Last weekend I presented at my first virtual conference. It had its positives and its negatives. It was definitely the least nervous I have ever been before a conference presentation, because I had to record the entire thing on video the week prior to the actual virtual broadcast. Presenters had the option of presenting live, but the conference organizers made it clear that they greatly preferred pre-recorded presentations, to cut down on any potential technology snags. It meant that I had to be ready a week earlier, but it also meant that I was able to delete my horrible first take where I stumbled over some words, accidentally clicked out of my Keynote presentation, and reactively cursed. There was even a moment that went much more smoothly in the pre-recorded format than it would have in person: there is a point in my presentation where I have to leave Keynote and go to a web browser to show the audience the way a particular website functions. Because of this switching between apps/screens, there is about 30 seconds of dead air where I'm not saying anything, and that's always a little awkward during a presentation. Since I pre-recorded the presentation, I was able to cut the dead time out using QuickTime's "split clip" feature.
I did the recording itself on Zoom. I wanted the main focus to be on my Keynote slides, where I displayed main points and played video and audio clips. But I also wanted the audience to be able to see my face as I spoke; I wanted to feel more connected to the audience, and not be a disembodied invisible narrator. So, I opened a Zoom meeting with myself as the only participant, did a screen-share with my Keynote presentation, and recorded the meeting. It was quick and easy; my only complaint about this format is that the recording of my voice was not very high quality. Part of this might have been the fault of Zoom, but I'm sure I could have made it better if I had had an external microphone instead of just using the built-in MacBook microphone.
The conference was about YouTube, music, and cyberculture, and the work I presented was entitled, "Artificial Intelligence & Mashups," which originated as a blog post on this very site! An interesting aspect of the virtual conference format is that audience members were able to react in a non-disruptive way in real time, and even ask questions as the presentation was happening. When I played a mashup that someone knew, she wrote, "A classic!" in the comments of the Zoom room. Additionally, I was able to respond to these comments in real time, since the me that was actually presenting was pre-recorded. So I was watching myself speak, while answering an audience question in the middle of the presentation, which was kind of surreal. To add another layer, this conference actually was taking place in person, as well. It was in Lisbon, Portugal, and because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, no participants from the United States were allowed to attend in person. But there was an in-person audience of Western Europeans watching the Zoom meeting which contained my pre-recorded presentation. A moderator was in that conference room taking questions from the live audience and typing them into the chat.
I've heard a couple of people say that this might be the future of academic conferences, even after the pandemic is over, due to budget crises in universities. I sincerely hope not. Despite the positive aspects which I've laid out above, a virtual conference, while it can add to intellectual dialog and interchange, is not the same as a live one. My most overwhelming piece of evidence is this: I looked over the three-day conference program, and saw some really fascinating abstracts of papers that I was interested in seeing. I didn't watch any of them. The in-person conference remains essential to a scholarly community. It is a place where we can gather with others in our discipline, share our work, and socialize. Some of the best, most stimulating conversations take place at the hotel bar, not in the conference room! I am grateful to be able to present my research during this time, but, in my opinion, this is a temporary fix, not a new frontier.