Are you on the fence about participating in our 2021 virtual conference? Some of us at the ACTWS have attended a few virtual conferences this year and they can be pretty awesome. Here’s the top 10 reasons that virtual is better:
10 – View talks in your pajamas! Sometimes getting up early in a hotel, getting ready, and finding coffee before literally running to the morning keynote can be stressful. With a virtual conference, you don’t have to worry about that. Your commute is literally 2 minutes. Grab a cup of coffee from your kitchen and watch a couple talks while you relax in your pj’s!
9 – Watch it on the big screen. Connect your laptop or phone to your TV and cast the talks on the big screen while lounging in your favourite chair or couch. Make a big bowl of popcorn and don’t worry about if text or figures will be too small – they won’t, you’re using your big TV!
8 – Participate in the conference outside in nature. Do you get numb-bum after sitting all day in conferences? Well, not with virtual! Download the Whova Ap to your phone and take the conference with you on a walk in the wilderness of your backyard. You can listen to talks or participate in Q&A discussions with or without your camera on.
7 – Participate in the conference wherever you are. Driving? No problem. Throw a talk on through your Bluetooth. In the field? No problem. Listen to some talks on your tablet while you record data about snow depth and vegetative species cover or whatever. With the conference available on multiple devices, all you really need is an internet connection and you are good to go.
6 – You can rewind or pause! Were you distracted for a minute or taking notes and missed another piece because the talk is SO good? No worries. Pause or rewind a pre-recorded talk to hear it again, or really see that figure to better understand the amazing research being presented.
5 – No pants required! Even when you tune in to live Q&A sessions, nobody can see you from the waist down. Just don’t stand up suddenly to get a glass of water because then we will all see that you’re not wearing any pants!
4 – Don’t miss a single talk! Gone are the days when you’re standing in a hotel hallway debating between two concurrent sessions or talks that both sound awesome and then running back and forth and missing pieces of both! With a virtual conference, you can see all the talks you want from beginning to end… every time.
3 – Check out posters on your own time. Don’t worry about crowding around a great poster and then feeling like you don’t have time to talk to the presenter. Look at a poster when you’re having a coffee break one day and then introduce yourself to the presenter in the live session.
2 – Network strategically. The biggest thing we’ll all miss with the conference is seeing each other and engaging in random science-altering conversations. You can still do that with this virtual conference, but you more easily find the people who are already into the same things you are. No more awkward moments standing alone with your beer scanning the room for a colleague. You can go directly to the live Q&A sessions where they are talking about their work and talk to them directly.
1 – This is YOUR conference, tailor it to your needs! With a virtual conference, there is no pressure to be anywhere or do anything (unless you’re a presenter). You can literally watch talks when you want. Attend live sessions if you want or watch them later if you prefer. Network with colleagues or don’t. Attend committee meetings to learn more about the ACTWS or watch them later on our website. Wear what you want. Eat what you want. Drink what you want – heck, if you want to throw some baileys in your morning coffee to watch talks in your pj’s, nobody is going to judge you. We are just happy to see your name logged in and participating.
We know these are challenging times and of course we would rather see you all in person, but this virtual world has its advantages.
Wherever you are and however you choose to participate in ACTWS2021, we’re happy to have you and we hope this is your best ACTWS conference yet!
Don’t miss out. Register today!
What are you looking forward to with a virtual conference? Share your thoughts on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram and tag us (@theactws, #ACTWS2021).
