It is finally here. We couldn’t be more excited to “see” everyone for the Society for News Design’s 2020 annual workshop.
SND 2020 kicks off on Friday with our first four sessions and rolls right on through the weekend with some amazing speakers on Saturday afternoon, a quick break on Sunday, then a full week starting Monday and until Oct. 1
Our first ever virtual conference brings together more than 70 presenters from 4 continents with expertise in traditional print mediums, photography, illustrations, graphics, digital design and XR. We have storied news organizations and one of the most talked about new news organization, The 19th*. We know great visual storytelling happens in communities and publications of all sizes, and we are bringing them to you.
What do you need to know about our first virtual conference? We hope the following will answer most of your questions, but we’ll be here daily to help answer your questions and make this a great experience for everyone.
So, how exactly does this virtual conference work?
First you have to register. Once you register you get a confirmation of your payment. If you already did, you are ahead of the game.
Starting Sept 15, you will start receiving emails from Crowdcast, our broadcasting platform, for each day of the workshop. Why every day? Well, because each day will have it’s own unique URL and password protection. But as a registered attendee, you don’t have to worry about the password. Just use the link sent to you for that day, enter your email and name so we know it is you and you’ll be all set. Psst: Those registration emails for each day… they also have an “add to calendar” option so you can set reminders for yourself. Double Psst: Your registration email from Crowdcast will also let you submit questions to speakers in advance of the conference and specific sessions.
As a registered attendee to the workshop, you are welcome to attend any and all sessions. You’re not a student or an educator but a topic on those themed sessions interests you? Great, feel free to join the session or hands-on workshop. You have access to everything, even if you miss a session.
Using the registration link from Crowdcast you can watch a replay of the sessions from each day. Just click the same event URL you used to register, or log into your account and go to My Events. Plus, at the end of the day, we’ll send you an email with the link, just in case. Those sessions will remain available for playback until the end of the October. These sessions will eventually be moved into a new member-accessible SND media center.
Do I need to download an app or anything special to view the sessions or submit questions?
Not with our platform. There are no downloads required (unless you want to use the mobile app for viewing on your phone). For the best audience experience we highly recommend that you use a tablet or desktop. That way you can see the chats, vote on and ask questions, and more.
Be engaged during the conference
Once you are in that day’s event, you will be able to chat throughout the day with your fellow attendees. Chat lets you directly communicate with the speakers and other attendees before, during, and after an event.
Polls are located in a tab just below the video feed. We may add a poll prior to the event or during a live session, so be sure to check there periodically.
Questions and Answer are located in the tab below the video feed as well. This is where you can submit any question to our speakers before or during sessions. Even after a session, our speakers can answer questions here and you can see them at any time. If you have the same question as someone else, you can upvote their question to make sure the speaker sees it.
Don’t forget to set up your profile. You will want to update your Crowdcast user name so other people can recognize you. You can also personalize your profile with a photo and brief bio, so that your friends can “see” you and others can meet you (hint: best to do this on a desktop platform).
Let’s see, what else is there?
Attire. Whelp, good news. Unless you are a presenter, you will not be on camera like in a Zoom meeting. You can chill in your comfy clothes no matter where you are.
Breaks. Don’t worry. We know you need breaks every once in a while. We have short 5 minute breaks scheduled between sessions, but also a few longer breaks during the day so you can grab more coffee or even lunch and dinner depending what time zone you are joining us from. We also purposely built the schedule with single group sessions, spanning fewer consecutive hours each day, spread over more days to encourage asynchronous viewing and deeper engagement.
So many sessions to see. Make sure to check out the schedule for SND 2020. We have gathered some of the most creative professionals in our field. Again, if you miss a session, don’t worry, you can watch it on replay with your login and password. Playback will remain available until the end of the October.
Sharing. We know a lot of our friends and colleagues have a lot going on. Life is very strange for many of us right now. Please share about SND 2020 on social media with the hashtag #SNDcon2020 on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Share some of the best quotes and takeaways that you are learning about.
FOMO. The great thing about having so many days for the workshop, even if you forget to register for the first day or so, you can register at any time and have access to the replays from the entire agenda.
Don’t forget. SND is committed to creating a safe virtual conference that is welcoming and harassment-free for participants of all races and ethnicities, gender and gender identities, sexual orientations, physical abilities and religious beliefs. Our team will be monitoring all virtual spaces managed by SND for this conference, as well as any other forum the organization uses for communication. Please read our Code of Conduct here.