Web Video Conferencing & Webinars

The interface of audio and video, called web cam chat conferencing or video conferencing, allows people in different locations to come together. Whether it is a point-to-point conversation between two people in different locations, or a multi-point conversation between large groups in several locations, video web cam conferencing utilizes audio and video mediums to transmit meeting activities. Not only does it transmit meeting activities, it shares whiteboards, documents and computer-displayed information.

Webinars are now becoming the new choice in web conferencing. Accessible to almost anyone with an internet connection, a webinar will allow you to hold interactive meetings as many times as you need to at practically no cost.? Compare that to the time, travel and conference hall expenses you?re used to, and suddenly someone?s bottom line is a little healthier!

The key to holding a successful webinar is in the preparation. While technically quite easy to pull off and inexpensive enough for anyone claiming to be in business to afford, holding a successful webinar is not a sure thing. You need to remember that while you?re not on stage directly in front of them, you?re still very much in the spotlight, and all the things that would apply in a traditional presentation still matter here. You need to be very prepared, with no fumbling or stumbling over your material. Your reach may extend even further with a webinar than a traditional event, and if it?s recorded, (as it should be!) it can be a marketing tool for some time to come.

In terms of promoting your webinar start early! Invariably things will come up and you?ll be better off than starting a few days before your event. Make sure you have your squeeze page ready, your autoresponder loaded. Make it as easy as possible on your guests and present them with good material, and you?ll have them begging for more. If you?re holding the webinar with a well-known or busy speaker, be sure to book their time as early as possible and give them all the material they need to be as well-versed as you when the time comes to present the webinar.

Deciding on the visuals you need for your webinar is something best not left to the last minute either. A great Powerpoint or video presentation takes some time to prepare, so get to it!

VideoSeminarLive has all the technical bells and whistles you?ll need. Costs are extremely affordable and within reach of the smallest of businesses. The decision on whether to charge for the event is up to you and you will need to decide if it?s worth it to make a few bucks up front. Using the PayPal plugin will make charging for your events as easy as ever and is all part of the registration process.

A webinar in the right hands is a thing of beauty. Get your head out of the sand and skyrocket your businesses fortunes with the frequent use of webinars!

Sign up today: www.VideoSeminarLive.com

You don’t have to live your life in an airport. Technology has made our lives much simpler, allowing us to enjoy the finer things in life.

By JOE SHARKEY

WILLIAM A. ALLEN III has deplaned, returned the rental car and unpacked the suitcase he always kept ready to roll at home in Raleigh, N.C.

Mr. Allen, business traveler extraordinaire, is off the road. ?I don?t want to do it anymore. I?m going to be 61 in April, and I?ve had it,? he said.

Mr. Allen is a consultant who often flew 200,000 miles in a year. He enjoys top-level elite status at airlines, hotels and rental car companies. I first met him four years ago at a Hilton Garden Inn across the road from Los Angeles International Airport.

Back then, I noticed that the hotel manager treated him like visiting royalty. Would you like a drink, Mr. Allen? How is your room? Is there anything we can do for you?

That was because Mr. Allen had earned some level of loyalty status that most of us never even heard of. But, he told me, he didn?t like to consider what he had done to earn it ? including five nights a week on the road, 50 weeks a year for 31 years.

I spoke with him a few days ago by cellphone. He was with his two children, ages 5 and 10, at a playground. It was a Friday, which in the old days was when he would be stuck in some dreary airport, hoping to make a connection home for some time with the family before dragging himself back to the airport on Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Allen is not retiring from his consulting job. He is merely retiring from the business travel grind. And I hope the travel industry is paying attention because a new era is dawning. Cheap technology is part of the reason, along with a profound weariness with the chronic indignities, inconveniences and expenses of air travel.

Last year, Mr. Allen and a small group of other road-weary consultants he knows from all over the country formed an informal network linked mostly by videoconferencing technology. They were enabled by the proliferation of cheap (and sometimes even free) social networking tools ? wikis, podcasts, and computer video and teleconferencing systems like Skype and ooV00.

Now, I am someone who knows how to turn on the cable television only by stabbing randomly at buttons on three remote controls until I get picture and sound. But even I have embraced some technological advances. I?m currently in the Arizona desert working on a book, and my wife, at home near New York, set us up with Skype. Every night, we videoconference, and that includes input from our two parrots, both of whom talk to me while looking at the camera. Yes, I am videoconferencing with birds.

