NMC Says Content Is Content
In creating and running a wide variety of online events over the last few years, one thing has remained consistent: people undervalue information directly in proportion to how convenient it is to acquire.
Ask yourself: if the meeting is easier to attend, was the meeting just as worthwhile? More? Less?
Oddly enough, since most of us instinctively equate sacrifice with worth, many feel that spending four figures on a flight and blowing a few days of work off to attend a meeting will be more beneficial than saving ourselves the time and money and absorbing the same content in our office. This despite all survey and testing evidence that says online meetings are just as beneficial and enjoyable. Still, can you blame people for “going with their gut”?
This is why I think NMC is making the right move with their SL Pro! conference, to be held in Second Life February 23-25. They’re going ahead and charging $99 in real-world dollars to attend virtually. By charging a real-dollar amount to attend they’re creating a perception of value in the content.
I wouldn’t be surprised if paid attendance online events started to become a lot more common in 2010.
