Shouldn’t it be easier than this? Are we the only ones searching for a solution for a virtual, online conferencing solution? (We know that’s not true.) Every year, we stage a global get-together for all our workers. Obviously, this year, that will have to happen “virtually.” Shouldn’t there be a perfect web platform with an integrated virtual plenary session, workshops, and networking look? We had considered https://www.virbela.com/, but it just won’t install (yet) for our workers with MacBook Air laptops. That’s a deal-breaker, unfortunately. Maybe the company will fix that – but it doesn’t look promising at this point. Too bad. It has a real “Minecraft” look about it – which we figured would have been very appealing to all our MKs/TCKs. We’ve probably looked closely at 50 other platforms. Nothing else seems to approach that “feeling” of being together on a campus for a week. Obviously, we can just stage main sessions as webinars, then do breakouts in something like Zoom (notwithstanding the security risks, since, in spite of recent improvements, Zoom STILL isn’t securely encrypted end-to-end). We could use another online conferencing app (though everything else seems “clunkier” and doesn’t have Zoom’s “breakout room” feature), but, either way, now we’re splintered into several different platforms. It’s messy, and not very integrated. Please tell us we’re missing the obvious. What would *YOU* recommend for a virtual conference for hundreds, while also accommodating breakouts for 40 or 4? Please – please tell us there’s an answer.
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We are hearing a lot about Zoom fatigue also.
I’ve had good experience with Microsoft Teams and BlueJeans (and WebEx), but if security is a primary concern, Signal is the best there is. (Haven’t tried it for group chats/calls beyond a few people though.)
Teams probably has the best combination of features overall and the backing of a company big enough to scale the product.
(Google Meet and G Suite would probably work too, but carry the privacy questions that come with Google products. Google’s security options for targeted or high-risk individuals are top-notch, however.)
we should also make Signal compulsory for cross cultural workers. Seriously as far as I know nothing beats it for group chats and secure calls to places such as South Asia
Is anyone else using Ring Central? Is the security better or the same as Zoom? It also has breakout rooms.
If I’m not mistaken, RingCentral actually uses Zoom for their framework. So whatever flaws people find in Zoom, they’re going to find in RingCentral. https://thenextweb.com/security/2019/07/16/zooms-scary-webcam-flaw-also-affects-ringcentral-and-zhumu/
Here is a real competitor for Virbela:
https://www.virtwayevents.com/
here’s another one with better organization of the conference components, but no avatars:
https://www.virtualconference.com/platform#intro
OR
https://www.commpartners.com/services/virtual-conferences/
I got these by typing into duck duck “virtual 3D academic campus online:
None look as good as virBELLA, unfortunately. But thank you for trying!