The coronavirus prevented people from traveling to Wellington, New Zealand for the 78th annual World Science Fiction Convention. I was not planning on making the long trek down under. I was, of course, a supporting member, and planned on participated in voting for the Hugos and site selection from afar. When the convention went virtual, I signed up to attend – online. It was an opportunity to go to a Worldcon from my home in Illinois. What a great opportunity!
For those readers who don’t know about Worldcons, science fiction conventions, or the wonderful world of fandom, take a look at this report from the Worldcon in London a few years back to get an idea of the scope, scale, and focus of these wonderful celebrations!
The virtual Worldcon a great experience. The organizers of CoNZealand did an outstanding job of creating both an analog experience and a new way to engage with fandom. I am so grateful to the many people who worked hours and hours to transform a traditional Worldcon into a meaningful online event.
I am a panel person. I enjoy many aspects of conventions, but the discussions at panels are my favorite part. The panel selection at CoNZealand was strong, but the online transformation of panels enhanced my experience significantly.
By any convention standards, the panels were great. The panelists were expert and articulate, the moderators did a great job of structuring the conversation. There was higher quality interaction between the audience and the panelists (and among the panelists) than at a typical live convention.
One of my biggest panel pet peeves is the people (often in the front row) who believe they are panelists and keep participating no matter what the moderator does. We had none of these! It wasn’t possible. There was strong information for moderators and a programming and/or tech person in the background helping structure the panel and making sure the technical details worked. It showed. Things ran beautifully!
The use of the Q&A and chat functions in Zoom also enhanced the panel significantly. Those who wanted to participate and provide a running commentary could use the chat feature. This felt both appropriate and a good way to channel (sorry) the need to provide a running commentary on the panel. Many times, panelists pulled ideas and comments from the chat into the panel! It was a multi-leveled conversation.
The Q&A function was a great replacement for hands up. Questions could be voted up or down and moderators could control how they asked them. The structure helped create panels that moved forward instead of the constant “back to what so-in-so said ten comments ago.”
Continuing the panel discussion on Discord added yet another improvement to the convention panels. For me, the only way to continue the conversation started at a panel is to talk to my friends with whom I saw it. If I am lucky enough to spot a panelist, I might be able to bring up points from the panel (which has its own problems). CoNZealand created a dedicated avenue where panelists and audience members could continue their conversation on a Discord channel! This is a great way to deepen engagement and help foster stronger relationships between convention-goers.
Since the panels were on Zoom, they were recorded and these recordings were available shortly after the panel and for a week following the con. I attended many panels live but saw even more afterward. I got to see every panel I wanted to attend! I’m still watching them. Of course, I didn’t get the chat and the Discord follow up when I saw the recorded panel, but just being able to see multiple panels that were scheduled at the same time or at a time when I could not attend was a huge bonus! I felt like I got much more from this convention from the sheer number of panels I got to see!
I attended some of the parties on Zoom, sat at a fan table for a few hours, and toured the virtual exhibit hall, dealer’s room, and art show, too. While I would have preferred to interact with these in person, I liked being able to see the displays and take as much time as I wanted. I could linger at the art show and browse the dealers’ websites. I even appreciated the ambient sound of a busy convention hall that accompanied this area.
I am hoping to be in attendance in D.C. for the next WorldCon, and I do prefer being present in-person to a virtual experience. Yet, there are aspects of the online convention that could be integrated into a live one. Providing an online chat for panels, recording them, having an online discussion area would all be great enhancements. Are these worth the cost and people power to make them happen? I am not sure.
Having a virtual track on future conventions does make it more accessible and provides more value for all attendees. Yet, it would require much more work on the part of the organizers. As we envision a post-COVID world, we may need to both prepare for the possibility of an entirely online convention and provide ways for those who cannot travel to participate. CoNZealand did an outstanding job of exploring this brave new world of virtual conventions and I am very grateful! Bravo!
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