So I would say the revolution is here. For 10 years, videoconferencing was the next big thing that did not happen. But lately, it has finally been getting some traction. Big companies have made big investments in fancy videoconferencing systems. But at the same time, a technological initiative was being driven from the bottom up.

Right now, technology budgets are being slashed. Travel spending is down sharply. Hotels are struggling, and airlines cannot cut capacity fast enough to keep up with sagging demand.

The consulting business is in a slump, but the need for consulting assistance is still there as companies try to figure out how to dig out of this mess with fewer employees.

?We know how to implement strategies, and now we?re figuring out a way to use these Web 2.0 tools work for us,? Mr. Allen said of the business plan that he and his colleagues were trying to develop. Once they get rolling, they plan to evangelize clients to transform hierarchal technology cultures.

?We?re talking mostly about the productivity benefits of using Web 2.0 tools,? Mr. Allen said. ?The ancillary benefit is the ability to cut down on business travel. People will still need to travel, but not at the levels we did.?

He, for one, harbors no illusions about life on the road. ?Years ago, it was always amusing to me to hire a new consultant just out of grad school, and they were all gung-ho, like ?Hey, I?m going to make 1K on United!??? he said, referring to United Airlines? top-level elite status, earned by flying 100,000 miles in a year.

?And then after a few years they all start to sound like me. Like, ?Oh, man, I?m sitting in O?Hare for 12 hours and they won?t put me on another flight till tomorrow,??? he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/business/24road.html?_r=1&ref=business

I read an interesting article today about the first place agencies cut as their budgets tighten. Not surprisingly, it is the travel portion.

Everyone knows that travel is expensive but what we don’t always account for is the total time lost. Calling a cab, going to the airport, waiting at the airport, getting the hotel, etc, etc. etc.

In all reality, travel, if not planned and executed properly, can be a very ineffective use of money, with a very low ROI.

In today’s world and especially in our current economy, we need more effective and much cheaper ways to communicate, without giving away all of the bonuses of the face to face meeting. This is where web based video conferencing has taken off. As companies large and small realize they have to cut certain places to survive, yet continue to market, webinars and online meetings have become much more of a standard. Savvy marketing agencies haven given up, rather found new, innovative ways to continue to generate leads.

There has never been a better time to start learning about webinars and video conferencing than now. Check out VideoSeminarLive.com Now.

Check out these numbers for marketing firms.

Marketers are undertaking more drastic cost-cutting measures now than they projected even six months ago.

The January?February 2009 survey found that 77% of marketers plan to cut advertising campaign media budgets; 72% plan to cut ad campaign production budgets; and 68% have mandated that agency partners identify additional cuts.

Ad and media agency executives seemed poised for belt-tightening in August, when 63% of them told Reardon Smith Whittaker that the economy had already had a ?somewhat negative impact? on their agency, and 14% took an even darker view.

They were right to be gloomy.

Clearly, agencies are feeling the pain. According to analysis by Advertising Age based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US advertising and media sector cut 18,700 jobs in December alone.

See the full article here: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006929

Real Stories, Real People

Marge hasn?t seen her husband or her daughter for four years now. She left her country behind for greener pastures. But now, thanks to benefits of video-conferencing, she can see through a tiny monitor her little daughter?s face and beautiful little reminders of home.

Debbie is studying culinary arts in Paris. She will be getting her certificate in a month. This will be a very occasion for her, and although her mom and dad are half a world away in Bangkok, she knows the benefits of videoconferencing. Her family can see her as she walks up that podium to accept her certificate.

Mike has fallen deeply in love with a girl halfway around the world, and though they haven?t seen each other face to face, he knows how she looks. This, he knows, is one benefit of video conferencing. It brings him glimpses of his sweetheart through a 21-inch video screen.

The benefits of videoconferencing, particularly in bridging families and connecting lives, have been nothing short of staggering. It’s very cost-effective, so people do not have to spend expensive airfare, or take unnecessary vacations. Airfare and time off work might seem little things at first, but like debt, they accumulate. You just might find yourself frittering away your pension or kissing that promotion goodbye after taking one trip too many to, say, Amsterdam.

