In addition to The Virtual Buzz (of course), we have surveyed the landscape for blogs that have great insights regarding the virtual and hybrid events space. With no further ado, here are our top recommendations for vendor and non-vendor blogs, in alphabetical order:
Non-Vendor Blogs
- Cisco Virtual Environments: This blog is written by members of Cisco’s virtual environments team. Daniel Gerson and Dannette Veale are the main contributors. Writing from a corporate perspective, the blog highlights upcoming events within their virtual environment, insights into how virtual is being used within Cisco, and trends within the industry.
- Fork In the Road Blog: Though this blog subhead is “social media and face-to-face-meetings,” Michelle Bruno brings keen insight on virtual and hybrid events, as well as interviews with leading practitioners.
- Hypergrid Business: Maria Korolov is the founder and main editor of this blog. Mainly focused on the virtual world/3D immersive space, Maria also covers news related to virtual and hybrid events, inviting industry experts to share their thoughts with her audience.
- It’s All Virtual: Written by Dennis Shiao, Director of Product Marketing, INXPO, this blog represents Dennis’ personal views on the industry. In addition to discussing key trends, Dennis also explores how technology innovation impacts our use of virtual events technology and answers questions about going virtual.
- McCurry’s Corner: I had the pleasure of co-hosting the live streaming studio with Michael McCurry at Virtual Edge Summit 2011. He infuses each post with his wisdom from career spanning 30+ years.
- Midcourse Corrections/Velvet Chainsaw: While this blog explores topics related to the events industry in general, Jeff Hurt and Dave Lutz also explore the role virtual and hybrid events play within the physical events space. And with Jeff’s background in learning, he also shares tips for making virtual more engaging and interactive for learning.
- VirtualEdge.org: The Virtual Edge Institute (Disclosure: Both Cece & Donna consult with VEI) is an organization dedicated to digital events, meetings, learning and community. VirtualEdge.org is the institute’s community site which not only aggregates industry news, but also where members contribute blog postings. Michael Doyle, executive director of VEI, also provides analysis of key trends and news within the industry.
- The Webinar Blog: OK, you may be asking why we included a blog on webinars on this list. Central to an online event is a presentation, which are usually formatted as webinars. Ken Molay, in our opinion, is one of the experts in this space. His blog provides insights into all the providers, trends and presentation tips.
Vendor Blogs
- Ubivent Corporate Blog (Ubivent): As the title suggests, this blog covers company news and customer case studies.
- Virtual Events 365 (CGS – Virtual Events 365): Not updated since September 2010, previous posts delved into different aspects for planning and executing a successful virtual event.
- Virtual Events Get Real (Imaste): Based in Spain, the Imaste Blog provides updates on the company and platform in English and Spanish, as well as industry insights from founder, Miguel Arias.
- Virtual Events Hub (Social27): Written by Ike Singh, founder and CEO of Social27, this blog is definitely non-promotional as Ike seeks to make virtual events easy-to-understand and drives his message of “social, mobile, local.”
- Virtual Insights (INXPO): Managed by Shiao, INXPO experts share tips and insights about going virtual and trends in the industry. The blog also highlights news about the company’s products and services.
- Virtuality (6Connex): Launched in 2011, Virtuality seeks to provide “observations on the new virtual reality: how both large and small organizations are using virtual business solutions to do more, while spending less.”
- Eventos Virtuales (VisualMente): Written primarily in Spanish, the blog includes press releases (in English), customer case studies and other insights on virtual events.
Share the blogs you read below (include the blog name, URL and short description).
About Cece Salomon-Lee
Cece has a unique ability to translate innovative technology into cohesive and successful campaigns that cross from public relations and marketing to social media and virtual events. She has been an active participant in the emergence of the virtual events industry, originally in her roles with technology pioneers ON24 and INXPO and consultant with the Virtual Edge Institute. Cece is currently director of marketing for Active Network.
Congratulations Cece, great to see. Look forward to lots of good info.
Thanks Kate. We look forward to making this a useful resource for everyone.
Hi Cece
Great post.
I also like Sonic Foundry’s blog which has lots of interesting hybrid information and webinars. http://blog.sonicfoundry.com/
Working on our company website also since we have now produced several unconferences and corporate livestreams.
Keep up the great work.
Mike
Thanks for pointing out Sonic Foundry’s website Mike and will keep an eye out on your site too!
Thanks for all the info, like to find all the webinars, and as Mike says that site does have lots of interesting info
This is a great resource,Cece – thanks! The hybrid event is definitely a fast-growing trend and the marketing opportunities for conference and meeting planners are expanding because of this. There is a blog post on our hub that outlines ways event professionals can harness the hybrid form to expand, enrich and embed an event – here’s the link and hope it’s useful http://www.mymeetingprofessional.com/2011/08/going-virtual-and-the-benefits-of-being-hybrid-for-event-professionals/
This is a great resource. Always looking for new places to share ideas!