I have "visited" a few virtual exhibitions and have mixed opinions. One the one hand they are better than nothing but on the other I really don't they they are great. I have found myself watching a few of these virtual events but, unlike some exhibitions, I can't say I'm exactly counting the days until the next one. Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate the very significant amount of work that goes into all aspects of creating a virtual exhibition, but is it worth it for the number of folk who visit? I say this as someone who has invested quite a bit of time making some videos for the Warley "usually NEC but virtual this year" show. I'm very happy to support this event and have done the very best I can to make something interesting for virtual visitors. Being realistic though I really don't expect many modellers will actually visit the online show.
Just wondering how others view these virtual events? Obviously be careful not to insult anyone's work and always be appreciative of the fact that a number of people will have put a lot of work into these virtual exhibitions. My questions are - do folk think they are worth the effort and do any of you visit them?
For starters my view is that virtual exhibitions aren't great. I don't think they will draw thousands of visitors although I would be very happy to be proven wrong on this. Having said that I see the exhibition side of the hobby as being very important and this is just about the only way of keeping the spirit of exhibitions alive at the moment. So my conclusion is that they are just about worthwhile as a short term means of keeping interest alive and reminding folk that there will be proper exhibitions again one day.
Incidentally the Warley Virtual Event will be on 28th & 29th November.
Having visited the World of Railways one this weekend I'd say it depends on why you're going to the exhibition... now bear with me here because that might seem like a strange thing to say.
If it's just to look at the layouts then they are probably fine with the slight caveat that the eye of the camera is much harsher than the eye of the human. I spot things in a photo that'd never be visible in person and I find that can detract from my enjoyment of the models. Plus maybe there's a chance you might not click to look on something you don't think would interest you whereas at a show you'd see it and perhaps discover something new.
But if you are going because it's a chance for you to bump into old friends, pick-up a bargain and have a chat with the operators etc etc then you'd probably find them lacking.
I enjoyed the one I visited, particularly as it featured Blueball Summit and would definitely take a look around another but yes it'd be nice to be able to go to an actual exhibition again. Apart from the rucksack toating crowds, don't miss them at all ;)
Quote from: NScaleNotes on November 09, 2020, 08:39:27 AM
But if you are going because it's a chance for you to bump into old friends, pick-up a bargain and have a chat with the operators etc etc then you'd probably find them lacking.
I reckon I sometimes spend more time chatting to folk than I do looking at the exhibits. Also I can pay cash that just happens to have accumulated in my wallet for locos at exhibitions whereas when I buy online it all goes through the joint bank account and is seen by SWMBO.
I guess it might be possible for a virtual event to include the chance of an online chat with layout owners.
The recent Gauge O Guild Virtual Show attracted over 4000 visitors and has been widely hailed by the 7mm community as a great success. Most of the show can still be viewed here:
https://www.gaugeoguild.com/virtual2020/mainhall.aspx (https://www.gaugeoguild.com/virtual2020/mainhall.aspx)
I've got mixed feelings about them:
1. They are great to dip in & out of.
2. Better access to the manufacturers, I enjoyed the World of Railways interviews of the Manufacturers, but this doesn't give you the opportunity to question them directly.
3. I'd prefer to see videos of the Layouts rather than stills photo's, I got bored just looking at photos after a while.
4. No opportunity to 'browse' the Traders and grab a bargain.
5. No chance to bump into friends and have a natter over a brew & cake.
6. SWMBO disturbing me whilst I'm watching stuff on the Computer (Whoops might be the wrong thread ;) ;) )
7. Tea, Lunch & Cake is free :D :D
Just my thoughts.
Neal.
Quote from: longbow on November 09, 2020, 08:51:18 AM
The recent Gauge O Guild Virtual Show attracted over 4000 visitors and has been widely hailed by the 7mm community as a great success. Most of the show can still be viewed here:
https://www.gaugeoguild.com/virtual2020/mainhall.aspx (https://www.gaugeoguild.com/virtual2020/mainhall.aspx)
It's great to know there was a high attendance.
I'm just in the throes of co-organising my club's Virtual Christmas Exhibition.
We staged our first on-line event in May which was well received but was put together very much at the last minute so was a bit rushed and messy. However, we learned a lot from that.
With the Christmas Show we're trying to adopt the "something for all" approach with a mx of gauges, eras, areas, layout types etc.
We have a mix of presentations from traditional videos, videos plus stills and photographic montages.
