Networking via Virtual Lobby: group rooms and meetings
Updated 7 hours ago
by
Amanda Arrais
Attendees will be able to see a list of other attendees and their information about who is present at the event. Attendees can select another attendee among those at the event to connect with and open a group room to begin a private or public discussion. They will also be able to schedule 1x1 meetings with other participants.
Activating Networking in the Virtual Lobby
To enable this option, go to Event > Virtual Lobby. Click on Edit, and tick (to enable) or untick (to disable) Networking.
If you activate Networking, a list of the attendees who are present in your event will be displayed on the main page of the Virtual Lobby and they will be able to send each other video requests.
Using Networking in the Virtual Lobby
To network with other attendees, scroll to the bottom of the Virtual Lobby homepage. A few attendees will be displayed under Networking. For you to see all active attendees of the event, press View all on the right-hand side of the Networking section.
Once you have clicked on View all, you will be able to see how many participants are online and to find a specific attendee by typing their name. When you have found the person you wish to connect with, click on their name.
A pop-up will display the attendee's details, and allow you to connect with them via message or a video call, creating a group room.
When you select Ask to meet (camera icon), you will be taken to a screen that will ask you if you would like to Meet now or Schedule Meeting.
Meet now
If you select Meet now, you will then need to select if this is a public or private meeting. Public meetings will create an open group room that others can join while a private meeting will ensure no others can join the group.
All invited attendees will now enter a group room with permission to enable their camera and microphones and also to screen share.
Schedule meeting
If you select Schedule meeting, you will be taken to a calendar page to select the best day and time for the meeting.
Click here for further information on scheduled 1x1 meetings in the Virtual Lobby.
Group rooms
All group rooms that have been created will be visible in the group rooms section. An open or closed padlock on the room will indicate if this is a public or private room.
If you wish to rename the Networking or Group Room sections, this can be done via Headings.
How many people can I have in a group room?
By default, when people join a group room, they will join as a presenter, which means they will have the option to enable camera and microphone so they can network easily.
If you have purchased a plan that includes Video Conferencing Pro, you will be able to have up to 17 people on camera in a group room. When the 18th person joins the room, they will be automatically set to viewers because the limit of participants on the call has been reached.
If you have purchased a plan that doesn't include Video Conferencing Pro, you will be able to have up to 9 people in a group room. If someone else tries to join the room once the limit has been reached, they will be automatically set to viewers.
Viewers will be able to watch everything that is going on in the room and interact through chat messages, but they will not have the option to enable their camera and microphone unless someone leaves the room.
Click here to check what features are included in each plan.
Creating group rooms in the Virtual Lobby
If you would like to create a networking space for other attendees to join, you can create a group room.
To create a group room, click on the + icon in the top right.
Next, you should Type the topic that will be discussed in the group room and select if it should be a Private group or a public room and press Create.
Creating group rooms on the platform
Group rooms can also be created in the backend by the administrators. To do so, click Event > Virtual Lobby > Group rooms > + Add group room.
A window will pop up asking you to type the discussion topic and also to select the level of privacy for the room.
On this page, you will also be able to see all group rooms that have been created and information such as the room link, the date when the room was created and its privacy.
Using Networking directly from a sponsored room
You can also set up 1:1 calls with other attendees straight from the sponsor's room during a live session.
Simply click on the attendee name you wish to connect with, and you can invite them to speak with you, without having to navigate out of the session to the Networking area.
The person you have requested to network with will receive a pop-up notification advising that they have received this request.
Accepting this request will open a group room for you to network. After accepting, the person will receive a pop up to confirm they wish to leave the room and begin a networking session
Once confirming, a group room will activate with the requested attendees to begin your networking session and it should show up under Group rooms in the Virtual Lobby's main page.
Networking roulette
Using the networking roulette, participants will be able to engage in 1x1 meetings randomly assigned in the Virtual Lobby. Click here to learn how it works and how to set it up.
Dedicated pages
If you wish to have dedicated pages for Networking, Group Rooms, Meetings, and Networking Roulette in the Virtual Lobby, go to Settings > Tabs and click on Virtual Lobby. Then, make sure the tabs Virtual Lobby - Networking, Virtual Lobby - Group Rooms, Virtual Lobby - Meetings, and Virtual Lobby - Networking Roulette are set to Visible.
To edit an existing tab, you will need to click the Edit button in the top right corner. Next, click on the existing tab you wish to edit and a window will open to the right. Here, you have the option to edit the name of the tab in each language and its icon.
In the Virtual Lobby, you can access the dedicated pages by selecting the corresponding tab in the menu on the left-hand side, as shown below:
Inbox
The participants can also have written one-on-one conversations with other participants by sending them a direct message. To do so, they should click on the Inbox button on the upper right and click on Find people to chat to see other registered participants and send them a message.
How will the attendees' visibility affect their networking options in the Virtual Lobby?
The participants can opt to be available and visible in your event's networking list or not.
The Visible to others option will be available in the registration form.
This option will also be shown under My Account.
If the participant chooses to be invisible to others, their name will not be shown under the People, Networking or Inbox tabs in the Virtual Lobby. Other participants will not be able to contact this person either in public or private and their names will not be displayed in the attendee's list in the room.
