Big Question: Are We Losing Something by Going Hybrid?

"No more tech conference participation from your desk! It might be time to actually show up in person."

By
  • Adrian Foster
Nov. 21 20245 min. read time
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Please excuse the tabloid headline, I mostly just wanted your attention.

I love hybrid work as much as anyone, and I’m very happy that at DNB, most of us have the option of working two days from outside the office. These are some of my most productive coding days each week! That said, I think some things are just better in person, like tech conferences. Let me take a step back and explain what DNB’s tech summit is, where it comes from, and what we’re aiming for with it:

DNB Tech Summit:

Each year, we host a community-driven, internal tech conference at DNBs office in Oslo. It started out as a physical IT architecture gathering, growing each year until it became a summit for everyone interested in tech at DNB, with both internal and external speakers. Like everyone else, we went fully digital during COVID, with Teams presentations. The following year, we went fully digital again, but this time with professional video and sound support.

This year’s summit was our biggest ever! Over 400 people joined in person, and even more – 700 unique viewers – watched the live stream. The day included a shared opening session, three tracks of speakers running in parallel, workshops and presentations from our own people and speakers from Microsoft, Sparebank 1, and AWS. The event was, of course, live-streamed to make sure no one had to miss out.

Afterward, around 300 stayed on for the afterparty, with food, drinks, and games. It was a fantastic day, and I got to catch up with so many colleagues I rarely see – either because they work in another DNB building in Bjørvika, or from other towns, like Bergen (Norway’s best city, but that’s another debate entirely!).

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A Big Question: Are We Losing Something by Going Hybrid?

This apparent success raises a question: what’s our definition of a successful conference? And are we losing something essential when so many choose to participate remotely, even from the same building?

The Summit’s Purpose: Building Our Tech Culture

The summit isn’t just about catching up on tech trends or sharing knowledge. It’s about creating a space where everyone working with technology at DNB can feel part of a larger community. This sense of connection is arguably the most important part because, let’s be honest, information on any tech topic is available through a browser search, a YouTube video, or a chatbot. The real value of the summit is that you leave feeling inspired, having learned something new, met new colleagues, and had those spontaneous conversations that mostly only happen in person, like discussing the pros and cons of serverside rendering, or which Mario Kart car is the best (it’s the Teddy Buggy). 

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The Upsides – and Downsides – of a Hybrid Format

It’s great that hybrid events make it possible for people that can’t join physically to participate. DNB operates across Norway, and as far away as New York and California. And even if you live close to Oslo, there is a not insubstantial chance that the trains are delayed or cancelled. And I get it, our days are busy, and by joining a conference digitally and being selective with what I participate in, I can still have time to do a workout in a not completely full SATS, find time for that product walkthrough meeting, and still finish work by 16:00 with energy left to go home and make dinner.

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https://www.banenor.no/reise-og-trafikk/punktlighetsstatistikk/

But hybrid events come with trade-offs. When you’re participating via a screen, how likely are you to ask a question, strike up a conversation, or feel truly engaged? I can only speak for myself, but if I’m honest, I notice a big difference – especially in events meant to build community.

The conference is community-driven, and we put a lot of time, effort and budget into making sure the experience is good for both the in-person audience and those streaming remotely. Every time we discuss a new format we must consider how it will work for people in the room and for those watching the stream. Sometimes I wonder if hybrid events end up being the “blandest” option, aiming for a middle ground and doesn’t fully deliver for anyone.[MOU1] For instance, we've experimented with several methods to allow the in-person audience to ask questions after presentations, but we haven't yet found a solution that translates well for streaming. Often, we have to pass around a microphone or ensure that presenters repeat questions so remote participants can hear them. We also tried a method where all questions are submitted digitally, but this creates an awkward dynamic—it's much more engaging for the audience to ask questions aloud rather than pulling out their phones to type them.

As event planners, we’ve found it really hard to prioritize interactive or collaborative sessions in a hybrid format because they take so much extra effort to get right. Making sure both in-person and remote participants can join in equally means more planning, extra tools, and a lot of coordination. Things like group activities or spontaneous discussions are tricky to pull off when you’re trying to connect people across physical and digital spaces. It’s a lot to manage, and sometimes it feels easier to stick with simpler formats, even though we know how valuable those interactive sessions can be.

Some speakers have mentioned that speaking to a half-full room feels different, even when they know there's a large online audience. When attendees join digitally, we risk losing the spontaneous conversations and energy that naturally arise when everyone is physically present. This can affect presenters’ enthusiasm and may discourage them from investing their time and effort to participate in the future.

Some people prefer to watch from their desks, even if they’re just down the hall – and while it’s convenient, it might not be the best for our community in the long run.

Should We Rethink Streaming – Or Do It Differently?

So, what’s the answer? Should we limit streaming to encourage in-person attendance? Maybe we should consider incorporating more elements that work best for those attending in person, even if it makes the experience a bit less seamless for digital participants—for example, allowing in-person attendees to ask questions directly and faciltitation more interactive elements. Perhaps it’s time to embrace fully in-person or fully digital formats to avoid the trade-offs of hybrid. Or is the solution to 10x our budget and make the afterparty so memorable that no one would dear to miss it?streamen?

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What Do You Think?

In closing, these are just my thoughts, structured with some help from a chatbot to make it more readable. The goal here is to start a conversation, and I’d love to hear from people both inside and outside DNB: Is it time to show up in person? What makes a tech conference successful? What do we gain from hybrid events – and what might we lose? How can we build the best tech community? And, of course, which is the best Mario Kart car?

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