Last week, we learned that the annual International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) ILTACON gathering this year will be a virtual conference (I covered that here). Now, we’ve learned that Relativity Fest will, not surprisingly, also be a virtual conference this year. Let’s face it, we’re not gathering together in person in big groups anytime soon. So, how can we get the most out of the virtual conferences we will have for the foreseeable future? Here’s an article with ideas crowdsourced from two million professionals.
In Forbes (2 Million Professionals Polled On How To Make Virtual Conferences Better— Here Are Their Top 10 Hacks, written by Ryan Holmes), the author (who is also the CEO of the social media platform Hootsuite) recently polled his two million social media followers (well, isn’t that special!) and published “some of their top tips from the frontlines (edited for length and clarity)”, with some commentary from him.
The article discusses suggestions including quality sound and lighting from the speakers, feedback loops during presentations to make them more interactive, breakout groups, emphasis on networking (which is much more difficult in virtual conferences) and so forth. And, of course, content is king – bad speakers or uninteresting content will doom any conference, virtual or otherwise.
I won’t steal his (or his contributors’, who are each “one in two million” – get it?) thunder, click here to read the article. Hopefully, the organizations who are hosting the virtual conferences we will be attending this year are keeping some of these tips in mind to make their conferences more successful for us!
So, what do you think? Are you attending any eDiscovery virtual conferences this year? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.
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I agree, Doug. Since it does not appear we will have mass gatherings until everyone feels safe doing so, it’s important to figure out how to make virtual events better. There’s no shortage of smart people reading this. I’d be curious to see and hear what legal technology folks would offer as a “hack” in this regard. Time to innovate, folks!
Thanks, Mike! I think organizations conducting virtual conferences should consider setting specifications for speakers to adhere to regarding lighting, sound and other preparations to help ensure consistent quality of educational sessions. And, create plenty of networking opportunities. ILTA seems to have a good plan for it – so far.