When I hear folks call online event virtual I cringe because to me “virtual” carries a negative connotation that it’s not gonna be as good as in face to face.

At first it might seem like a petty topic but virtual in english has a clear definition:

almost a particular thing or quality

So it’s not just a subconscious feeling that the “virtual facilitation” (or event) is meant to be almost like its face to face counterpart but not quite the same quality.

Online facilitation and event organization is a different sport then face to face. They share some basic roles, rules and goals but online introduces new opportunities and challenges. It’s not intrinsically less quality than face to face.

Conclusion

People tend to use virtual and online interchangeably but they carry very different meaning. I like to see the opportunities that online events offer.

The facilitation we provide is not virtual it is real.

The people we meet and connect with are real not virtual.

Once we’ll be hooked up in to virtual reality suites we can revisit this distinction.

For now let’s call it online facilitation.