Condensing the 10 minute rant into a few bullet points so you don’t have to... Eight paragraphs in, we start: * “If I’m traveling for an event, everyone at wo

Condensing the 10 minute rant into a few bullet points so you don’t have to... Eight paragraphs in, we start: * “If I’m traveling for an event, everyone at work knows I’m “away” and there’s a respect for it.” So a respect will be gained for the virtual equivalent...a solvable problem for local management and the subculture in question. May take time. Valid point. * “Many of the most valuable skills I learned happened not during the scheduled sessions, but after hours in the hotel lobby over drinks while nerding out and sharing sourcing hacks with fellow attendees. During a virtual happy hour, it was nice to see old friends on screen. But there were glaring reminders that it wasn’t the same.” The only specifics about what “wasn’t the same” was “many had important concerns that made them unable to attend, like helping their kids with school work.” How can that not be even more true for physical conferences? It sounds like the author is jealous the kids were very visibly taking precious playtime away from the author and their colleagues during summer vacation. Or one particular playmate has a wife and family and is staying with them instead of her. What “skills” are learned during a happy hour? You can make contacts, socially bond, and get a heads-up on new things...but develop skills? No. Nerding out? Is that a thing professionals say, or ever said? * “On top of missing everything we love about in-person events, we’re just burnt out. Attendees are burnt out from using zoom every day while working from home and then also attending full conferences online. There are so many events to choose from, it’s overwhelming.” Choice is bad, apparently. It is blowing the author’s mind. Physical breaks from video meetings might be a very good thing, but that isn’t specific to conferences. It’s even more true for day-to-day work life. Virtual conferences have the benefit of even more logistical savings in time and money. And finally * “I believe they can [virtual conferences be improved], but I think they will always have limitations. They won’t ever come close to being as impactful as in-person events. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with acknowledging that.” There is something wrong with making an assertion with as few specifics as this article. The author may be right that physical conferences are more impactful. How many marriages, divorces, STDs, espionage contacts started from a chance meeting at a conference? It was a common trope in TV shows in the 1960s and 1970s. Binge drinking was also heavily featured.