Hosting the Virtual Lounge for the Global Hypnosis eSummit

You probably already know about the Global Hypnosis eSummit happening this weekend (Mar 13-15), an online conference with over 100 hours of sessions (wow).

This is the direction that many conferences are taking this year, with the travel and fuel expenses and economy the way they are. And technology is here just in time: online conference technology before last year was still a little clunky. We now have companies that are specializing in online conferences - expansive, organized web seminars, really - and have brought developed Flash technology to bear. Thanks to the now widespread availability of broadband Internet service, this is probably really the first year that offering large online virtual conferences is really a viable option.

This will be my first time attending an online conference using this company, exPos2. I'm excited to see how it all works.

And as much as I'm glad to be missing all of the travel hassles and expense (and parking!), an online mix of folks just isn't the same as live, face-to-face time, and I don't think it ever will be.

However, I'm always looking to get closer to that face-to-face level of experience. To support getting as close as we can this year, AAPH is sponsoring and operating the eSummit Virtual Lounge in Second Life, a 3D world with Avatars that move, talk and interact.

We are offering seven events during the three-day conference, including a pre-conference kick-off party. See the schedule on our eSummit Lounge page. For those of you that are already in Second Life, you know what to do and how to attend. For those that do not have Second Life accounts yet, this may or may not be the right time to jump in.

The entrance to the eSummit Virtual Lounge in Second Life

Yes, Second Life accounts are free, for unlimited use. Yes, this is a great opportunity to get a start on your virtual world skills, which will certainly be a needed business skill in the years coming (remember when email was exotic?). However, before you jump in you should know that it takes about 4-8 hours just to learn how to operate your avatar and get around the virtual world (called "the grid"). The technology is still a little klunky but fun (remember 1200 baud modems and Compuserve? That's about the stage the virtual worlds are at right now.) Those can be a fun 4-8 hours, to be sure, if you aren't trying to cram them into 30 minutes to get to a meeting or grid party.

The eSummit Lounge building, located next to the AAPH in-world
Headquarters & Event Center building (in foreground).

Regardless of whether you are an old grid-hopper in Second Life or a newbie trying it for the first time, you are welcome to the virtual lounge events, which all support voice chat as well as text chat. I'd be glad to see you there and help you with any in-world tips and tricks you need, as well as give your avatar a glass of virtual wine. It's about fun and being with folks, so come on and join us!