In some states there are pushes to allow corporations to conduct their shareholders meetings online. At first blush this seems like a boon to shareholders, as it will allow more people to the details of the meeting therefore democratizing access.

However, some shareholders are balking, claiming that the ability to confront executives face to face is crucial for a part owner of a company.

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Whaddayouthink?

-JP

I dunno. Sounds like a Business Beat topic to me.

Seriously, I sometimes listen in to conference calls with analysts when I hold a stake in the company or if they are important in my industry. Those calls impact the company's stock performance than any silly annual meeting, which in most cases is a silly vestige of a period when the percentage of stock ownership was MUCH lower.

I have no problem at all with online annual meetings and would actually attend some - or at least keep a browser window open - more often.

Our company does both: We have a live interactive webcast of our shareholder meetings. This way, people can be face-to-face with the board, or they can still participate if they cannot make it to Little Rock.
I feel that this will be the future that more and more companies follow this trend...