In the beginning...really?

At the recent Virtual Edge Summit, we heard the phrase, “In the beginning, there was Webex…”. The idea being: virtual technology vendors have taken the idea of online gatherings to the next level. While this simplification may be necessary for the true neophyte, we reject the notion that virtual technology platforms (or virtual event software vendors, as they’ve come to be known) are an extension of a trend started by Webex/GoToMeeting and webinar providers.


To us, that’s like saying the Web is an extension of TV; after all, they both have screens on which things move and make sound. 


Virtual envrionment technology is used to connect people with each other and with relevant content over varying lengths of time, not just during a meeting. Virtual platforms enable business to easily produce, manage, measure and administer a series of enduring online presences designed to achieve business objectives for groups, large or small, that benefit from increased content distribution, an organic community, audience feedback and worldwide reach.


Doesn’t sound much like a Webex meeting does it?


Here’s a list of live (as we write today) virtual environments to give you an idea of how the virtual technology platforms (6Connex and others) are being used:

• Secure international sales and marketing conference (3 of these)
• Continuing medical education center
• Partner portal with both secure entitlement and public access options (4)
• Association trade show (14)
• Executive briefing center with public access (2)
• Product line marketing and communication portal (6)
• Consumer product information center (31)
• Highly secure pre-patent (executive only) poster show on new technology
• Medical equipment tradeshow (4)
• Hybrid events - virtual component to a physical show (22)
• Sales training conference (3)
• Thought leadership knowledge center (2)
• There are many more, to be sure - this is just a quick overview

Obviously, these platforms are not being used for 45-minute meetings with slide sharing. These virtual environments are achieving important business goals, both from a communications and budgetary standpoint, and they’re doing so with an enduring presence that provides actionable analytics.