Real and Virtual Conferences

Abstract

Over recent years, experience has been growing in the use of computer network communications to relay audio, video, and other information to people who are remote from the source of that information. Typically the receivers are users at home, but may also include professionals or academics connected to broad bandwidth networks. The transfer of multimedia information across the Internet is an activity that transcends a wide range of subject areas and interests. It attracts a great deal of attention from academics, industry developers/promoters, and home/business users. This paper has a focus on the use of web space to host ‘virtual’ and ‘terrestrial’ academic conferences. Although other aspects are discussed, the paper deals in particular with ‘Interactivity’ and organisational issues, and compares three basic types of conference experience: traditional, virtual and webcast. The paper is based on extensive personal experience in organising, planning, designing and implementing traditional conferences, Internet broadcasts (webcasts) and ‘virtual conferences’, and benefits from both a UK-wide and international perspective. The discussion includes particular reference to the CE 99 (6th International Conference on Concurrent Engineering), Bath UK, September 1999 webcast, and the ‘On-Line World Conferences on Soft Computing in Industrial Applications’ held in 1998 and 1999. The paper examines the opportunities for experiencing shared events in a virtual environment and identifies technical, interactivity and organisational requirements and issues. Two case studies are presented — one being a virtual conference scenario, and the other being the simultaneous webcast of a traditional academic conference.Key wordsInternet broadcastsvirtual conferenceswebcast