The Language of Illness
€19.99The launch of Fergus Shanahan’s #TheLanguageofIllness, via #MicrosoftTeams, went swimmingly, all things considered. I initially went to the wrong place: like an actor going to sit in the audience, rather than waiting in the wings for their call. But after that, all was well. Sally Cudmore from #APCMicrobiome introduced; Mary Horgan, President of the #RCPI, did the honours.
There were some minor glitches – but then, you get those in real life too. But the possibilities of the new technology are legion. Hundreds of people were there – more than you’d get in even a large room – from all over the world. They could ask questions. There were no catering costs. It was at a civilised hour (at least for Europe). Best of all, you could watch it all back later: https://lnkd.in/erXbWrT
It wasn’t easy for people to buy the book (you can remedy that here: https://lnkd.in/ejx2Szn), there was no signing of copies, and old friends couldn’t be reunited – all things which make the Irish #booklaunch an institution (much like a wedding or funeral). But overall, it was less fraught than most such events I’ve been involved in over the years. We’ll be doing it again.
As #OscarWilde put it: “The value of the telephone is the value of what two people have to say.”