Our thinking is that the viewer can skip past sections which are not of interest to them - much as you might do at a real show or perhaps re-watch those bits which really grab your attention.
We've also gone for a mix of talk throughs, natural sound background, sound fitted locos and musical background.
So....we'll see how it goes.
Virtual exhibitions are a way to see what is happening in the world of model railways, but, usually, that can all be found in the numerous trade advert's that keep appearing in my inbox. At a real exhibition, you can get to see everything that is there just by walking around, whereas, with the virtual exhibition, you can look at the contents page and decide that a particular item does not interest you, so you might be missing out by not visiting. But there is always the NGF to see layouts and chat with 'friends'. I visited the World of Railways a few times this weekend and, whilst I, in the main, enjoyed my visits, the atmosphere was not there. Virtual exhibitions are handy to have, when there is no alternative and, of course, they are cheaper! ;)
Having now attended the GOG and Scalefour virtual shows and seen the feedback from the organisers and other attendees, I'm fully persuaded that they will become a growing part of the hobby. The NGS should be making plans.
For me if I attend an exhibition I will wander round and look at all the layouts irrespective of whether they are in my sphere of interest or not mainly to look at the modelling techniques to pick up ideas etc for my own use. Having a chat is also a benefit.
With virtual exhibitions I take a look at what layouts are on offer and decide which if any I am interested in. Being tied to what the virtual exhibition is showing prevents me from looking at the aspects I want to. With that in mind I entered the World of Railways at weekend, looked at the contents and left. I fully expect they were great layouts in the flesh but a virtual tour of what the producer thinks I should be looking at doesn't do it for me, sorry.
Hornby Magazines Great Electric Train Show Virtual exhibition has 68000 views as of this reply. I enjoyed it and with there not being actual shows on this year it is a great way of inspiring people.
I hadn't seen any of them, but this prompted me to go and watch the Virtual GETS on YouTube, I watched the segment on Oak Road, which I enjoyed. Different to a real exhibition, but i quite like the interview style.
I'm not really that bothered conceptually though; there's so much content to consume online anyway, and I rarely watch videos (not sure why!).
My routine for exhibitions is:-
1. Get a coffee
2. Trawl the trade stands
3. Get a coffee
4. Check out 50% of the layouts
5. Get a coffee and sausage/bacon roll.
6. Check out the other 50% of the layouts
7. Get a coffee before leaving.
Wherever possible I try to make shows a social occasion so will have arranged to meet up with any other NGF members beforehand. I find the scrum in front of some layouts off putting as I do like to take pics (for the forum, of course) and have a chat with operators if they are available.
As for virtual shows, the coffee is freely available, there is no social interaction, no disappointment for not finding a bargain, pics don't do much for me but vids do, so with no attendees I'd like to think there is more opportunity for layout owners to showcase their layout. Most of all, virtual shows are odour free! :D
There are good and bad points.
No bloody rucksacks - luxury.
At the end of the day, none of us want virtual exhibitions to be as good or better than a real one - it would be the end of face to face exhibitions if they were that good.
They serve a purpose - a focal point for manufacturers to give updates, a bit of retail opportunity and a reminder of what we are missing.
I quite enjoyed the World of Railways one at the weekend, some nice interviews on it.
Living where I do makes attending events of this nature rare and this provides the opportunity to partake. It will never replace the real event, however it does offer the opportunity to "attend", in the comfort of your home, some of the attractions without having to fly half way around the world. I think there's a place for virtual exhibitions and conventions.
During COVID, I've now attended two conventions and two exhibitions that I wouldn't have normally attended and I've come away with ideas that I'd like to put into practice.
My two cents worth,
Cheers,
Geoff
I wasn't really aware that such things were even happening. I believe there was a 16mm Assn one earlier this year but couldn't find it anywhere so gave up after searching for ages. Given that I normally attend a few shows each year and must be on various mailing lists, that suggests there's some more marketing to be done. But I will go at take a look at the Great Electric Train Show Virtual Exhibition later, largely on the "something's better than nothing" principle.
I find this forum is a bit like a virtual exhibition and some really do make an exhibition of themselves too :thumbsup:
:NGF:
I think I looked at one earlier in the year. It was just a bunch of slideshows, as far as I could make out, and I quickly left. If one wants to watch videos of layouts, there are plenty to go at. What's the USP of an 'online exhibition'?
