an increasing array of virtual products and property offered for “Linden dollars” (its currency) and a significant big-name corporate presence, including the likes of IBM, Toyota and even the United States Congress. Finally, companies and consumers see the possibilities for virtual meetings, eliminating the cost and time involved in massive “real-world” conferences.
Key among Second Life’s attractions for people looking to plan meetings, avatars can behave in life-like fashion, simulating the physical presence of other attendees. Communication can go fast and furious, reminding users of in-person brainstorming and collaborative sessions. And people may feel more inclined to participate from the safety and relative anonymity of their own computer seat.
Real Limitations, Virtual Solutions
Seems like a slam dunk, one bound to make the meetings industry quake in the knees.
But ask most planners, and look at your own experience, and you’ll hear more about the limits of this technology.
“The intensity of an actual meeting cannot be replaced with a virtual meeting,” says Jacques Blaauw, an independent planner and owner of J Events.
Most planners agree. Human interaction is electric, they contend. It’s intense when planned correctly, stimulating the minds of professionals and focusing their energy for upcoming efforts. It’s valuable, resulting in more information than you can get from a static presentation, more potential leads and connections, and more and better business.
“The human element is so important in daily business dealings,” says Lisa Diaz, a planner for the Denver Federal Executive Board, which has incorporated numerous Web-based meetings. “With virtual meetings, you do not actually meet, or shake hands with and sit in the same room as the other attendees. Especially in meetings that involve negotiation, there is so much that is communicated nonverbally, and that is completely missed if you are not sitting together.”
Then there are the problems with user involvement and audience reach. Conference attendees may be more inclined to multi-multi-task with virtual meetings, checking e-mail, conducting other work and generally sacrificing attention that might be focused in person.
“Reach is also a factor in the audience equation,” said Keith Johnson, independent planner and owner of Onsite Events, which is responsible for many meetings with virtual components. “If you’re trying to reach the broadest audience possible, you have to look beyond Second Life and other online [worlds] and go into the real world. Even in this Internet-everywhere world, some people are reluctant to be that connected.”
In the cases of Unisfair and Second Life, costs are also still a factor. To create and run an online summit will go up a sliding scale of costs, depending on the level of interactivity you desire. In Second Life, space and tools are not free. Rental costs will get you, just as in real life.
So where does that leave virtual meetings, in-person events and the industry?
It helps to know that even the vanguard in virtual still senses its own limitations.
“Physical events will never go away,” said Brent Arslaner, vice president of marketing for Unisfair. “In the future, physical events and their virtual counterparts will become tightly commingled.”