A few days ago I suggested that a conference be hybrid, but it seems that nobody supports these things anymore...
I understand that it is technically complex (well, for us a little less, since we are computer scientists), but I feel that this is the only ethical way to do things. Hybrid events are good for climate change, they allow people with little budget or health problems to participate, etc.
It's a shame there are virtually no hybrid events anymore, not even among the top conferences 😞
@the_heruman It's indeed really quite difficult to do, although in many cases a simple zoom setup can give decent results. The more important problem is that the in-person participants can find it very boring to jointly watch an online presentation. In any case, even if it's not live online, recording it and posting the videos covers already a lot.
@FMarquardtGroup I know it's not easy. I have attended several conferences where the sound was terrible: the people who participated online did not hear anything as soon as the speaker moved away from the microphone (and they did not hear the questions from the audience either). And the people who were there in person could not understand a word of the online talks.
But in others, everything has been perfect. It's indeed possible! I guess it's a matter of will and that we all adapt a little...
@FMarquardtGroup@the_heruman when I ran a workshop at a virtual conference in 2020, I bought a good microphone. Good sound really is important and I don’t regret of having spent some money on this. It’s a real game changer for #VirtualConferences.
But more generally hybrid events are about effort. They need to be thought about and planned days ahead. The tech cannot be checked live with the audience on the day. I ran a hybrid 1 day symposium earlier this year and it went v v well, but it needed an investment of prep time, people & hardware. #academicchatter@academicchatter
I don't know if it is out somewhere already, but it would be great if organisations/organisers share their best experiences somewhere online, so everyone can learn from it.
@the_heruman
Yes indeed. And it is so frustrating. Some weeks ago there was a small conference in Amsterdam about creating proper digital spaces.
Interesting, right? And you'd think that..... well...no, only in-person. So ridiculous. So we asked for it, and they gave us some stream (not the whole program i think), but poorly set up.
And it is such a waste of all the things we've learned since the start of the pandemic.
@bookmarchitect@HannahCelsius@the_heruman@UlrichJunker@gpollara@academicchatter@FMarquardtGroup We had a panel on the future of conferences and the amount of people attending in person saying “don’t take away the posters, don’t take away…” The reply from everyone was we are adding. We also covered visa issues, Covid vaccination status and climate crisis, LGBTQ community attendance, parents, carers and so many more who can be included with hybrid
@UlrichJunker@HannahCelsius@StephZihms@gpollara@FMarquardtGroup@the_heruman@academicchatter I've worked in the scientific board for an annual artistic research conference and there, the conference exhibition showcasing physical objects and installations is a dilemma. But here again, hybrid would give a perfectly fine alternative given that the exhibition was available as a high-quality video. We've had virtual museum tours for how long now?
Perhaps as a sidenote: the last year some art organisations (in the Netherlands), when asked for anti Covid things as masking and proper ventilation at their events, stated that wasn't neccessary because they offered a virtual tour.
So organisations also hide behind it, so they don't have to consider safety measures.
@UlrichJunker@HannahCelsius@bookmarchitect@gpollara@FMarquardtGroup@the_heruman@academicchatter For that conference the poster events are a key part. They have a virtual equivalent. I always check who is saying these things and it’s often from a point of privilege - health, money to travel, and not wanting to say they really just want to hang out with friends. I get that but that shouldn’t determine everyone else’s experience…
Absolutely agree. I'm on a planning committee that has been working on a hybrid conference for over a year. It is a lot of work but accessibility is critical. The mad rush to "return to normal" is costing us so many gains, and this is one.
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