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In 2008, a blog post on Gigaom asked the following question:"Would you attend a virtual conference in yourfield?" Enthusiasm for the concept was a bit muted, culminatingin a final comment that pronounced, "Even though I hate going toconferences, I hate virtual conferences more."

Flash forward 12 years and our options appear a bit limited, tosay the least. In our present COVID-19 reality, nearly allface-to-face gatherings have been moved online. Courtesy ofMoneyCrashers and others, here are some ways to maximize thepotential of a still relatively new phenomenon.

1. A virtual conference is still a conference,so treat it like one. The basics still have to becovered: Mark it on your calendar and block time (and space in yourhome!) for it. Think about what you want to get out of theevent and schedule yourself for sessions that will helpyou satisfy those goals. And dress the part—getting out of yourpajamas and into appropriate professional clothes will help youbridge the distance you might feel online and more like anactive participant.

2. Ditch the distractions. The temptation tocheck your newsfeeds and messages may be harder to resist at homethan it is when in the presence of others,so turn off your notificationsand turn on your email autoresponder so you can focus on the taskat hand.

3. Know the tech you'll need. You mayneed to utilize special tech platforms to participate in sessions.Make sure you know what's required and download whatever meetingsoftware the event will require. Additionally, double-check yourown tech so your devices are all ready to serve you on the day ofthe conference.

4. You don't have to go italone. Inviting your colleaguesand peers to participate will not only bring your team closertogether, but knowing familiar faces are there will serve to groundyou in the event and pay closer attention to the sessions. It willalso inspire you to take notes!

5. Take advantage of recordedsessions. It's usually standardoperating procedure that everything at a virtual conference isrecorded. Therefore, if you missed a session due to schedulingissues, you can go back and review it. (This is also helpful forsessions you attended.) However, it's important that you schedulethese reviews. Mark them on your calendar!

6. Network! Believe it or not, thereare still several ways to network at a virtual conference. Theorganizers may have taken care of that for you by dedicatingvirtual happy hours at the end of the day, but don't be afraid totake the bull by the horns yourself. You can connect with yourpeers via Zoom or GoogleMeet, or even host your own Twitter chat.Look for as many opportunities to take advantage of the technologyavailable to you.

7. Follow up afterwards. Send an emailto organizers thanking them for hosting the event, and to sessionspeakers for their participation. Connections, now perhaps morethan ever, are important to forge.

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