My opinion, it was pretty darn good. I didn't spend my Covid isolation watching a lot of online demos/webinars, so I didn't approach this Virtual Symposium with burn-out, or already having seen many too many. Other than the 2020 Virtual Symposium, Laurent Niclot was the only online demo/webinar I watched. I gladly spent mine time creating new work without any interruptions.
Like had been pointed out previously, the ability to see what you cannot during a live demo is a big plus for me; being able to back up and view it multiple times to analyze and commit to memory is important to being able to 'do' what you saw demonstrated. I always enjoy the panel discussions at the AAW Symposium, and this year's was just as good as all the previous ones.
I watched Rebecca DeGroot's demo for one reason - to see what was involved in adding the use of resin in your work. After watching it, I decided that it wasn't something I would do in my future work. So for me, it was worth it to see someone who spent the time experimenting - and failing - to get the successful results desired. And she showed the failures, because it is important in the learning/teaching process. And Rebecca's demo was excellent! She and her moderator, Jeff Hornung were the perfect pairing of humor and education. Jeff seemed to anticipate what Rebecca would need and have the link, website, name, etc. sometimes before she asked him for it. If you didn't see the demo, I highly recommend it.
I visited the Trade Show, popped in on Joe Fleming's live session on airbrushing, bought a Cindy Drozda magnetic LED light, bought a tool from MDI Woodcarver's supply, and noticed they carry a new micro-motor carver that has a handpiece with a 1/4" capacity shank!!! Putting that on my Christmas list this year.
I missed the personal contact - don't we all? But it will make next year's Symposium in TN all the more special.