Golden opportunities that arise from attending live events

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that business people swarmed the conference halls after the pandemic measures had been lifted. The feeling of being constantly connected and yet so disconnected from the world was quite discomforting. We all craved real contact.

Honestly, his particular thought of being connected and disconnected at the same time with all these devices around us has been crossing our minds recently. Especially after one of our engineers had held a live lecture at the local university – the first one after the pandemic.

What’s the value of visiting in-person events when we could still participate online, from home, all the time? Is there any merit to visiting in-person events nowadays? We could save time on commuting and avoid costs related to event organization, right?

As it seems, online events haven’t been able to provide us with genuine connection as in-person events have. Here’s what you get out of that connection.

In person, you’ll learn what (and how) the tech community is really doing

On the internet, we tend to sugarcoat things. There’s this prevalent idea of constant micro learning, even though we keep rereading the same stuff just worded differently. 

Attending live events will help you get familiar with the trends in a way that’s more real than insights you gain while sifting through thousands of search optimized blog articles on Google or polished Linkedin posts.

You’ll get to hear (and tell!) the other side of the story – the raw one that hasn’t been carefully planned out by marketing experts. You’ll meet people who have been in this industry for a long time and exchange rich insights and predictions.

Knowing you’re not alone in your business endeavors, that challenges are to be expected (and not unique) helps you stay motivated and grounded.

Such business wisdom is not shared publicly quite often. Why? Perhaps because of online peer pressure to be perfect, and because some people are just louder than others.

You tap into hidden tech talent

Sometimes the best candidates don’t apply to job ads and have no social media profiles. They lurk on deep technical forums and sometimes visit conferences to keep in touch with the real world. They switch companies based on recommendations.

It’s easy to become disconnected from local communities when you’re focused on growing your business and expanding internationally, as we are. It’s also easy to make false assumptions about someone’s skills and culture fit because of their online appearance.  

The more you network, the better grasp of the local tech talent you’ll have. You get to talk to potential candidates and feel their vibe. Most importantly, you’ll tap into the hidden talent pool.

You get to present your expertise to the community and connect with students

We like visiting conferences because we get to connect with students of engineering, telecommunications, and computer science. Unfortunately, many of them don’t get an opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge gained at the university. 

As SmaRF Solutions provides services in the telecommunication industry, we communicate and collaborate with TelCo engineers on a daily basis. By holding lectures and attending events, we teach local students and show them what the job really is like. 

The fact that 90% of students who attend our lectures apply for internships at our company on the same day tells us there’s a need for local companies to connect more with the community.

It’s time we shifted back to live events

While it might be tempting to buy that online access or purchase the recordings, we’d always suggest going directly to the event. At the end of the day, civilisation started with small tribes. No online gathering can replace that innate instinct for real-life contact.

Meet fine tech people. Share insights with other entrepreneurs. Discover real trends. It has proven as a valuable strategy for us.