By Ian Burrell-12 January 2021 11:25am
Virtual conferences are evolving as competition hots up / Adobe Stock
As a packed schedule of 2021 virtual conferences gets underway, Ian Burrell explores how the media world s event organisers are attempting to replicate the togetherness of in-person gatherings for online delegates dispersed by Covid-19.
In times gone by the diary of the well-connected media professional promised plentiful travel to conferences and festivals with the ensuing prospect of new contacts and fresh ideas.
June inevitably meant Cannes, and the chance to network along the Croisette or at villa after-parties. A chunk of March would be blocked off for SXSW in Austin, Texas. August offered the charms of Edinburgh and its annual TV festival. September was Dmexco in Cologne, and possibly onto the IBC Show in Amsterdam. And for anyone with an eye on the tech future, this time of the year was spent in and around the Vegas strip for CES.