[Air-l] Why not make Aoir 5.0 "Virtual conference"?

[Bernie Hogan]

[note - I just saw Jeremy's post as I was about to hit send - I'll send
anyway!]

Webcasting is great in spirit, but its a very expensive business, and would
take the conference budget away from more pressing needs, like internet
support for conference attendees, renting laptops for presentations etc....
Even videotaping and archiving the presentations is not cheap, mic rental
must be factored in, as must technical support. And it is logistically
complex. 

At present, the paper archive for each conference year is a great resource
on the cheap (and its made me the #1 google search for "media multiplexity",
surely because people are linking to that site in general).

Finally, there is the sort of social constructivist concern about recording
sessions. It alters the dynamics of what can and will take place in the
room, there is more surveillance, which can be good or bad, and there's a
record, which will memorialize slips, bad presentations and all sorts of
technical details. 

I like the idea of webcasting or archiving certain lectures, say keynotes or
memorials, but overall its tough stuff, even for the most well organized and
funded outfits. 

 

You'll note that Kylie Veale wrote the message below on 10/7/04 12:25 AM.

> I'm jumping on Graham's band-wagon here and agreeing that "AOIR should do
> what it can to take advantage of technology to increase remote access to
> conference proceedings, but this effort should be complementary".
> 
> How about web-casting the presentations (at a minimum) to AOIR members?  And
> perhaps on a payment basis for non-members? This would be extremely
> advantageous for those us that just can't make it that year to the
> conference.
> 
> Kylie
>  
> 
> Kylie J. Veale  |  Brisbane, Australia
> GradDipInvEnv, MInetStds(Design)
> 
> PhD Candidate
> Media & Information, Curtin University of Technology
> 
> email:  kylie at veale.com.au
> www:    http://www.veale.com.au
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces at listserv.aoir.org
> [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Graham
> Longford
> Sent: Thursday, 7 October 2004 3:34 AM
> To: air-l-aoir.org at listserv.aoir.org
> Subject: [Air-l] Why not make Aoir 5.0 "Virtual conference"?
> 
> Two quick points re. the suggestion to take AOIR 5.0 "virtual".
> 
> Firstly, as we know, much of the most important action at conferences takes
> place f2f and outside the formal proceedings - networking in hallways, ad
> hoc dinners, late-night drinking, etc. Obviously this puts colleagues with
> limited travel funding and/or from distant locations at a disadvantage, but
> I doubt these dynamics and interactions can be easily replicated in
> cyberspace (oh oh, I may have just started something ;-)).
> 
> Secondly, on the technical side (and in response to Bernie's helpful
> intervention), the degree of technical and logistical complexity should not
> be underestimated here. Just setting up cybercafes, ensuring internet and/or
> wireless access onsite etc. can be a challenge (often involving negotiating
> with hotel management and tech staff etc.) Past AOIR local organizing
> committees can speak to this I'm sure. Webcasting would seem to be a
> feasible option, provided good tech resources and support are in place, and
> it still offers a certain degree of interactivity.
> 
> In principle, AOIR should do what it can to take advantage of technology to
> increase remote access to conference proceedings, but this effort should be
> complementary, as opposed to one which seeks to substitute for f2f
> conferences altogether. In addition, technological initiatives should not be
> allowed to drain undue energy and resources from the effort of mounting the
> f2f event, which is a danger. Perhaps others could propose and coordinate
> pilot initiatives (along the lines of the AOIR Toronto conference blog), and
> report back to the membership and executive re. their effectiveness. These
> could feed into a more formal plan to virtualize aspects of the AOIR
> conference in coming years.
> 
> My two cents worth.
> 
> Graham
> 

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