A Year of Virtual Transition
2020 has proved itself a challenging year for everyone. With the ever-changing landscape of education, workforce, politics, and so much more, industries across the nation were forced to innovate the ways in which they communicate with and educate their audience. For Think About Energy, this meant taking our usual in-person energy education events to a virtual format. Even from home, we still wanted to be able to fulfill our mission and provide a conversational platform for those wanting to learn more about and keep up with the energy industry.
In April of this year, TAE turned to Zoom for its very first online webinar featuring industry leaders to discuss the petrochemical buildout in the United States. While the format of the event had gone from a half-day speaker event to a lunch-hour webinar, we still were joined by nearly 100 participants, all who remained in the Zoom meeting for the majority of the online event. Participants had the opportunity to engage with speakers through a live Q&A chat and were also encouraged to submit questions and comments before the event. Due to its success, we followed this April event with seven more webinars in the next five months, averaging around 80 participants per event.
Though we did miss engaging with our guests in person, the benefits of hosting a virtual event were apparent. With a shorter event that participants can access from anywhere, webinars were drawing viewers from all over the Appalachian basin, rather than just the region in which each event was being held. Those who were not able to attend in live time also had the opportunity to watch the highlights from the event on the Think About Energy YouTube channel.
We were also able to connect with a variety of incredible speakers including state representatives, executive directors and other experts from various communities across Pennsylvania. Without the boundaries of time and travel, speakers could easily fit these webinars into their busy schedules.
Although we look forward to the days where we can all meet in person once again, we’re proud to have been able to continue the important conversations surrounding the energy industry and even grow our audience through this past year. We don’t know what 2021 will bring, but we remain dedicated to bringing you more informative energy events in the months and years to come.