Can Online Conferences Replace Offline Ones?

IT conferences are a great way to stay up-to-date with technology and the newest industry trends, but also to interact with fellow programmers or specialists. At Yumasoft we also value conferences and our colleagues often attend such events. However, as we are now in the middle of the global pandemic, the conferences – as most of the activities – moved online. Is it possible for an online conference to provide as much value as the offline events used to provide? Is it worth paying for online conferences’ tickets? Do online conferences provide any sort of community interaction?

On 20th March 2021 I had a chance to attend the Boiling Frogs 2021 conference. The event was held 100% online this year. I was not sure whether this was a good idea to take part in an online conference, but finally decided to try. In this article I will try to point out how the event was organized, what worked and what could have been better in my opinion.