virtual tickets

Wow. When I started working with BlogWorld to reinvent the Virtual Ticket, I knew it’d be cool but I didn’t count on the amount of buzz we were going to create and how many people would be interested in it.

I also didn’t anticipate how many people would have questions. Many, many, many questions.

So as a service to everyone who’s signed up (or everyone who is thinking about it, or anyone with a live pass who wants to add the VT), I figured it might make sense to answer some of of the questions we’ve been asked about attending BWELA from the comfort of your own home, your office, or a construction site Port-a-John.

Here we go:

Q: What is the experience of attending BlogWorld through the Virtual Ticket like?

A: During the conference, you’ll be able to follow the action at the actual live event by watching our social media and a private Virtual Ticket site for video, photos, and other updates. Since I’m your host, the idea is that I’m there “for you” and will stream or upload sporadic video of people I run into or backstage-type situations I get myself into. All of this video goes into the VT website, so you won’t need to watch it live.

As the days go on, you can interact with me and henchwoman Jess on Twitter and/or through email and can send us questions or hurl insults. We also encourage you to connect with other VT attendees.

Then, as we process the videos of the session recordings, we’ll add those to the site and you can begin making your way through the 100+ hours of individual conference sessions. (This takes a while, so note that session recordings will be available about a week after the conference ends.) 

Remember, the Virtual Ticket always moves at your speed. There’s a ton of material and you can watch some of it live or you can spread its huge volume of content it out over weeks, months, or a full year if you’d like. Your way, on your schedule.

Q: What’s the best way to follow the action while the conference is going on?

A: If you’d like to simulate some of the “being there” feel of the live event, the best way to keep tabs on things is probably by following the Twitter account we set up for the Virtual Ticket to get photos, video, and updates. You can also keep an eye on your email and on the private Virtual Ticket site, as well as Facebook. (We’ll tell you how to do all of this when you register.)

Q: Is attending the VT like being there live in terms of time commitment? Should I block off a few days to “attend” virtually?

A: Most of the content of BlogWorld is in the conference sessions, and we can’t stream every one of those live. So no, there’s no need to take large blocks of time away from work and family to attend, which is one of the beauties of virtual attendance. If you’d like to check in on the live event as we recommend, keep an eye on Twitter, Facebook, and the VT site as you go about your business, but otherwise there’s no real need to mess up your normal schedule.

Q: Will I miss anything if I can’t watch any of the live (or quasi-live) stuff?

A: Not really! Everything we record (including the on-site stuff) will be archived on the VT site. To get the most “experience” of BlogWorld as possible — to be able to chat about conference goings-on and be able to ask questions — we suggest going through the day’s “recorded live” material each evening or whenever you have time. However, you’re the boss, just like Tony Danza. So if you wanted to wait until three months later to look at any of the material, that’s fine too.

Q: Do we get access to ALL of the conference sessions?

A: The answer is a qualified yes. We’re recording them all, but sometimes we lose one to tech glitches between recording and posting on the VT site (which typically takes about a week), so we can’t guarantee that each and every will be there. But most will, which is one of the reasons the VT is great even for live attendees! When you’re there live, you can’t watch two sessions that are scheduled at the same time… but if you have the Virtual Ticket recordings, you can.

Q: How long do I have access to the Virtual Ticket?

A: You get access to absolutely all of the material (including the on-site and behind-the-scenes footage and the VT bonuses, like exclusive interviews) for a full year.

…

So there you have it… your complete Q&A guide to the BlogWorld Virtual Ticket!

BlogWorld & New Media Expo LA starts next Thursday, so if you’ve been wishing you could attend but can’t quite manage it, you might want to sign up for the Virtual Ticket so you can experience the next best thing for a fraction of the cost.

You can register for the Virtual Ticket here.

(And if you bought a live ticket and would like to add the Virtual Ticket to your registration for $49, send an email to registration@blogworldexpo.com to request it.)

See you in LA!

Well, I’ll be in LA. You’ll be at home, probably in pajamas or something.

——
Johnny B. Truant is the host and M.C. of the newly-redesigned BlogWorld Virtual Ticket. You can connect with him on Twitter as @JohnnyBTruant.

In my last post, I left you hanging on a question: How can the online version of a live event — in this case, BlogWorld’s Virtual Ticket — convey as much of the experience of being there in-person as possible?

Well, we came up with a few ideas to help bridge that gap, and we incorporated them into the Virtual Ticket. Here they are:

1. Provide live, on-the-spot footage at the event
We’ll record behind-the-scenes footage all over the conference center and at select conference events and will either stream it live (if on-site internet cooperates) or put it online for you fast. Grab yourself a cup of stale coffee and slap on a nametag while you watch and you can almost pretend you’re there with us.

2. Create exclusivity by providing extras that even live attendees won’t have access to
We know we can’t replicate all of what you’ll get live at BlogWorld, so we’re doing the next best thing — countering the in-person advantage that live attendees have by giving you something that they won’t get. First on the menu? Exclusive interviews with the bigwigs. Not many people are going to be hanging out with keynote speakers in person, but you can, through the magic of exclusive video.

3. Provide a host
You know how if you were there live and if you’re lucky or popular, you might hang out with someone as you made your way around? As you sit there in your PJ’s at home, I’ll be your surrogate buddy. One way to give you the VT material would have been to slap all the videos in an archive, but we thought that giving you a cohesive, semi-guided experience would be way more fun.

Sign up for the Virtual Ticket and you’ll get all of that, plus 100+ hours of BlogWorld session recordings (which you’ll have on-demand access to for a full year).

The one thing we always hear from non-attendees during BlogWorld & New Media Expo is “I wish I were there.”

Well, this is your chance! Instead of getting on Twitter and telling us that you wish you were there, you can be kind of there, even while you’re at home. Sure, you’ll need to wait just a bit before we have all of the session recordings ready for you, but the rest of your experience will either be live or as close to live as we can make it, letting you “be there” as much as possible.

Now here’s the important part: The BlogWorld Virtual Ticket is on sale through 11:59pm tonight, Friday, October 21st. Until that time, it’s only $247, which is a full $100 off.

Even after the price goes up, it’s a great deal… but wouldn’t you rather save the money? Yeah. We thought you might.

Click here to register for the Virtual Ticket. Be sure to act now, before the price goes up tonight!

——
Johnny B. Truant is the host and M.C. of the newly-redesigned BlogWorld Virtual Ticket. You can connect with him on Twitter as @JohnnyBTruant.