Virtual Learning Through Webinars
Virtual Learning Through Webinars--Capital Link and Others Lead the Way.
Webinars have become all the rage these days and for good reason. They are an easy way to gain valuable information from the comfort of your own home or office. And perhaps best of all, most of them are free. Whether you’re a lawyer, doctor, accountant, shipowner, or lowly investor like myself, there’s a Webinar for you.
“Webinar,” of course, is derived from “seminar,” meaning a study group led by an instructor and focused on a particular topic. I recall from my graduate days at Harvard that seminars were high-level and difficult to get into – you had to get the permission of the professor. Usually they were reserved for graduate students only. They were also small and intimate, allowing for free-ranging discussion and debate. There was lots of reading and no real “lectures” as such and no final exam and only a series of papers. The professor was more of a moderator than an instructor and, as often as not, was writing a book on the subject and would glean new ideas from his bright students. I recall one such seminar on William Dean Howells, an obscure nineteenth century American novelist and contemporary of Henry James who wrote one acknowledged classic, The Rise of Silas Lapham, about a paint executive from Ohio. We read everyone of Howells’ writings and reported on each of them. It was a gold mine for the instructor, who was indeed writing a book on the subject.
Webinars are completely different. There are no entry requirements, unless you are taking a continuing education course to maintain your license or certification. There are no papers to write. But there is lots of information handed out, often in convenient PowerPoint form, that you can follow on your computer screen as the panelists or presenter makes various points. Sometimes there are no charts and you’re forced to listen to voices and take copious notes (although transcripts are often available afterwards). Like the seminars of old, however, you can ask questions – anonymously and without fear of embarrassment.
Recently I “attended” a Webinar on “Forecasting the Future” in shipping. There were over 600 attendees from all over the world. It was a panel discussion with a moderator, a Wall Street shipping analyst, a banker specializing in maritime matters, and an admiralty lawyer. There were no charts, unfortunately, but there was lots of discussion of credit availability (not much), the world orderbook for ships and the number of cancellations to date (fewer than expected), China (booming and the salvation of the drybulk industry), oil demand growth (1.3 million bpd in 2010 – good for the tanker biz), single-hull tanker phaseouts under MARPOL (2010 is the magic date, but important oil-exporting countries like Kuwait and Iraq have not signed on), and environmental matters (stack emissions is the new hot topic). At the conclusion of the 75-minute session (there were several technical glitches along the way when the connection was momentarily – once for nearly five minutes – lost), the moderator asserted rather unnervingly that we might as well plot the flight of birds (as the ancient Greeks did) or study the entrails of goats (as the ancient Romans did) as try to predict the future course of the shipping industry. So there!
But I will continue to attend Webinars. Next week there’s one on Global Investing with a focus on energy and shipping, my two favorite topics. But don’t limit yourself. The ’Net is rife with offerings. Law firms, accounting firms, business schools, investment companies, trade pubs – they all offer Webinars. Not to mention company conference calls, which is how it all started. My favorite (Webinar) at the moment is anything offered by Capital Link Shipping, an investor relations and financial advisory firm specializing in the maritime industry. Capital Link is smart and lines up sponsors for its presentations. The sponsors – usually an investment bank or a ship registry or a trade publication – put up the money and help defray the costs, which are nominal to begin with, and they gain valuable exposure in the process to an audience that is ideally suited for what they are selling. A clear win-win situation.
Webinars are a cheap – and viable – alternative to attending conferences in faraway places at great expense. In these days of budget-cutting and frugality, they are an economical and efficient way to stay current and up to date on the latest thinking. Of course there is no substitute for the face-to-face meetings or the range of topics offered at the typical two or three-day conference. But at what price? Until things get better, I’m sticking with Webinars. - MarEx
Jack O’Connell is the Senior Editor of THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE. He can be reached with comments on this editorial at [email protected] and/or join the Maritime Executive ‘Linked In’ group by clicking HERE.