Seattle 2025: A Virtual Worldcon Experience

Yesterday brought to a close five days of virtually attending the 83rd World Science Fiction Convention – Seattle WorldCon.
Last year I had an in-person membership, this year was my second WorldCon and my first virtual membership.

The time zone difference was not too bad. I am 19hrs ahead of Seattle, meaning it was feasible for me to attend any panel from Seattle’s midday onwards without changing my sleep schedule. This was a bonus for a couple of the readings I attended, as they were comfortably after work in my time while being quite late in Seattle time.

Technical challenges meant that many of the streams and recordings at the start of the first day were compromised. I woke up at the tail end of dropped streams, as things were starting to come back – further cementing that my decision to keep the same sleep schedule was the right one for me.
After the shaky start, most of the issues were fixed. Sadly, it does mean that some of the earlier recordings were lost, however this is a danger of virtual attendance and there is now a healthy list of recordings ready to watch back until the end of the year. I am happy to have the option to replay those.

The thing I was most unsure about, going in, was the social side of things. Something I enjoyed most last year was bumping into new con friends around every corner.
The Discord experience filled that void brilliantly. I made an effort to engage with various open discussions before the con started, and I found it very gratifying to write notes in the panels I was actively watching (particularly if they had no replay. Anonymised for panellist privacy, of course).
By the second day, I started to recognise names and, while it wasn’t quite the same as being in-person, it was a different side of an equally engaging coin. I didn’t manage to make it to any of the virtual meetups, but I did talk with some people close to my timezone during our end-of-day when most of the con was asleep.

I certainly found that I had more of an insight into the work going into running the con through the virtual experience. When I was in-person, I barely looked at the Discord all day and experienced what was right in front of me. Virtually, I had a pretty good overview of most things posted to the Discord.

I suspect I will attend LA WorldCon virtually next year. It is the same timezone difference and the virtual experience is a great way of being involved without the time, resources, and stress associated with travel.
It was not as different from the in-person experience as I had initally anticipated, although it almost goes without saying that there wasn’t the chance to explore the city, eat the food, or bump into people outside the Discord. I did miss that aspect, and found myself often thinking fondly about my experiences in the UK last year.

For the curious, I have included the full list of panels and readings I attended live. Days are marked as I experienced them in my timezone, so imagine one day earlier than marked for the con timezone.
My favourite panels were ‘Researching the Occult and the Paranormal’ and both the ‘Worldbuilding Through…’ panels.
All three readings I attended were delightful and I really can’t choose a favourite.

Thursday:
-Improbable Research Dramatic Readings (second half)
-Echoes and Otherworlds in East Asian Speculative Fiction
-Researching the Occult and the Paranormal
-The Second Novel (first half)
-Opening Ceremonies

Friday:
-Worldbuilding Through Geography and Environments
-Looking Back at Chinese SFF (second half)
-Reading: Ng Yi-Sheng
-Reading: Wayne Rée

Saturday:
-Ties that Bind, Break, and Heal – SFF Families
-The Medieval Night Sky – The State of Astronomy in the Middle Ages
-Reading: Wole Talabi
-Worldbuilding Through Mythos, Magic, and Beliefs

Sunday:
-Hugo Award Ceremones

Monday:
-Sifting through History (second half)
-The Moon is Nigh: Cislunar Exploration in 2025
-Closing Ceremonies

That’s it for now.
Take care.