Real Time, Face to Face

Another benefit of videoconferencing is real-time face to face communication. Experts believe communication of this nature is crucial to the continuity and vitality of any kind of relationship. Too often, distance has resulted in broken families and broken engagements. a relationship, all integral components have to be present ? constant contact, emotional connection, kinship through shared blood ties and interests. Videoconferencing narrows the location gap. In so doing, it strengthens relationships.

Love, from Across the Seas

Today, expatriates, overseas workers, travelers, and migrants can connect to their loved ones with a click of a button. That they’re able to do this at all is priceless, and is yet another to how greatly humanity has enjoyed the benefits of videoconferencing. After all, no matter who we are, what we do, or where we are at present, we all have families we wish to come home to.

Understandably, video interaction is a poor substitute for physical contact. Thirty minutes spent talking is nothing compared to a hug. When you’re in Africa and your family is in Canada, however, video interaction is as important a lifeline and emails. More than just giving us the means to hear and be heard, videoconferencing helps us celebrate family and the concept of belonging. It helps us reaffirm ties that exist in our minds and hearts.

So, whether you’re in a quaint little bistro in Paris, or knee-deep in snow in an alpine village, or driving massive trucks under a sweltering Dubai sun, videoconferencing can bring you home – if only for an hour or a minute.

Original Post: http://www.msokorea.com/relationships/0,6600,336861,00.html

Audio Visual Systems can be very imperative in protecting your company?s future. It is essential to recall that communication is perhaps the most essential asset of your company, as it will permit you to blend your company personnel with each other. More importantly, you will be able to communicate and connect with your branch companies, sister companies and even with your clients who may want to get audio visual support from you. Therefore, as you can see, the possibilities are endless, as there are many things that you can do to expand your video conferencing capabilities.

The usage of audio visual communications will dramatically increase productivity, effectiveness and contact with clients. With advancements in technology, now it is easier than ever to connect via video with colleagues and clients from all over the world.? With video conferencing, you can have meetings real time and online anywhere and at anytime. With the progresses in Internet technology and with satellite communications technology, now it is simpler than ever to do video conferencing. You can host online meetings with your sellers, as well as your clients and other company personnel members.

Using a system that is 100% browser based takes away all the hassles of normal audio visual installs of your video conferencing system. With on-shore technical support and a system that has an industry leading easy-to-use interface, you will be shocked at how fast you will be up and going.

Business is all about getting your message over to buyers in a clear and professional way. In this day and age, businesses have to make the most of the high standard of technology that is around to replace the old styles of talking in business, marketing and promotion. Businesses that succeed usually are up to date with all the new effective and efficient communication elements that are taking businesses by storm, don’t get left behind.

It doesn’t matter whether you are just an individual or a multi-national business, getting the maximum benefit from online technology is important in business and it costs less than many people think.

The types of online technology start with simple online meeting tools that are safe and secure. Think how much you would have to spend to send a representative to a business conference of meeting. Think how much it would scrape away at your business profits if the conference or meeting were based abroad.? It’s not just a matter of travel expenses, but hotel accommodation and other incidental costs such as car hire/taxi and of course you still have to pay a salary or wages on top of this. You will also be short of manpower at work with the absentee away. Then there is the cost to the environment using up precious time and energy traveling, this is also important.

What are the options? Video and web conferencing and online meetings. Face-to-face online meetings at the click of a mouse button are the new answer to? saving your business money. For many businesses, web collaboration is the answer to many if not all-inherent business expenses that are conventionally ploughed in to such events.

Don’t get left behind and still conform to old practices and 20th Century ways, the online tools are available now and ready to use. Online business and online conferencing is the way forward. Soon these form of online business meetings and conferencing will be the norm.

Don’t worry if you haven’t hopped on board. There is still time. If you would like to learn more we recommend our starter’s guide. You can download it here:? http://www.videoseminarlive.com/webconferenceguide.html

If you would like to demo the browser based system for 14 days, you can do that here: https://www.videoseminarlive.com/try_free.aspx

A great definition of the difference between two terms that are not that well understood.

You can see the Original post by Ken here:

http://wsuccess.typepad.com/webinarblog/2009/02/is-webcasting-a-collaborative-term.html

I was listening to a vendor webinar this week and a question came in from the audience asking about the differences in terminology that are used to describe web-based online events. Is a webinar different from a webcast? Is it the same as a web conference? Why do some people say web seminar?

The presenter at first focused on the terms the audience member had asked about and said that “web seminar” is synonymous with “webinar.” This is certainly true. Webinar was coined as a shorthand contraction for web seminar.

