Wendy, you raised some good points here…

I think its important for us all to realize that “one size does not fit all” and we need to take a look at each event and then tailor our communications to its specific needs.

It will be interesting to see how perceptions change over the next twelve months, and I suspect there will be changes.

Thanks for adding to the conversation!

@michaelmccurry

HI Ian,

Sorry for the major delay in responding to your post!

I agree with you that, to the extent they make sense for a particular program hybrid features will become commonplace in the meetings business.

In our world today so much emphasis is being placed upon collaboration and creating community with your customers and vendors alike. Hybrid components help accomplish that by making it possible to add a new channel of people to the conversation, that otherwise would not have a voice.

Thanks for adding your thoughts to this conversation.

@michaelmccurry

Katherine, thanks for adding to the conversation and I will check out your website.

I am fascinated by all the possibilities with events these days.

Thanks again,

@michaelmccurry

Ha, I am glad to hear the search engines are doing their magic. I am honored that you picked my article!

Hybrid events are demonstrating over and over the power of social media to extend the reach and impact of a face2face event by connecting virtual attendees with those on site at the event. The ensuing collaboration and conversation is remarkable.

I too have made valuable business connections as a result of this channel of communication. It will be interesting to see what the next twelve months brings in the event business.

Thanks for adding to the conversation!

@michaelmccurry

And some really insightful comments. To add to this conversation I think the evolution of hybrid events will hopefully take over. I have many virtual friends who I have great conversations and learning experiences with. A few have turned into business partners. It seems with the economy and time restraints we all have, Hybrid events are the next logical step.

Today I was asked in a lunch meeting about what a hybrid event was. Since we both had our computers open (nerd alert) I typed it in for fun. And your post came up Mike! I laughed because you and I had a nice virtual conversation yesterday online… Such a small world. Well, a small virtual world.

Keep up the great work.

Your friend,

Not as big Mike

I believe hybrid events will become the norm in the near future. Whether its using virtual event platforms like inxpo, unisfair, ON24, etc., events in virtual worlds, integrating social media tools, new platforms based on MMOGs, mobile technologies, or all. The fact is audiences engage with brands in conversation both online and face to face. There is an organic fit between these channels and smart companies are experimenting with these and will be well positioned for the future.

Please check out the following posts for more information:

Virtual Events

Five Ways Social Media Amplifies Event Marketing

Keep the conversation going!

People still feel that face-to-face interactions at an event are more meaningful and result in better qualified opportunities than those online. As we move to more interactive virtual events, I wonder if this perception will change.

Coincidence? I think not. Coming from yesterday’s #ASSNCHAT, I called three of our clients and broached the “hosted virtual” discussion we had, for their upcoming events.

We’re engaging with all three to investigate it further.

Paul’s ideas on “gaming environments” and Jay’s “rich interaction” are new thoughts – anyone mind if we borrow them and see where they go?

Much like Cece, we believe that one day, we’ll simply be discussing ‘events’ and that will of course include some F2F/IRL elements, some virtual live elements, some on demand elements, some rich media, some static media and in essence, the events world will more accurately replicate the real life world where people are able to multi-task and absorb multiple inputs at the same time.

GREAT topic, as always . . . and so timely.