Mode (1) — face to face
- PLUS: personal relationships, casual encounters, easier to express oneself, bonds in different areas…
- MINUS: Much more costly in time, money, personal sacrifice; also environmentally.
- Unless highly profitable, both for the individuals and for the group, it will be hard to repeat such a meeting.
- It’s important to assess the efficiency vs. the cost, and looking at the pluses and minuses of having meetings in this mode vs. other alternatives.
Mode (2) — online
- PLUS:
- All at once, or whenever one is able.
- Being away but as if very close.
- Shared documents.
- Shorter meetings focused
in one or a few items at a time. - Available highly productive tools,
such as small groups, shared screen… - Less expensive, and less cumbersome (logistics, housing, food…),
less demanding to the individuals.
- MINUS:
- It also has an environmental cost, although lower.
- Some computer literacy is needes, as well as good social abilities.
- Online meetings should be very productive; if not, they end up fading away.
- It’s important to assess its efficiency, and looking at the pluses and minuses of having meetings in this mode vs. face to face