Web Conferencing, Webinars and Webcasting - Oh My!

With all the "telecom talk" out today, it's easy for those new to the telecommunications industry to get caught up or confused with certain terms. This article will distinguish the differences between Web Conferences, Webinars and Webcasting.

A web conference is a virtual online meeting room that can be entered via software or simply a web browser. In a web conference you can conduct PowerPoint presentations, share files and documents, even share your desktop with participants. Each web conferencing provider offers its own individual set of features depending upon the service you select, however the majority include collaboration tools such as whiteboards, and sub-conferences where you can speak with select participants privately throughout the duration of the conference. Often during web conferences the host can pass control over to another participant. One of the biggest benefits of web conferencing is the fact that you can view your host and participants via webcam. This allows you and your audience to communicate face-to-face with one another, and gives you the advantage of being able to read both the presenter's and the participant's body language and alter your meeting to keep interest and engagement strong - something you cannot do on an audio conference call. While web conferences work for both large and small groups, they are generally not ideal for vast numbers of participants, simply because it would be very difficult to collaborate with and view everyone effectively.

A webinar is essentially a seminar delivered in real-time via the Internet that is often used to conduct presentations, trainings, and regular meetings. Most webinars require specific software to be downloaded prior to use, and provide features similar to web conferences, such as file sharing, polling, Q&A sessions, and chat capabilities; however unlike a web conference you cannot see the host or participants. A webinar is more suited toward a lecture setting with larger groups and content coming from only one presenter. Additional tools frequently used in webinars include email reminders to enhance attendance, registration pages to be filled out prior to the meeting to collect participant information, and source tracking URLs to monitor how attendees are accessing your webinar, and departure surveys for capturing your audience's feedback quickly at the end of your webinar.

Webcasts include real-time or on-demand presentations that are streamed over the web and frequently include coordinated PowerPoint slides. Ideal for bigger audiences that can include thousands of participants, webcasting is considered a 'one-to-many' type of transmission with a single speaker or panel of speakers that present to an audience. One of the biggest benefits of a webcast is that it does not require participants to download software because it is browser-based, and the audience can listen via headphones or speakers. Generally speaking, webcasts are professionally produced and includes a great number of interactive features, such as social media sharing, polling, and question and answer tools.

Andy Jacobs
For more details please visit: http://www.conferenceshopper.com/

How to Select the Best Web Conferencing Service for Your Business

Today's conferencing market is flooded with not only thousands of web conferencing providers, but an even greater number of web conferencing services, making it difficult to sift through the masses to find the best pick for your unique business needs. Luckily, our team came up with a few steps to take in order to ensure you find the correct provider and service(s) for your business.

To start, you should understand your options. Web conferencing solutions are diverse - most offer the same general features, however some offer specialized features exclusive to that provider. For example, typical features most web conference providers offer include:

Desktop and file sharing - essential to any successful web conference, desktop and file sharing help ensure all of your participants are on the same page and viewing relevant information while you present
Management options - include automatic reminders, email templates, and follow-ups to take the stress out of planning and assembling a conference; some providers even offer integration with Microsoft Outlook to simplify scheduling meetings and distributing invites
Conference recording - for participants unable to attend due to illness, time differences, or any other reason, you can record your live meeting and make it available for playback at a future date
Whiteboarding - allows participants to collaborate in real-time with one another by drawing or writing on a virtual whiteboard
Private sub-conferences - let you speak privately with only the attendees you choose (for example, if you are hosting a web conference with one of your business's satellite offices and a prospective client, you can privately speak with your satellite branch in real-time without disrupting the presentation
Instant feedback - surveys, polling, and question and answer sessions provide you with quick feedback, at the conclusion of your conference, some providers also offer reports and individualized statistics

Where conferencing providers and their services differ most is in regards to the maximum number of participants allowed during a conference; often subscription based services limit the maximum number of participants allowed in each meeting. Services like InterCall Unified Meeting provide web conferencing for small groups from 2 to 125, while WebEx Event Center, for example, accommodates up to 3,000 participants.

It is also important to find out what software each provider and their services require. Ideally you should look for something that works with what you already have. If you're starting from scratch then you should determine what software you prefer to use daily, and find a service that can support it.

When it comes time to make the big decision, go over everything you've discovered about your prospective web conferencing candidates and narrow down the list as much as possible. Once you get down to a handful of services/providers look for reviews - there's no shortage of opinions out in the market, and while you should take each with a grain of salt, they can offer some very interesting and informative points that could be pertinent to you and your needs.

