What do you think of virtual event fatigue?

With the start of all conferences, meetups and hackathons being turned into virtual events I thought that would be a great opportunity to attend events I would't could have attend in person because it is maybe too far away or too expensive. I imagined attending all these interesting events or just switch in, to see how relevant it is to me.

But most of the time, I just didn't made it to most of the events, because I needed on other stuff that appeared more important than. I've found out, that I really need to block everything else, so that I can attend such virtual events.

With 'physical' events I never had this problem, because when I decided to attend some event I had to make a commitment for tickets or hotel bookings e.g. that stopped me from last-minute cancelling those events. I still need to figure out the right prioritization for all the virtual events I would love to attend.

I find it very hard to do virtual events. There isn't the same sort of urgency and connection as meeting in person.

I consume podcasts and video at 2X speed. It's hard to watch someone on a screen at regular speed. :-)

At first I was really impressed by how so many companies were able to quickly adapt and pivot to offer virtual events in place of their in-person events. Some even offered their events online for free, despite their in-person equivalent being a paid event. BUT as someone who's job is now fully remote, screen fatigue often equates to virtual event fatigue. That's why I haven't attended as many virtual events.

What I love about 'physical' events was being able to take a break from screen time, plus having the opportunity to network and engage in conversations with new peers in my industry. Virtual events don't offer these same opportunities in the way in-person events do — at least in between sessions — because you still have to be on your computer. (Chatting in an online space just doesn't feel the same, in my opinion. )

As a side note, I really liked how Buffer and Wistia partnered on a recent audio conference. Thought it was a great alternative that allows you to passively listen while you're working. But again, it still doesn't offer that same level of in-person engagement that 'physical' events can!

Thanks for the topic and the replies.

I had an online conference last week and was not into it at all. I have another in 2 weeks and we'll see how that goes.

Agree with the general comment that if they conference is just videos, I'd rather watch them at my own pace later (not live).

Curious how this plays out over the next few years.

Virtual events like the conference type will die, because there is just no reason to go see speaker live or network with random people live.

The better way is to consume content on demand the way you like it, and to network with people whom you like can have mutual benefits and can move the needle for you - which you can easily find via other channels.

It is common that with a big shift like this from offline to online, people choose to replicate what used to work into a new environment. Soon they will find out, a new field requires a new game.

Now you might ask - so what will stay?

Virtual gatherings that are smaller size, intimate, lots of knowledge sharing and discussion will stay, because it is important for humans to connect and share.

This is a fantastic topic. If you’re asking if it’s a real thing... I’d say absolutely. The problem I’ve found, through the onset of our current predicament, is that EVERYONE had the same idea at the same time. Thus the onslaught of virtual events started and haven’t stoped.

It was great for awhile, but there only so many virtual/remote project management event I can deal with until they’re all the same.

It's there and very much consumming all of us. I started gardening on the roof to get away, while in quarantine. There are way too many online events happening and it makes me less excited to attend any. Although, I feel we will eventually figure it out or get use to the new norm.

It is as real as attending ill prepared meetings in the real world.

Zoom fatigue is real, and the biggest culprit in my mind is the cognitive effort we have to continuously expend. There is a very noticeable delay that is not present in real world conversation (or in analog telephones back in the day). Multiple people talking at the same time is impossible. Background noises oftentimes prove distracting.

We have to deal with all these things, and it becomes tiring.

A great discussion on this topic: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22930965

From my perspective, I struggle to attend things and mostly haven't.

For me, it's because we're still in a pandemic and I have no time. Lacking childcare for the foreseeable future means this won't change for a while yet to come. After seeing spikes in other European countries we've decided not to send our youngest back to nursery. We've long homeschooled our other kids, so not such an impact there.

However, I am excited for the future of virtual events, once things have calmed down I like to believe that they will become a part of our every day lives. Right now I struggle to justify the need/cost/time of attending anything that is more than an hour long.