Benefits of Virtual Conferences
It is easy to understand why many people dislike the idea of virtual conferences. The thought of sitting behind a computer screen for hours in an uncomfy chair and listening to a floating head is not that enticing. For one thing, you don’t get the fun and cool exotic setting on an island or at another exciting international location. These virtual conferences also don’t allow you to retreat from your everyday routine and fly off to a new place full of new experiences. Also, by remaining at your same everyday desk, it becomes difficult to fully immerse yourself into the new knowledge the speakers are presenting. One can only imagine how speakers at these virtual conferences struggle with technological demands and also with connecting to their remote audiences from all around the world.
Virtual conferences have become very popular since COVID-19 became such a prevalent issue. The pandemic caused the rise of challenges for organizers, attendees, and speakers. While there seem to be many obvious downsides to virtual conferencing, ProNet, professional networking near me, has come up with a list of the benefits of virtual conferencing.
1. The Green Factor
It is indisputable that one of the greatest things to happen from the shift of in-person conferences to virtual conferences is the benefit to the environment. In previous years, conferences have been held all around the world. This causes the need for a countless amount of people to have to fly or drive to these destinations. Rather than a traditional fly-in event, virtual conferences cause just about no suffering to the environment.
2. Leveling the Playing Field
By relocating conferences to online, they have become much more accessible to a larger and diverse audience. The cost of traveling and a prolonged home absence has not only raised issues with companies but also individuals. People with children or disabilities are oftentimes unable to attend these conferences due to extended home absence. Similarly, financial and visa restrictions have prevented many people from economically disadvantaged settings and specific countries from attending meetings, especially international ones. By shifting these conferences online, they become much more accessible to these previously under-represented populations.
3. Best of Both Worlds
While there are benefits to both in-person and virtual conferences, these formats do not need to be mutually exclusive. In the future, we can expect many conferences to remain virtual or to at least have virtual proponents that allow for less travel and more money-saving efforts.
4. Other Random Bonuses
Some other random benefits of virtual conferences include the following:
No bathroom lines
All your favorite snacks and drinks
The ability to wear sweatpants
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