Global connections
As I wrote last week, I attended ASAE’s conference on social responsibility. In addition to the fact that the conference used Appreciative Inquiry as a way of exploring the topic, it also used a different way of involving people from all over the globe.
While most participants were in a ballroom in Oxon Hill, Maryland, there were also groups of people in a number of U.S. cities, whose meetings were connected to our meeting; there were also individuals who were connected virtually.
These off-site participants could listen to the presentations and had the ability to contribute their ideas to the discussion. In one of the work groups I participated in, half of us were in the room discussing our task; the other half were virtual participants who “listened” to our ideas that were posted on the conference site by a staff person. She would also report back to us their comments. When it came time to do a group report, I gave part of it to the group in the room. Then the virtual participants made their contributions by email and the phone.
This is all very intriguing and clearly something IABC should look at. I did talk to one of the virtual participants who felt that connecting virtually has promise, but last week, she found some kinks that still need to be worked out.
So, IABC will explore this way of connecting. Have any of you ever participated in a meeting virtually? What was your experience?