This week, I take pot shots at webinars and why I think they are a waste for speaker, and the virtual attendee.
Webinars, where a speaker presents over the Internet, at a predetermined time to an audience sitting at home or at their desks, have always seemed to be a classic example of having your cake and eating it too. By the way – that expression makes no sense whatsoever. If I’m having cake you better believe that I want to eat it!
Anyway, I digress…
The problem with webinars is that they have all the disadvantages of actually going to see someone speak, with none of the advantages. The timming of the webinar is decided by the speaker, or organizer. The transfer of information is limited to that timing window and whatever notes are issued.
From the speaker side, webinars offer the possibility of actual interaction with participants. However, because the interaction is one way, unless initiated by the viewer, the speaker has no idea as to how well the presentation is going and therefore how to tailor it to address potential issues.
I also cannot help shaking the notion that webinars are, for the most part, the lazy way out. If online delivery is what is required, let’s have proper content. Presentations that can be downloaded, shared, and watched again and again on the viewers schedule. YouTube, Slideshare, or even PowerPoint all make this very easy.
While saying all this, I do think there is great value in physical meetings and presentations- particularly for the conversations that happen before and after the meeting. Social media, is an excellent way of approximating this offline interaction of a physical meeting- online, but the realtime contraints of a webinar don’t really lend themselves to this interaction.
Plus, who doesn’t need more great content.
Mike Falconer 
Hi Mikey-Mike, So, let me put the alternate view point for webinars, and I’ll be as gentle as possible. 😉
Point one. I believe that they actually have all of the benefits, with none of the drawbacks. The timing of real life events and Live webinars is static, so no benefit or advantage there. Most webinars and certainly all of the ones I host or present on workhorserecruitment.com (which have a vet clinic management theme BTW) are all recorded and then available for streaming whenever you, the individual audience, would like – 24/7. So the transfer of information is much more widely and easily available.
Point two. A good moderator is able to feedback to the presenter via background communication tools on issues like sound quality, speed etc. (most of which will have been checked beforehand in a rehearsal). Also, most presentations are built on bringing a useful topic, interested audience and great speaker together. This, by and large, comes down to promotional activity and speaker selection. Both of which are decided and performed before the event, rather than during. The platform itself therefore makes no odds. I’ve been to good an bad events both online and offline. This is a planning issue, not a platform one.
Point three. Easy/efficient does not equal lazy. And content can be delivered the same way online as off. As you say, presentations can be shared online using an event greater variety of tools. Again at Workhorse we can and do make use of this.
Point four. Webinars and social media are totally different tools with different objectives for each. You can’t really compare them as apples and apples. That said, there is absolutely no reason why they can’t be used to compliment each other. (Many webinars use twitter to field questions and after i present, either on or offline, I always invite conversation via twitter. And usually there are a few that take me up.
Point five. “Who doesn’t need more great content” – amen. Webinars once recorded offer a really, really, really (as in super-sticky) valuable way of attracting repeat and new visits to your website. All for no extra work. See point three for emphasis.
So…in summary. Webinars rock dude. And they don’t take an hour to get to and from afterwards either. So you can get your learning/drinking/family time/whateveryoudowithyourlife/quality time in far, far more effectively than going to the local drug sponsored show any day.
Sunds like you need conversion, so if you or any of your audience want to try a few webinar recordings for free be my guest. Or better still come to our next live event next WedNesday night at 8:30pm (BST) with the UKs veterinary market research queen Alison Lambert. If interested then head across to http://wwwworkhorserecruitment.com/webinars. I absolutely promise you that no-one will try to sell you anything. Let me know how you go! @dave_nicol
Hey Dave,
Great points and all taken onboard. Today, however, I was thinking how this discussion relates to music. If I’m in a band, I can play live, make a recording in a studio, or I can record the live performance and release that. The live performance has real benefits from the audience point of view, but it is limited in its reach.
The studio recording allows for mass distribution and for a level of perfection that is difficult to achieve on stage. The live recording sits somewhere in-between and, except for a few notable examples, is inferior with both.
I kinda feel that webinars are the live recordings of the presentation world.
Mike
never been called a queen before but hey i take it as a plus point will add to CV!
webinars are lke all things in life – some great some OK and some just pants – in our plural world of multi channel multi media multi stuff then it is a part of a rich mix of information
So for one who has been on each side of the fence ( how many sides is that as at least 4 in my book – discuss…) my view is it works for most of the webinar stakeholders most of the time so not a bad hit rate in our time poor world
so as Dave says tune in next wedensday for an hour of diplomatic caring poliically correct business thoughts (mmmmmm!)
on a train goingto Glasgow Dave – joy free beer !!!
Alison , English Rugby fan and merciless teaser of scottish people !
Hi Alison,
Hope you like the blog. I agree that there is good and bad. As my reply to Dave above I hope makes plain, I just feel that they are a poor relation to multi-media presentation or live presentations.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Mike
Dear Mike
Take a look at our site http://www.thewebinarvet.com. I started the veterinary craze for webinars 18 months ago and have now got well over 100 hours of recording on the site. It’s eco-friendly; we’ve had speakers from all over the globe and the feeling of community between the members is enormous.
I think the repeatability of them because they are recorded means people can view them whenever they want. I have certainly over- fulfilled my CPD for this year as , I know, many of my members have too
Best wishes
Anthony Chadwick
PS both previous contributors have presented for me too
[…] had a couple of run-ins lately with social media envy. The first was a blog post that was very popular for all the wrong reasons – I took a position that lots of people disagreed […]
You’re totally right. Webinars are lame. I cringe when they’re advertised to me. Junk.
Well I’m sitting here like a complete lemon waiting for some damn silly “webinar” to start. It was advertised as “between 4 and 5 PM”, so I presumed an hour in length.
As it’s now 4.54PM, I presume they meant they really were THAT vague about the starting time!
In the last 10 minutes it’s gone from “Waiting for organisers” to “Webinar will begin shortly” – so I wasted an entire hour waiting for this? That is incredibly lame!
Worse, the first 15 mins or so were outright risky, as a receding thunderstorm was still around, If no webinar I would have turned off and unplugged my PC for awhile, but no, sitting there like a lemon waiting for the “webinar”!
Even when it starts I have no interest in communication and don’t have my mic connected, as I just want the info. Whatever it is I’m sure they could just write it down in an email maybe with some pictures, and send it to me.
Lame lame lame.
In fact it’s so lame and so stupid I googled “I hate webinars” and that’s how I found you :o)
Hi Alan,
Sorry about your experience, but glad you found the post – I agree, there has to be a better way.
Mike
I would rather go to a live presentation because I find it more engaging. It helps me learn (and not fall asleep) to be there in person, to see and hear the person speak and gesticulate, to participate in multi-person discussions, etc. Kind of like live theater. I learn better that way–that’s just my brain. My second choice would be recorded videos, power points, or a PDF with the content. I don’t like webinars because they are only available at a set time, which is frequently inconvenient or impossible for me. If I am not going to be there live, I want something convenient that I can access at any time. Technology easily allows for this, so it is surprising to me that webinars are so ubiquitous.
Indeed! Thanks for the reading and commenting Megan.
Mike