longer required the virtual hotel on
Second Life and gave the virtual plot of
land away in July 2007.
Corbin Ball is an international speaker
on technology for the meetings and
events industry and according to Ball,
was the first speaker to present a full
seminar to the meetings industry using
Second Life. “In September 2007, in
front of 100 delegates, the seminar was
far more like a face-to-face experience
than any web conference or web cast.
Before the presentation I was able to
walk around and speak with the
attendees as they came in.
“Despite having to use the arrow keys
to move around, the event felt exactly like
a real time conference.”
Working within this realm, Ball does
realise that many will be apprehensive in
applying this technology to their
business. “The challenge for this mode
of communication is there is a fairly high
barrier to entry. Delegates must
download the application and then create
an online representation of themselves.
“At best, five per cent of the world is
CONFERENCE
already equipped to attend a virtual
meeting. Gradually, companies will realise
the potential of the online meeting spaces
and with wide usage it will become easier
to use this realm in everyday business.”
“Instant tracking: we
know who attended
your meeting, how
long they stayed,
what they did when
they were there and
how many times they
returned”
He does believe that they are not for
everyone and will take a longer learning
curve. “It does involve a degree of
handholding in the planning stages but
the benefits such as little set up and
maintenance far outweigh the hassle.”
It is still early days says Futuresource’s
FEATURE
Bicknell. “The successful case studies
are coming in in droves and are proving
there is a definite return on investment for
companies taking the leap.
“Businesses are approaching our
company with a vision, not only for saving
money on meetings and travel but to
implement the venture as part of the
company’s corporate social responsibility
programme,” adds Bicknell.
He believes meeting and event planners
have to think of virtual meetings as an
alternative way with major benefits. “In a
usual web conference there is a degree of
anonymity where you type responses.
However, with an avatar you will see a
franker exchange between delegates, just
as in real life.”
For Bicknell, these virtual worlds are
breaking new ground and “as ROI success
stories continue to be illustrated, we will
see more companies commit to this”.
As Ball says: “It is never going to
replace actual real life meetings but it is a
step better than the web conferences
used at the moment. As I say, there is no
thing like a virtual beer.”
CONFERENCE NEWS JUNE 2009 17
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