I'll be a virtual panelist on two hybrid discussions at #Glasgow2024 ! Both are on Saturday, Aug. 10.
"30th Anniversary of Stargate" 17:30 BST, 12:30 EDT
with Eric Choi (moderator), Inge Heyer, and Barry Tilton, who will all be there in person.
"Ancient Egypt with Aliens! It's been 30 years since the Stargate movie launched a franchise on to the world. Our panellists discuss the influence of the film and the franchise and how it may have impacted the wider SFF landscape."
"The Conclusion of the Retro Hugo Era" 19:00 BST, 14:00 EDT
with David E. Hook (moderator), Cora Buhlert, Mark Plummer, and Perianne Lurie, who will all be there in person.
"The Retro Hugo Awards, a tradition where Worldcons retrospectively awarded prizes for years prior to the establishment of the Hugo Awards, have had both avid supporters and vocal critics. The last two Worldcons eligible to grant Retro Hugos opted not to do so, and Glasgow is following suit. Does this signify the demise of the Retro Hugos? And if so, is this necessarily detrimental?"
I have not been greatly impressed by hybrid panels at other conventions -- even without technical difficulties, the virtual panelists tend to get short shrift. I am hoping the Glasgow organizers can make it work better than I've experienced before.
This year, Glasgow's programming lists 34 online-only events and 301 total events that have online components (online only, hybrid panels, or just events that will be streamed, with Discord discussion channels).The price for an online membership is less than in-person membership, but still significantly greater than a mere supporting membership (the level required for voting for Hugo Awards, and getting the Hugo Voters packet). I know that a lot of people have been working very hard to make this con a success, and I hope that after it's over, the virtual members will feel that they got their money's worth.
To find out more, visit https://glasgow2024.org/
Anyway, it's an honor to be selected for two panels. I know of at least one Hugo finalist who was only selected for two panels, and I'm not even nominated for any group awards this year.
UPDATE 8/19/2024:
I was very pleased with how both my events went. It was slightly irritating that I couldn't see the other Stargate panelists, and after a little struggling with technology, I could hear them, and they could both see and hear me. The tech went fine for the Retros panel.
More importantly, the moderators for both events were mindful of my presence, including me in question rounds and discussions. I've certainly seen hybrid panels in the past where the remote participant was treated as a mere afterthought.
Also, as a frequent Twitch stream guest, I was able to keep an eye on the Discord chat for each event while being a panelist, occasionally commenting in those channel discussions. One person even said how thrilled they were that a panelist was participating in the chat, so I gather that was unfortunately rare.
