conference and trade show focused on digital marketing, digital advertising and digital retailing. Barry Smith, MTCC President & CEO said that the Digital Event Center program contributed to the success of this event: “What this pilot event taught us is that virtual events are very different than physical, and they require a different set of skills to be successful, including pre-planning, strong communications and an attention to the digital engagement.”

I spoke with the event producer. Michael Doyle is a B2B veteran with experience in both print and event media. VirtualEdge 2009 reflects the coming transformation in event media. Especially impressive is a slate of speakers that includes Nielsen, Ziff Davis, and United Business Media. These are companies that are on the front lines of B2B event media evolution. The concurrent technology showcase has a unique format, with individual meeting rooms with interactive demonstrations. They’re developing the audience for this event as a community, through the website VirtualEdge.org, and you receive a Virtual Event Handbook when you join the community. The event is May 28-29 in Santa Clara.

In a similar vein: Government scientific and technological research efforts often incubate and spawn important commercial innovations. This week, National Defense University is hosting the Consortium for Virtual Worlds Conference. The consortium seeks to “improve government collaboration through the use of virtual worlds to enrich collaborative online experiences.” While it may be too late to attend the event, the online agenda serves as a catalog of virtual environment technology in the service of distance learning, personal interaction, and information sharing.