Blaming online

You have to organise a strategy day. Two hundred people, spread across the country. And then you hear: "It has to be online." Ouch. Online will probably work for a webinar. For a presentation with a Q&A too. But a real strategy day? An all-hands that gives people energy? A cultural moment where connection happens? Good luck getting anyone behind that.

Is it the medium? Or…?

Ever since the lockdowns, online has been the stick to beat it with. "We tried it and it was awful." So the moment something important comes along, everyone has to gather in person again. Two hours of travel for a day full of slides. Hotels to book. Catering to arrange. Because that's the only way it really works. But be honest. How was that last strategy day in a room? Were people genuinely involved? Or were they on their phones after lunch? Was there room for real conversation? Or was it mostly broadcasting?

Most large gatherings were already mediocre before we went online. Online only made it impossible to ignore.

The real problem

The problem isn't the medium. The problem is that we treat special gatherings as large versions of ordinary meetings. More people, more slides, a longer day. But the same approach. That doesn't work offline either. Online it becomes painfully visible. Eight hours of slides is unbearable online. But was it actually any good offline? Or did people only get through it because there was no alternative?

The opportunity

Online forces you to think about what you're actually trying to achieve. You can't lean on the lunch, the drinks, the chance conversations in the corridor. You have to design engagement. And that turns out to be an opportunity. Because if you design a gathering with intent, if you think about the beginning, the middle and the end, if you make room for real interaction, then it works. Online, offline, hybrid. The medium isn't the deciding factor.

The question isn't: can we do this online? The question is: do we dare to design this gathering properly?

The choice

You can keep saying online doesn't work for important gatherings. Get everyone to one location. Hope that being physically present makes the magic appear on its own. Or you can face it. Accept that a good gathering asks for attention wherever people are sitting. That the environment matters, the online environment included. That bringing two hundred people together is always a design question.

That choice is yours. But stop blaming online for gatherings that were never well designed.