INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Google IO 2020, which was slated to run from May 12-14, has been canceled over coronavirus concerns
The physical event, anyway, as it might live on in digital form."Over the coming weeks, [Google] will explore other ways to evolve Google IO
to best connect with our developer community" according to an official statement emailed to confirmed attendees, which tech expert Nate
Harris tweeted (below):The Google Developers twitter account swiftly followed up with a tweet of its own confirming the cancellation of the
physical event, and pointed to the official Google IO 2020 site which posted the same statement that was previously emailed out to attendees
View, which will support small businesses and, curiously, also go toward efforts to increase STEM and computer science opportunities in
Mountain View schools, according to TechCrunch.While this means a physical event won't be held, Google IO 2020 could still go on as a
digital conference - an emerging alternative as the threat of a spreading coronavirus has pushed events like MWC 2020 to cancel outright and
Heck, even Google's own Cloud Next switched to an online-only show, along with other enterprise events like Microsoft MVP and Adobe Summit
anyone who purchased tickets will get a full refund by March 13, 2020, per the statement
Google confirmed to Verge executive editor Dieter Bohn that Google IO 2020 would still be held physically, and had been notifying ticket
winners in the days leading up
But with more corporations pulling out of events over coronavirus concerns, it's possible Google saw the writing on the wall and chose to
give attendees more notice for IO - before they did it anyway as the virus spreads.
