Having been to 18 conferences in the last 6 years I cannot imagine how online conferences are worth it. Meaning worth it for both viewers and speakers. This is

Having been to 18 conferences in the last 6 years I cannot imagine how online conferences are worth it. Meaning worth it for both viewers and speakers. This isn’t to diminish efforts to put on these events. However, it’s important to look at the motives behind conferences: 1.) boost your status as speaker - speaking at conferences can land you a new job, get you investment, etc. 2.) gaining insight that you otherwise couldn’t gain online as an attendee - hallway gatherings, random discussions, etc is why a lot of people go to conferences. The chance that you might catch that one expert in your field and pick their brain is high. 3.) acquire leads as an attending company - for conferences like re:Invent or Ignite you’re year is made by acquiring thousands of leads over the course of 4 days. I’ve seen companies spend $250k on a booth and close over $5m in sales just from one conference. 4.) build good will with the community as a sponsor - when people see you throwing money around sponsoring social events and after parties they tend to give you more attention. Companies do this ultimately to close more business. Given those 4 motives, I don’t see how online conferences are a thing. Perhaps my definition of conference is too enterprise-y and narrow though.