Conference experiences in the digital age
Changed conference experience
The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching implications for face-to-face events. Of course, among other issues, our conference experiences have changed as well. Our team has mixed feelings towards events that are held online and here we are sharing some of the insights, good and bad.
This week, our team took part in two different industry conferences, both were held online for the first time ever this year. Three of our team members joined the TNW conference which is an impressive technology conference while our CEO dr. Kadri Haljas gave a presentation at an online e-health conference organized by the Finnish Society of Telemedicine and eHealth.
The 25th Finnish National Conference on Telemedicine and eHealth took place on 1st October 2020 as fully virtual conference for the first time ever due to the concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. As this was not the first online conference to attend for our CEO, she brings out some of the main issues that she is struggling with regarding online conferences.
While it is much easier to join the conference from the comfort of your own home, technological issues are not making the whole experience as smooth as it could be.
Meaningful networking does not take place, even if a specific time is allocated for this.
No downtime between the events. Conferences can be very intense but these days it is possible to attend various conferences without even taking a small break - we are not flying anywhere so we are present at all times.
Related to the previous point, attending physical events means that you evaluate your calendar before agreeing with certain events. It is easy to overbook yourself these days that would result in taking part in events “on the background“.
The TNW Conference
To continue, every year, The Next Web organizes the TNW Conference. Like many other conferences, this one was held online in 2020 as well. We thoroughly enjoyed the wide range of talks but one thing was also new to us - we had a virtual booth for the first time ever and we realized that this results in significantly less interest than it would if it would have been a physical booth.
What do you think?
How do you like online conferences? Do you feel like you are getting the full experience out of it? I personally find physical events much more valuable and enjoyable.
