Here we go again. The website for Entrepreneur Magazine yesterday featured an article listed under "Marketing" and bylined by "Lev Kaye, Contributor. Founder and CEO of CredSpark, Ed Tech veteran, Harvard MBA." The title of the piece is Why You Should Skip the Webinar and Start Quizzing Your Audience.
Mr. Kaye starts his article with the assertion that "like most people, you secretly never want to attend another webinar if you can possibly avoid it." I missed the statistical studies Mr. Kaye undoubtedly has on hand to buoy his contention, but I'm sure he can supply them upon request, since referencing sources is a standard requirement for MBA work.
Oh hell, I told myself I wasn't going to get snarky and I've already blown it. Look, the piece is nothing more than advertising copy written in the style and length of an article. In the final paragraph, Mr. Kaye urges you to take advantage of the online quiz products his startup company provides. You can just click through on the conveniently supplied hyperlink. I'm a little disappointed that Entrepreneur.com makes no attempt to identify the material as an advertorial or to separate it from other supposedly objective content, but I suppose that is the nature of the Web today.
Mr. Kaye references Justin Bariso, and for the most part summarizes the same arguments from Mr. Bariso's November hate piece against webinars. I wrote a rebuttal that you can read here if you are interested in running down the arguments.
The crazy thing about the article is that it is completely unnecessary. Mr. Kaye uses "Kill the Webinar" as his springboard for urging people to include online quizzes (from his company) in their lead generation activities. I honestly have nothing against using quizzes. I have used them inside webinars, in conjunction with webinars, and instead of webinars. I can also give you a list of arguments about how quizzes can be constructed, delivered, and used poorly - leading to consumer frustration and dissatisfaction. That wouldn't be a knock against the technology, but a recognition of the need for users to learn and employ best practices.
If people are dissatisfied with your webinars, do something about it. Get presentation training, segment your target audiences more effectively to deliver the right information to the right people, don't be a slave to filling an arbitrary time slot. Most importantly, rehearse! But don't just throw away a proven technology as you go chasing after the latest magic bullet solution alternative.
