VIRTUAL CONFERENCE PLATFORM

The conference platform local time is Eastern Standard Time—the time zone of West Palm Beach, Florida. This is what the in-person and virtual Schedule-at-a-Glance are all referring to. The conference platform should automatically adapt to whatever time zone you are in, making it easy to see when events are happening in your own time.

Yes. We have reopened the submission portal so presenters can make minor changes to their abstract title and/or text if there have been changes since the conference was postponed. We are also asking presenters to select keywords for your presentation, so that you and your research are easily searchable on the platform.

To do this, log back into where you submitted your presentation, and click on the button called “Edit Abstract”. Here you will be able to make changes and also find the field to add as many tags as you like. Please add keywords ASAP to ensure that they will be added to the platform.

There has been a small change to how your virtual presentation will be showcased at SMM2022!

Your presentation is found in the ‘On Demand’ tab under the Program on the conference platform. Your presentation is assigned to a specific theme (e.g., Anatomy/Morphology, Conservation, Molecular/Cellular, etc.). Your presentation is grouped with other talks that all have the same theme. Alternatively, you can also search for your presentation using the ‘Search’ function in the program. This is a change from assigning it to a specific time within the conference program. This change will make your presentation more accessible, easily searchable, increase viewership, and maximize engagement throughout the conference (and beyond!).

We also strongly encourage you to schedule virtual office hours for your presentation sometime throughout the week of the conference, so that both in-person and virtual attendees can interact with you face-to-face during the conference. In addition, all presenters (virtual and in-person) should regularly check their Chats on the platform and respond to anyone that reaches out.

Your recorded video is available as on-demand content. Your video can be played on the platform by anyone who wants to watch it during the conference and for up to six months after. Once you upload your talk to the platform, you do not need to do anything else regarding your presentation – but make sure that you are actively engaging with other attendees (see other questions).

Your poster and recorded video are available as on-demand content. Your poster can be viewed on the conference platform by anyone who wants to access it during the conference and for up to six months after. Once you upload your poster to the platform and any associated materials, you do not need to do anything else regarding your presentation – but make sure that you are actively engaging with other attendees (see other questions).

People can ask you questions directly through the chat tab on the platform. You can also set up office hours, as well as join a Networking Lounge to engage with other attendees.

Office hours are virtual meeting rooms. Each conference participant can schedule office hours at any point throughout the conference. These are great opportunities to directly interact with other conference attendees in a 1:1 virtual setting.  To set up office hours, log back into where you submitted your presentation, and click on the button called “Office Hours” (seen below). You can schedule them for as long as you want but we recommend 30 minutes-1 hour per time slot. There is a maximum of two time slots available to be scheduled. Please schedule your office hours before the August 1, 2022.

Networking Lounges are located on the left-hand panel on the platform below the Participants tab. We have established some general networking lounges. If you have a specific topic you’d like added, please request to create one by emailing us at conference@marinemammalscience.org.

Absolutely! You can ask questions during a session’s live broadcast. Questions will be monitored and asked to the speaker during the Q&A period. When the session is live, navigate to the box to the right of the session’s video player and click on the Q&A tab. You can enter your question, as well as up-vote other questions asked by other attendees. If you are viewing the session in Theater mode, the Q&A panel is located below the video screen. Please do not post questions intended for the speaker Q&A in the live chat—this area will not be monitored during the Q&A period.

While speakers are not guaranteed to be available after their session, you can send a private chat to the speaker through the virtual platform. When a speaker is online and available, they will response as their schedule permits. To find a speaker, navigate to the Participants page from the left-hand menu and filter by speaker or search for their name. Click on their badge, and then select the purple “Start Chat” button. You can also communicate with other attendees about a session using the Discussion tab on any session’s page. All participants (virtual and in-person) are highly encouraged to set up office hours to directly interact with other attendees, as well as monitor their chat page on the platform throughout the conference.

Of course! There are multiple ways to do this. On the Participants page, you can click on the badge of any attendee, and you will find the following buttons: “Send Email”, “Start Chat”, and “Start Video”. The “Start Video” option will only appear if the attendee is online. A solid green circle will appear when the person is online. A green circle outline indicates that they are not online. If you start a chat or video from this screen, it’s a 1:1 private conversation. You can also start a chat with attendees from the Chat page. Simply click on the “Participants” tab to find the person with whom you’d like to chat, and click on their name. Any existing or ongoing conversations you have will appear in the Conversations tab. To communicate with other attendees more generally, visit the Social Feed.

The Social Feed is a platform-wide discussion board that combines posts made on individual session boards, as well as the general discussion board available on the Social Feed. The Social Feed also displays tweets. You can filter posts on the Social Feed to only see the general posts or posts that are attached to a specific session and join the discussion on that topic. A session’s Discussion Board is associated with a particular session.

Networking Lounges are general areas that anyone can join to discuss general or specific topics that are open to all throughout the conference. These are great places to virtually meet up with others to talk. Office hours are scheduled by presenters and are an excellent place to interact 1:1 with a presenter at designated times.