Choosing your platform

Pros:

Recording: It is easy to record your event either onto your computer or onto the Zoom cloud. This can be a pre-record, or a recording of a live event.  

Professional interface: 

• Allows screen-sharing for presentations
• Has an integrated Q and A function for audiences to interact with the event
• The audience cameras remain muted so that they cannot be seen during the event. Any speaker/chair/panellist who has muted their camera also cannot be seen by any audience member - unlike in Zoom Meetings where the audience can see a greyed-out box when someone has muted their camera.

High attendee numbers: Online events enable you to engage with larger audiences than you might otherwise be possible for an in-person event; this includes people from around the world. The University currently has a number of licences available depending on the size of your event (from 100 to 10,000). Webinar licences are not automatically available to users and must be requested from IT services to be added to an individual’s account ahead of the event. Requests for Webinar licences can be made via a Formstack form on the IT services pages.

Audience anonymity: By default, the audience cameras and microphones are switched off. Audience members can communicate with the event host/speakers via the Q and A function or the Chat function. Both the Q and A and Chat functions can be disabled.

Q and A functionality: The Q and A function allows the audience to interact with the event and it can be made live for all attendees to see, or, it can be private so only panellists can see questions being submitted. It is also possible to make the questions posted anonymous or with their username. (More details on how to set this up can be found on Zoom's support pages.)

If the Q and A is private, panellists can make the questions live when they choose to answer them.

Panellists can also answer questions privately, this is useful if an audience member has a technical question.

When live, the Q and A works well as a chat function for the audience to interact with the speakers and other audience members, as well as for asking questions. Using the Q and A in this way reserves the Chat function for the panellists to communicate with each other ‘backstage’ or with the audience.

You can run a report following the event to capture the questions submitted live.  

Chat: The Chat function can be set up to allow audience members to communicate with each other and the event speakers. It can also be switched off for the audience, so that the panellists have the ability to communicate with one another privately throughout the event. Panellists can also post messages to the audience through this function, sharing links or promotional material, etc.

AV support: AV can be booked to set up and run the webinar on your behalf (there would be the normal internal recharge for this - currently £35 per hour per technician). In supporting the event, an AV technician would work with you to discuss how you would like your event to run, and set-up the software appropriately; they would also provide technical support throughout the event, and would take responsibility for distributing links to event panellists; broadcasting the event to the audience, and for making the recording. They would also be on hand to assist with any technical difficulties that were encountered during the event. AV can also provide post-production of any recordings. 

Roles: Unlike Zoom Meetings, Webinars introduce a series of different ‘roles’ and controls that can be delegated and used during an event (details of which can be found on our Managing events with Zoom Webinar pages). All panellists receive a personalised link for the session, pre-set with their name and titles. Audience members will enter on a different, generic link, which will offer them a  ‘view-only’ position in the webinar. 

Option for Green Room / AV Check: Prior to an event being broadcast live, Zoom Webinar allows organisers to create a ‘rehearsal’ space (referred to as ‘practice space’ Zoom) before the event begins for speakers to test microphones, discuss the event format, and practice sharing any slides. 

Access to this green room/backstage space is only available via personalised links emailed from the Webinar organiser, and audience members trying to access the event during this time will only receive a holding notice advertising the event’s start time. 

Time limit: There is no time limit on the event.

Event timings: The event is made live to the audience (broadcast) manually by an AV technician (if hired) or event organiser. This gives the flexibility of starting the event slightly later than the advertised start time, if needed to accommodate any unexpected delays such as a speaker arriving late for the session, or any technological problems that are encountered. Please be aware that audience members will only see a ‘waiting to start message’ if the event broadcast is delayed.

Attendee data and figures: Zoom allows you to see the number of audience participants in the event at any time via the ‘participants’ counter at the bottom of the window, during the event. In addition to this, co-hosts and panellists can also see a list of log-in names. (Neither of these are visible to audience members.) You can run a participant report post event. 

Polling of audience: You can launch polls during your event to gather opinion responses from the audience.

Cons:

Compulsory download: Audiences are required to download the Zoom app to be able to access the event. 

Cost of AV support: With the spending freeze, AV support may be prohibitive at £35 per hour, per technician. You can however run the webinar independently without AV support. Please contact it-services@york.ac.uk for more information.

Green Room post-event: Participants are unable to return to a Green Room/backstage (also known as 'practice session' in Zoom instructions) after the event - when the event finishes, the session is terminated abruptly for both panellists and the audience.

Limited audience interaction: You can only interact with the audience through the Q and A (or Chat function if you choose to use it) and cannot see faces to feel the reaction to the talk. But with co-ordination, it is possible to invite attendees to be heard live (eg in a pre-determined Q and A session), and if they are promoted by the Host to be a panellist they are able to unmute their camera.

