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Which Is Your Preference - Online Networking or Face-to-Face Meetings?
hace 5 añosHow do you view the relationship between live events and online communities? Are they competing with each other? Or simply meeting different needs? Are you attending more conferences than you used to? Or less because of online communities? Some thoughts from the LinkedIn business community:
“Online is great but you can not judge the 'tone of voice' as you can when you meet in person.” JG
“I don't think online networking can replace the benefit of a face to face meeting, But I also do think that online networking such as in these forums can also be beneficial. The scope of the online community is so vast. In my day-to-day job I may not have access to people around the world like I do online. The benefits are different but both can be valuable.” SG, SPHR
”When I started my career in Global Mobility, almost 30 years ago, there was no Internet. With the advent of Email, conference calls and video conferences, many people expected to see business travel and international assignments decrease. In reality, technology is precisely what enabled many businesses to go "international", or even global, resulting in a steady increase in business travel and cross-border employee mobility. Thanks to such technologies we now have the "privilege" of being part of virtual teams and being connected to the rest of the world 24/7, even when we are on holiday or having a nice dinner at a restaurant! Online networking will no doubt have an important place in our daily lives, both at work and at home. But ultimately it is just another trend that will continue to connect people and businesses around the globe, which in turn will most probably increase the overall amount of face-to-face interaction and international travel, going forward.” MF
“Online networking is the new trend as it seems to be an effective answer in today's fast paced world. It's faster, more cost effective as in just a click one gets access to the whole world. But vibes, behavioral indicators through body language, personal touch cannot be accessed thru technology. I think that's why we still say while talking on phone or chatting online with a friend that 'I need to meet you to tell you this'...” SG
“There are only certain things you can train virtually. Pure theory and academics? Sure. Hands-on training with something complex and time intensive? You will lose too much when you make the training virtual. Another risk of doing everything by phone and the web is alienating employees. If any communication you have is being done in an impersonal manner, you begin to feel like an isolated cog in a machine. I'm reminded of an old Microsoft commercial that shows a new hire in a giant corporation being ignored and given a cold shoulder by almost everyone before he arrives at his empty desk. There, he IMs over to the corporate network with someone in Prague. We can safely assume his silent colleagues a few feet away were doing the same thing. Would you want to work in a place like that?” TW
According to an intercall.com marketing study, just 50 percent of marketers have attended a virtual or even hybrid (both virtual and in- person components) event, despite the majority of respondents working with tight annual marketing budgets.
In fact, 85 percent said they preferred in-person events and 92 percent believed they would receive more leads at a physical conference. The same lack of awareness trend occurred in terms of hosting virtual meetings rather than just attending. While virtual events certainly offer many advantages, they are still fairly new in the marketing world and slow to catch on.
Asking if virtual meetings will replace live meetings is like asking if singles’ chat rooms will replace real dating. Technology is a "tool," not a replacement.
Human face-to-face interaction is, and will continue to be, the most effective form of communication. Live meetings deliver the rich, more intense human experiences that virtual meetings can’t quite achieve. They deliver more passionate motivation along with messaging, and inspiration with information.