Andy Jacobs
For more details pls. visit: http://www.conferenceshopper.com/

Green Benefits of Conferencing Services

Many consumers today are looking for solutions that are not only beneficial to their business, but to the environment as well. It's no surprise that all types ofconferencing - audio, video, and web - are convenient and cost-efficient, but what most people don't know is that they also offer many environmental benefits that your business could then advertise to attract more eco-friendly customers.

Standard advantages of conferencing:

1. Less waste - conferencing extends the life of your toner cartridges, printers, etc. by requiring fewer materials to be printed and distributed. Since most of the information is available online (especially in the case of a web or video conference), materials can be saved on a participant's computer and only need to be printed when completely necessary.

2. Less paper - as mentioned above, since meeting content can be downloaded, presented and distributed online, much less paper is used - and more forest trees can breathe a sigh of relief.

3. Less travel - with the advanced conferencing tools and features offered on the market today, businesses can take advantage of services that offer quality that rivals in-person meetings; this leads to less travel, a smaller carbon footprint, and a happy ozone layer.

While those three advantages are reason enough for a business to begin employing conferencing services, they can also translate into further benefits for you, your employees, and ultimately your customers. For example:

1. You can advertise your 'green' activities to both current and prospective customers. How this type of advertising affects their decision is difficult to measure; however, in a world where many more people are becoming increasingly active towards working with organizations that promote eco-friendly activity, it certainly won't hurt and will more than likely positively influence a buyer's decision.

2. You can donate your extra office supplies to a school or non-profit organization. If you currently employ conferencing services, try and determine the number of toner cartridges, reams of paper, etc. that you are saving thanks to online content delivery methods. If you can afford to do so, donate extras to a local school or non-profit organization - remember that a little can go a long way, especially in economic times like these.

3. You can give back to your employees. Time and expenses that would have previously been put toward business travel can now be used for volunteer or family days for your staff. Determine how much money and time you are saving thanks to conferencing services, and give it (or a portion of it) back to your team in the form of company-wide volunteer days, family days, or special days, such as birthdays, off. It will act as a great morale booster and can make a significant impact on how your employees work on a regular basis - especially during these tough times.

Andy Jacobs
For more details please visit: http://www.conferenceshopper.com/

How Audio, Video, and Web Conferencing Can Benefit Your Business

The most successful businesses are always on the lookout for ways to cut costs, especially in these tough economic times. Conferencing - whether audio, video, or web conferencing - is arguably one of the most simple and proficient ways for a business to cost-efficiently connect with different branches, employees and customers effectively.

Flexible enough to work with your existing phone lines and computers,audio conferencing you're your attendees dial-in to your conference call from any location to participate. Depending upon the provider you select, you will have a range of audio conferencing features (for example, InterCall Reservationless Plus offers easy scheduling via Outlook, online account and call management, the ability to join a call via iPhone or Blackberry, as well as instant access and multiple languages to select for your system prompts).

Web conferencing is particularly economical because it provides you with the quality of in-person meetings without requiring all attendees to be face-to-face in the same meeting room. Gone are the days of trying to link up with your geographically dispersed employees or customer's hectic work schedules! A virtual web conference room allows you to share your documents, presentations, and even your desktop in real-time, which also cuts down on your company's paper consumption. This, in turn, shrinks your business's carbon footprint, making you more eco-friendly - which is becoming a big incentive for current and potential customers to choose your company over the competition.

Another benefit of web conferences is that they can be recorded and stored for future playback at any time. This can come in handy when conducting meetings, trainings, or presentations to employees or clients in various time zones. Moreover, any participants who might have missed your conference because of an illness or emergency, or even those who attended the real-time conference that would like to go back and re-visit the information for improved retention can do so at their leisure.

And the benefits don't stop there! Your company can use previously recorded web conferences to help fill in any potential missing information or gaps that were not recorded on the official record or minutes. Storing your conferences in your digital archive provides an ever-evolving record that can be used to track your records in addition to your business's long term goal progress.

Conferencing of any type - be it audio, video, or web - is an ideal solution for bringing your staff and customers together in a streamlined, efficient, and economical manner to work toward common goals.

Smith Jones
For more details pls. visit:
http://www.conferencingshopper.com/