Break-out rooms: Unlike with Zoom Meetings, there are no break-out rooms.

Please see IT Services' Zoom wiki guidance for more details on Zoom Meet 

Pros:

Live streaming: You can live-stream a Zoom meeting to YouTube or Facebook for wider, unlimited audiences. 

Screen sharing: The speaker is able to share their screen with the audience.

Recording: You can record your live event locally or onto the Zoom cloud. You can also pre-record events.

Time limit: There is no time limit on the event.

Break-out rooms: It is possible to set up Zoom so that participants break out into separate rooms as part of the event, before returning to the original meeting/event to share discussions. 

Audience interaction: The speaker has the opportunity to gauge the audience reaction as the organiser can invite attendees to switch on their cameras, making the event more interactive. Reaction emojis can also be used if the attendee is not comfortable sharing their camera.

Waiting room: Although there are no green-room facilities, the host of a Zoom meeting can create a waiting-room where participants have to wait until approved and allowed access to the meeting by the host. This page can also be personalised.

High attendee numbers: Online events enable you to engage with larger audiences (from 300 to 1,000) than you might otherwise be possible for an in-person event; this includes people from around the world.  

Polling of audience: You can launch polls during your event to gather opinion responses from the audience.

Cons:

Compulsory download: Audiences are required to download the Zoom app to be able to access the event. 

Safeguarding: Although the host running the session can mute all audience cameras and microphones, there are potential safeguarding issues should any cameras not be muted. Please refer to the University guidance pages on safeguarding.

The attendee list for the event is also visible and can be accessed by anyone within the meeting, and attendees are able to message one another privately, unless this feature is manually disabled. 

Q and A: There is no Q and A function in Zoom, although the audience can communicate via chat. However, audience communication through chat can make it more difficult for panellists to speak ‘backstage’ as messages become mixed in with audience conversation.

Pros:

Pre-recorded content as live: YouTube Premiere operates as a hybrid of pre-recorded content and live streaming, with event content recorded in advance, uploaded onto YouTube, and scheduled to be released at a particular date and time. This in some way recreates the atmosphere of a live event. This can allow greater flexibility in event production and recording schedules, such as pre-recording via Zoom.

Unlike a regular YouTube upload, the event will play out second by second with no option to fast forward, replicating a live streamed event. 

Countdown: At the start of the event, a two-minute countdown will appear onscreen for the audience, and the start time of an event is clearly visible for attendees.

Public facing and audience anonymity: Unlike Zoom, YouTube is a public-facing platform, and does not require viewers to download, log in or register names and email addresses to ‘enter’ the event. You may, however, choose to ticket the event (using a facility such as Eventbrite) which would allow you to capture information about your audience, eg their postcode, whether they are a former student etc; you would then share the YouTube premiere link with all ticket holders.

YouTube Chat: A integrated live chat function is automatically made available with a YouTube channel. This enables live audience members to interact with each other, and can allow the speaker (or panel) to host a Q and A session throughout the event, and interact with audience members informally. (Google/YouTube accounts are required for this.)

If you are not the event speaker, you may wish to watch the premiere in order to moderate the session (remove any inappropriate conversations, for example). You could also use the Chat function to share important information with the audience, such as book sales, other events they might be interested in, and so on.

Unlike Zoom Webinar, the live chat from the event is saved with the video, with a ‘chat replay’ function enabled by default to replay in live time whenever the video is rewatched (this can also be easily switched off if there are privacy concerns). 

Easy access / shareable: YouTube generates a landing page and URL for all premieres, which enables the link to the event to be shared far ahead of time. (This page is also searchable in YouTube generally.)

This URL remains the same after the premiere has ended, after which the video operates like a regular upload to be shared and accessed at any time.

Subscribers to the event channel can also choose to ‘opt in’ to notifications, and be made aware of upcoming premieres and reminders in addition to any external marketing. (This cannot be controlled from an organiser perspective.)

Minimal live support required: The premiere time can be set up and scheduled weeks in advance, and the live event broadcast and chat can be easily monitored by one member of staff.

Unlimited audience numbers: YouTube has an unlimited capacity for viewers for each event.

Time limit: There is no time limit on these events.

Cons:

Limited audience interaction: You can only interact with the audience via the live chat function. If the speaker(s) engages in the chat, then the Q and A is limited to typed text while the recording plays, or questions must be taken in advance to be answered during the premiere.

Data collecting: The live viewer number can fluctuate across devices, and may not display an exact number of ‘live’ attendees to the organiser.

Public facing: Unlike Zoom, where attendee names can be monitored and checked against ticketing records, YouTube Premiere allows anyone to view the event without needing to log in, and will not produce an attendee list for the event. 

No private chat function: The Live Chat function is also public by default, and while comments can be removed by reacting quickly, you will not be able to prevent inappropriate comments being seen by the rest of the audience.