2020 is the year of online. Online podcasts and online or virtual conferences have been big this year. Podcasting has been growing but the number of people that started them as well as the number of new mini conferences or conferences that went virtual is huge.

For those that never could get away from work or get budget approval hopefully they have caught a ton of sessions and great speakers this year. We also hope you realize that the year isn’t over and there are more good conferences and talks ahead.

Here are two FREE events that Dave is talking at in the coming weeks:

• Dec 2-3 – Small Business and Ecommerce Cyber Week
  • Dave’s Session on Dec 3 – Tired of Writing? Audio & Video Content Creation is the Answer
• Dec 8 – Webmaster Tools with Dave Rohrer @ SEMPDX

In Person Conference Prediction

Our predictions since we usually get some correct:

When do we think large (100+ of people) size digital marketing type conferences will again happen in the United States?

As far as the answers:

• Matt: Oct/Nov of 2021 is what he is guessing but also his guess is for the larger conferences of 1000 or many 100s of people.
• Dave: sticking with the idea around 100, 200, or 500 people – still decent size conference. Dave is looking for some “normal” to happen in Summer (July-ish) timeframe.

Hopefully Dave is correct but we shall see.

Pros of Virtual Conferences

• Lots of conferences have gone free this year.
• There is no travel cost, hotel costs, eating out costs and time away from the office.
• Are becoming more engaging – some virtual conferences are working hard to make networking better but also to make the talks more engaging and closer to being “there”.
• Access to great speakers and content no matter where you are in the world.
• You can multitask – you might miss some tips but catching at least 25% of the great nuggets is still better than missing 100%.

Cons of Virtual Conferences

• No swag for coworkers, kids, family or office.
• No T-shirts or sweatshirts
• Meeting new people, prospects, clients, friends is tougher virtual
• Meetings with clients or friends where you can get away and have an in person meeting/catch up.
• Are people paying attention due to work, kids, and other distractions calling for your time?

Do you think in 2021 and into 2022 virtual conferences will continue? Will burnout from video meetings burn people out in the future or has it already? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook!

Full Transcript

Matt Siltala: [00:00:00 ] Welcome to another exciting episode of the business of digital podcast, featuring your host, Matt scintilla and Dave roar. Hey guys, excited to have you join us on another one of these business of digital podcast episodes. I’m grateful that, you know, I was thinking about this, Dave, I’m grateful that we’ve been able to do.

And I don’t know whether, whether it’s, uh, sorry. My, my thoughts are all over the place right now, but. I don’t know, it’s because of, uh, you know, the fact that we talked about this is going to be kind of a 20, 20, uh, looking over type episode, but like, I’ve been very grateful. We’ve been able to do, um, over three years of these, if you can believe it just that we’ve had this, uh, podcast going on for so long, but anyway,

Dave Rohrer: [00:00:46 ] how’s it going?

I have the podcast because we can’t travel this year. So people that do podcasts in person. Um, that are not family are probably at a disadvantage.

Matt Siltala: [00:00:58 ] Very true, very true. [00:01:00 ] But, um, just getting into, you know, like we were chatting and w as we always do, it’s good to just get in and record. Cause we tend to chat, not recording about all the stuff we should be recording, but, uh, we’re talking about virtual conferences and just 2020 in general and, and then beyond, and, and what’s in the future.

And so, um, just give us your, your thoughts on this and, uh, where we go from here. First

Dave Rohrer: [00:01:24 ] let’s make predictions because we all, everyone hates predictions and everyone sucks at them. Um, and that’s the time of year where everyone makes predictions. When do you think the first we’ll just stick to marketing?

Digital marketing conference will happen in person with over a hundred people in 2021. So unless you think it will be later, but

Matt Siltala: [00:01:49 ] no. No. Um,

Dave Rohrer: [00:01:50 ] when do you, when do you predict the first one? In the us also to add that other qualifier digital marketing focused will happen.

[00:02:00 ] Matt Siltala: [00:02:00 ] I’ll give you my answer on this one, because with everything I’ve been reading, um, they’re saying the general public should be getting vaccines rolled out and around the end of April.

So we’re looking at April, may, June, July, probably. Um, the reason I, I say what I’m about to say is, cause I don’t see people feeling safe until like everyone, and you’ve got a lot of people that aren’t going to take the. Vaccine, obviously, because of whatever reasons or their fear, it’s not safe, but let’s say that we let all that go smooth and the rates are going down and everything happens the way it should.

Um, throughout the summer, I think that as far as like the ones in our circles, the next big one, I think could be a pub con Vegas, honestly.

Dave Rohrer: [00:02:42 ] So you’re saying next October, November,

Matt Siltala: [00:02:46 ] December the next big one. And I know you said that you gave the, the number a hundred. I think there’s already some that are, that are smaller, that are starting to go on already, you know, social distancing and that, that kind of stuff, but [00:03:00 ] like, Um, I’m thinking more, a little bit bigger, large scale ones like that.

We’re used to speaking at.

Dave Rohrer: [00:03:05 ] So over a thousand, you’re saying, or more than a couple hundred,

Matt Siltala: [00:03:08 ] more than a couple hundred. I think it would probably be around, you know, October, November.

Dave Rohrer: [00:03:15 ] I was going to say probably summer

Matt Siltala: [00:03:17 ] really interesting.

Dave Rohrer: [00:03:20 ] All right. And

Matt Siltala: [00:03:21 ] I hope I hope I’m right or I’m wrong. And you’re right

Dave Rohrer: [00:03:25 ] for my own little pop-up conference.

I still haven’t even started planning for 2021. Cause I don’t know what I’m doing. And yes, we are talking about virtual conferences. Eventually.

Matt Siltala: [00:03:37 ] I still want that pop-up conference to come here to Phoenix. You know, you missed your, your, your March visit to shear

Dave Rohrer: [00:03:44 ] the, uh, I keep looking at the places I wanted to hit this year and pushing them to next year and then trying to figure out how to make it work.

Matt Siltala: [00:03:54 ] Yeah.

Dave Rohrer: [00:03:55 ] But I’m also looking at, I wasn’t gonna, I was gonna push my Chicago from [00:04:00 ] February to April or March or April or may, but do I really want to start planning it? How much time do I have this idea? None.

Matt Siltala: [00:04:10 ] The only thing that makes me nervous. And I’ll tell you this, like, just with. These vaccines coming out and being as effective, the ZR, there’s only the only thing that worries me is, is, you know, some of the reports that I’ve read is that it’s only kept it away for like three months or whatever it is.

And, and so it’s like, you know, that, that worries me. And then also there’s reports, I’ve read where this may be like a flu shot thing that it’s not going away in, that you just have to get something like this. Yearly. And if that’s fine that, you know, we’re, we’ll start to get back to normal, but it also makes me wonder how, how is that, or how has this year changed?

People’s mindsets of, you know, am I going to want to go and be in person again? I’ll just give you a little bit [00:05:00 ] of a, an insight. So we’ve done virtual school here with my boys, my daughter, she’s in college. She’s doing, they basically have everything online as well. And I’ll tell you, this has been the first like.

Summer fall, whatever you want to call it, where we have had no colds, no flus, no nothing that, that these guys have brought or picked up. Usually like Ian, you know, my, my eighth grader, he’s like the corporate, uh, he’s the culprit of bringing anything back to us that about kills us. And so, um, that’s been nice.

And so I wonder like, How much of that stuff’s going to play and are people gonna like, still like, well, I don’t want to take the chance of getting it or I’m not gonna get the vaccine or I’m not, you know what I mean? Like there’s just so many like, factors that it’s hard to know exactly what’s going