Meetings - online versus in-person; digitally what is lost?

Excerpt from Josh Kim's article of March 1, 2020, "Conferences and COVID-19."

Although he confronts the subject of academic conferences in person versus on site when virus is growing toward pandemic scale, even in times of no public health emergency, for the sake of travel and carbon footprint, it is worth reflecting on what is lost and what can be done well via Internet media.

...in-person events provide at least 5 things that we seem unable to replicate digitally and remotely. These attributes include:

1 - Dedicated Time: The value-add of going to an academic/professional conference is mostly found in the stopping of other activities. A face-to-face conference forces the attendee to disrupt their regular work routines, and shift their attention (if not wholly) to what is occurring at the event. This dedicated time to direct one's attention to conference activities is exceedingly difficult to replicate in a virtual event...
2 - Physical Separation: Just as important as dedicated time, in-person conferences provide a physical separation from one's day job. The act of going somewhere else for the conference offers cover for opting-out of (most) campus activities, such as attendance at meetings. The act of traveling to a meeting increases the investment in the event...

3 - Critical Mass: Face-to-face conferences still scale more efficiently than digital gatherings among remote participants. The reason to go to the annual meeting in your field is that everyone else in your field will be in attendance. The value of an academic conference is determined by the quality and breadth of the participants. An in-person academic conference is still the best way ...

4 - Opportunities for Professional Advancement: Academic and professional events serve purposes beyond professional development and networking. They are also opportunities for career advancement. For many roles, regional and national impact is essential for both promotion and job applications. Conferences are places to give posters and papers and to be recognized for your contributions to the discipline. Serving in organizational and leadership roles at professional associations and disciplinary organizations is another way to demonstrate regional and national....

5 - Informal Networking: We all know that the real work of the academic conference gets done in hallways, restaurants, and bars. Conversations outside of sessions are the glue that holds an academic field together. There seems to be no good substitute for the bonding that occurs from informal discussions, and from the acting of breaking bread together. In the various sub-communities that constitute the higher ed ecosystem, everyone knows everybody...

Full text, https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/learning-innovation/conferences-and-covid-19