Mark Zuckerberg in person recently announced that Facebook will cancel all major events until June 2021, or all the events that involve gatherings of at least 50 people. Some will be kept virtually, but no details have been shared yet.
Zuckerberg also said that the company will extend its policy not to travel for work until June 2020 at least and that it intends to extend smart working for the "vast majority of employees" at least until the end of May. Facebook has already canceled this year's F8 developer conference scheduled for May 5-6, and today's announcement means that F8 won't take place (if not virtually) next year either.
The latest announcement from the CEO of the Menlo Park company implies that Oculus Connect, which is usually held in September, will also be canceled: "When the company finally begins to return to normal, it will have to do it slowly in rhythmic waves to make sure that people returning to work can do it safely and minimize the possibility of future outbreaks," reads Zuckerberg's post.
The same also commented that according to health experts "for some time it will not be advisable to bring groups of people together". June 2021 is a date very far from today, but it is clear that the strong choice of Facebook – which follows that of Microsoft – can set a precedent and encourage other companies to do the same.
In short, it is likely that live tech events decrease dramatically even in the "post-coronavirus" period favoring the promotion of products online with live streaming events that can be followed by all fans.