I guess I might look in on the Warley one - I try to get to the exhibition each year, but it won't be a substitute for the real thing.
I've been part of a couple of virtual exhibitions - not model railway related - this year, and as an exhibitor I'm not particulary sure of the value from a business perspective, most of the reason for attending an expo is the human interaction and that all but disappears at a virtual event.
As has been said, there are plenty of videos of layouts, but the problem with most of them is that they don't give you any information at all about the layout or the exhibitor(s). One person who has tried to address that problem is Andy Gebbie on his Heritage & Model Rail YouTube channel where he at least asks some questions about the layouts and he edits the videos so it's not just hours of watching layout after layout without any context.
If a virtual expo could curate the videos of the layouts, promote some "show only" bargains or specials and get some kind of "hangout" capability to shoot the breeze with other attendees then it would still be an extremely poor second to the in-person experience, but not truly bad.
One thing to think about is that in our experience at virtual industry events, there's no natural barrier to entry for people who are not actually serious about it - there's no travel expense and no admission fee, so we got swamped with one-man bands who were just not worth our time. I'm not being mean there, I'm happy to spend facetime with people who are new to my industry; we all need to learn but if I'm spending my whole day talking to people who I know present me with zero business opportunity I'm wasting my time. It might make the retailers a little happier to offer show specials if they know that it's not free admission at the virtual door and the people who are actually in the event have paid something for the privilege and are also defraying the costs to the event organizers.
Just my 2¢
Quote from: GScaleBruce on November 09, 2020, 01:17:28 PM
I wasn't really aware that such things were even happening. I believe there was a 16mm Assn one earlier this year but couldn't find it anywhere so gave up after searching for ages. Given that I normally attend a few shows each year and must be on various mailing lists, that suggests there's some more marketing to be done. But I will go at take a look at the Great Electric Train Show Virtual Exhibition later, largely on the "something's better than nothing" principle.
Having now taken a look at the Great Electric Train Show Virtual Exhibition, I've come to a few thoughts.
- I followed the Ravenglass & Eskdale virtual gala earlier in the year. I'd actually completely forgotten that when I first posted. That was streamed live, as and when there was something to show, following the timetable. I'd have to say that it really didn't work terribly well for me - for that style of event, you need to have little or nothing else to be doing almost all day and ready to drop on to the next live broadcast.
- I never found the 16mm Assn online event despite being invited to it, which probably tells you all you need to know about that one.
- I found the Great Electric Train Show Virtual Exhibition quite interesting. It happens that I had a couple hours when I needed to be doing nothing very much, and it passed the time nicely. In particular, the in depth reports and the mix of prototype and model reports I enjoyed. It was also in high resolution and well filmed, in contrast to some exhibition videos, although sometimes the autofocus jumped annoyingly. However, I nearly gave up after the first twenty minutes which was mainly carving polystyrene on their own layout. Coming to it a few weeks after the event, all the ancillary material on their website is now inaccessible; I realised that I've missed the virtual exhibition and am late to the party but was left feeling a bit disappointed by that.
In summary, I think they can be enjoyable but they need good content, well filmed at high resolution, otherwise why bother - and as a virtual visitor, you won't know that until you get there. I think I may even be looking forward to the virtual Warley...
Good points. I have to say from experience that getting good video of N gauge models isn't easy and can be very time consuming. Larger scales are much easier.
Like some of the other comments I've enjoyed the video's and less the stills. Some of the layouts have been bettter than others as normal. I've dipped in and out of the BRM and Hornby shows and found them really good. The demo's are much better than live shows although the ability to ask questions is a limitation. I would say they are worth it but a Lot of work for the show organisers and exhibitors.
Quote from: Belly on November 09, 2020, 01:00:06 PM
Living where I do makes attending events of this nature rare and this provides the opportunity to partake. It will never replace the real event, however it does offer the opportunity to "attend", in the comfort of your home, some of the attractions without having to fly half way around the world. I think there's a place for virtual exhibitions and conventions.
During COVID, I've now attended two conventions and two exhibitions that I wouldn't have normally attended and I've come away with ideas that I'd like to put into practice.
My two cents worth,
Cheers,
Geoff
Great perspectives Geoff. As another who is a long way from being able to see British N gauge layouts 'in the flesh' I completely agree. A virtual exhibition beats nothing any day for me! The only thing I would add is that videos are far more informative than a series of still photos...