July 25, 2019 Michael Mayday
At ON24, we take pride in our community of webinar experts. We call them “webinerds.” To celebrate the best of the webinar elite, we’re highlighting one true #webinerd every other week. In this edition of “Meet the Webinerd,” we chat with longtime ON24 aficionado, Tyler Hershberger, and how he makes use of webinars.
Tyler Hershberger is the Production Director at Jackson Systems, an HVAC controls distributor based out of Indianapolis, Indiana. As a supplier to local contractors, Jackson Systems is in a uniquely optimal space to educate its clients on the latest HVAC controls and more. In fact, the company partners with NATE, an industrial association that provides certifications to technicians who pass their exam.
As the Production Director, Tyler heads the company’s webinar and virtual training program (which he has discussed extensively with us in the past here, here and here). We asked him a few questions about his experience with ON24. Here’s what he had to say:
Q&A With Tyler Hershberger
To you, what does it mean to be a webinerd?
TH: I take pride in the quality of both the content and experience of all my events. One definition of nerd is “a single-minded expert in a particular technical field.” To that end, I have dedicated much of my time over the last four years to master the art of web broadcasting. I squarely fit this definition of a “Nerd,” and since my vehicle of delivery is the web, I wear the moniker of Webinerd proudly.
What app or tool can you not live without?
TH: My knife. It is the one thing I have on me 99% of the time (even more than my phone). If we are talking apps, it would have to be my maps/navigation app. Having the peace of mind of never being truly lost is invaluable. Plus, I spend way less time in the car guessing what route will be the fastest then being wrong.
If we are talking webinar land, I could not live without Wirecast and the ON24 Broadcast module. With those two things, I can craft a truly amazing learning experience.
When you’re not in the office, you’re…
TH: Either at home with my family working on projects or in the woods with my boys throwing rocks into a stream. They are currently two and four – rocks and water can entertain them for hours. For hobbies, I fly drones, play frisbee golf, and go out Ballroom/Swing/Latin dancing with my wife.
What is one of your career highlights? What are you most proud of in your career thus far?
One of my career highlights was speaking at Webinar World 2019. In a past profession, I was in adult education. It was fun to marry my current passion for web broadcasting and a past skill of speaking/training. Another career high was running camera for the Big Ten Network at a Purdue Vs. Ohio St. night football game. Both teams were undefeated, and the energy was insane. I love live broadcasting. This has held true throughout my career.
What has made me proud is my team at church. I am also the Tech Director for a 4-year-old mobile church and manage a team of 15 volunteers to set up, run, then tear down the Audio, Lights, and Video each Sunday. The way they have grown and can execute their positions without the need for micromanaging has been very rewarding.
What do you love about ON24?
TH: The flexibility to craft the end-users’ experience to best suit the audience. I can create a training that is highly engaging and easy to use at the same time. This has never been done to this extent in my industry. I love how easy it is to interact with ON24 staffers. They are invested in your success.
How has the ON24 webinerd community helped you?
TH: For a lot of us running a webinar program, we are lone soldiers or working with a small team. It can be overwhelming to have all that responsibility squarely on us, and then having no one to turn to with experience can be isolating. It’s like walking around in a foreign country unable to speak the language, lost, trying to find your way.
That has changed with the introduction of the webinerd community. Now suddenly you hear a group of people speaking your language. You are drawn to them and find out they are going to the same place you are. With the help of that group, you arrive at your destination and experience the wonders of that culture more richly. We are all in the same boat, working through the same issues, with the same tools each day. The ON24 community not only is a place to talk shop, but a means to deliver better content to your audience.