Then the speaker went a step further and intimated that “web event,” “webcast,” “webinar,” and “web conference” were all synonymous since the industry hadn’t really settled on any standards for usage. I will admit that you can find many instances where people use the terms interchangeably, but I think we can and should choose more exact meanings for these terms so customers and vendors can communicate clearly when talking about their requirements and product offerings.

Here are the distinctions I have gleaned from my experiences in covering and serving the web-based collaboration space.

“Web conferencing” is often used as an umbrella term for all web-based collaboration between two or more people over the Internet. As such, it may encompass webcasts or webinars depending on the context. But more specifically, web conferencing usually refers to interactive collaboration in work groups, such as brainstorming sessions between employees working on a new business strategy or product design. A typical web conference involves a relatively small number of participants, perhaps 15 as a maximum. Everybody is expected to contribute to the flow of ideas and information. You sometimes see the term “web meeting” used in exactly the same context.

Technology features important in web conferences may include the ability for all participants to mark up documents or images. Some web conferencing software lets the users capture virtual flipcharts with notes entered by the attendees during the course of the meeting. Keyboard entry for chat is usually open forum and everyone on the conference can see and respond to what anybody else types. It is analogous to an open telephone call.

A “webcast” refers to information dispersed to a large audience via the Internet. It might be just a simple audio stream, or it might include visual aids, such as PowerPoint slides, recorded video clips, or live software demonstrations. In the United States, many large public companies webcast the audio from their investor calls each quarter to review financial results and provide a commentary from management. Some sports teams now webcast their games. Special events such as fashion shows may be webcast withlive video and audio. Webcasting is typically a one-way flow of information, where the audience cannot contribute to the content.

When looking at webcasting technology, companies are usually interested in the capacity for handling large numbers of viewers. Ease of connection and flexibility in supporting many different computer systems is also important.

A “webinar” expands the idea of a webcast into a more interactive format. The experience attempts to reproduce the benefits of attending a live seminar. Audience members can ask questions of the presenter, the speaker can survey or poll the audience and get feedback as he or she delivers the information.

Webinar technology providers need to support these interactive elements in addition to the basic delivery of the audio and video streams. Many software packages also include the ability to schedule events with automated registration for attendees. Some integrate billing and payment processing as well, to support seminars that have registration fees. Keyboard chat features and Q&A are usually subject to more control, where the presenters can see messages from the audience and choose whether to broadcast themto all participants, ignore them, or reply privately.

A “web event” could mean any of the previous three terms, but in common usage it most often refers to a one-to-many presentation such as a public webcast or webinar. It is unusual to refer to a collaborative group session as an “event.”

Is internet web conferencing something as great as marketers say it is? In this article, we will discuss the disadvantages and advantages of internet web conferencing.

We begin with the advantages.

#1 – Anyone can use internet web conferencing software to communicate with others. While you only have audio with a phone conference, a conference through the internet allows you to feel like you?re in the same room with the people you?re talking to.

#2 – Using modern internet technology, people can talk to each other using live video software. In our current age, people can talk and see each other even if they?re thousands of miles apart.

#3 – You can interpret their facial expressions and body language just like they would in a normal face to face conversation. You can put a face on the person you?re talking to even if they?re far away from you.

A great problem when you do an audio conference is that you?re not able to put a face to the voice you?re hearing. Not unless you already know him in person. That?s why with audio conferences you need to tell people who you are, but they might have a problem knowing who is talking if they can?t see you.

You no longer have this problem if you?re using internet web conferencing. You don?t need to spend time letting others know who is talking, you can just talk and they will know who speaks to them.

#4 – Another form of doing internet conferencing is the use of stored video. What I mean by that is that people need to show other people a video in some cases, to make them understand their point better. Internet meetings allow for such videos to be presented.

You can show others any video you want them to watch during your presentation.

#5 – At www.VideoSeminarLive.com we provide the option to record the entire conference so you can simply send it to other colleagues or clients who cannot attend the video conference.

Disadvantages of Web Based Conferencing.

#1 – You need a steady internet connection. If you are still on dial-up, web based conferencing or internet conferencing will be nothing short of frustrating.

In short, you can see that the advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages. Take Internet Video Conferencing for a try today:

https://www.videoseminarlive.com/try_free.aspx