Today most of our communications and interactions are online and live meetings are replaced by Webinars and virtual meetings on small screens from the comfort of our home. The internet has changed our world and the ways we communicate. But is it true that virtual communication is as effective as the real live one?
If more and more business people are attending virtual meetings and webinars in their PJs, while eating or having a drink or probably laying down in bed, does this mean the job of event planners organizing meetings and conventions will be taken over by webinars and the internet? And if so, what will be the impact on lot of businesses involved in the meetings and conventions industry?
In 2010, the meetings and events industry generated $140.3 BILLION in the US alone and it was accounted for 1.7 million jobs and responsible for 36% of the hotel industry's revenues and 17% of total air traffic for airlines in the US. Out of the $140.3 billion generate by the industry, 35% was through direct spending on hotels, 24% on air and transportation, 14% on restaurants and caterers and 12% on other business services.
While a webinar can be attended by people from all around the world, can also be watched and re-watched by uploading it online, does it bring same value and content as a live meeting or convention? Does it provide same experience as live interaction with other like minded people?
It’s true that live meetings are costly: hotel accommodations, restaurants, entertainement, airline tickets, transportation, insurance, risk management, logistics, production, speakers, and the list goes on and on, but are webinars the only alternative to this billion dollars industry?
The experience of the real thing when you attend a live meeting, convention or seminar, is what I consider “a life experience”: it stays with you forever. I attended lot of meetings and workshops in different places and I will always remember them. They impacted my life for ever. I can remember to the samllest detail my feeling when I first walked into that big room and engaged in interesting conversations with people I just met. I remember the hotels I stayed in, the food I tasted, the motivational speeches I listened to with all my senses, the speakers faces, names and how excited or bored I was listening to them, the networking and stories exchanged at coffee breaks and lunch time. I will never forget the tour of the city where the meeting took place, the people, the hospitality, the sightseeings, the little things from my morning coffee in the hotel restaurant with other participants to my big sigh checking out wishing my experience could be a bit longer.
Can a webinar make me experience all this while sitting at home, staring at my computer’s screen, listening or watching a presentation alone in my room? No it can’t! No matter how interesting the content of a webinar and the person presenting it, the energy and excitement you experience in a live meeting can never me met or matched online.
What do you think? Would you rather attend a live meeting or a webinar and why? I’d love to hear your opinion!
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