The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and Virtual Edge Institute (VEI) revealed that PCMA will be making a monetary investment (the amount was undisclosed) in VEI. The announcement is significant and it’s NOT about the cash.

In the future, says Dannette Veale, global manager of the Cisco Live and Networkers Virtual event, there will be no more live vs. virtual discussions. The two experiences will overlap so completely that what we now perceive as two separate environments glued together through some “hybrid” sleight of hand, will merge into a single seamless stream of content, entertainment, and engagement that can be accessed from either end of the physical to virtual spectrum.

Whether you are an exhibitor trying to navigate the new medium of virtual trade shows or a corporation using virtual platforms to enlarge the opening to your sales funnel, Dennis Shiao’s new book, “Generate Sales Leads with Virtual Events” and his upcoming presentation at the Virtual Edge Summit can help. As with any new environment—the Antarctic, third world countries, and the Moon—you have to take the surroundings into account. Much of what Shiao advocates is straightforward advice that will work in any scenario. However, paying respect, as he does, to the disruption in normalcy that occurs in a virtual setting is the key to having success with it.

It’s true. If you’re a professional membership association, your best bet in the pleasure dispensing department is to try to please most of the people at least some of the time. Despite the odds, Kevin Novak is working hard to take it to the next level using hybrid events to hit the educational and member benefit sweet spot that most association executives dream about. At the Virtual Edge Summit next week in Las Vegas, Novak, vice president integrated web strategy and technology of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), will talk about how a false sense of security led to a “shellacking” in his virtual attendance numbers and how his team regrouped after the dip.

Despite their brave faces, the producers of live events are still frightened about the impact of virtual events to erode their attendee base and diminish their profit margins. After all, if you can get the milk for free, why buy the cow? There’s been talk about employees at some associations fearing they might lose their jobs and the subject has been on the agenda of more than a few executive meetings. Apparently the “There’s no substitute for face-to-face meetings” mantra hasn’t convinced everyone.

Between the Avatar in 3D movie craze and the 3D televisions rolled out during the Consumer Electronic Show, “3D” may be the acronym of the year for 2010. Since virtual events are a hot ticket in the event industry this year, it makes sense to take a closer look at 3D virtual events to see [...]