Last week I attended and spoke at Engage CSR 2010, billed as a virtual conference and webinar.

I approached the event uncertain how well it could replicate an in-person conference, but excited to be part of the exploration. I came away having made some new connections and learned a lot.  I continue to be excited about the possibilities of this type of communications platform and the potential it provides for significant levels of real-time interaction without requiring us to travel. 

However, I also think that perhaps we should not be comparing a virtual conference to an in-person event any more than we judge the merits of Twitter for example with reference to email. 

This event was a different way of bringing people together and perhaps we need a different name for it than a “virtual” conference.  It was very real to me. I like the sound of a webference or a webflab (web + conflab), but not sure they have enough gravitas.   Please let me know if you have any ideas!