Web Conferencing is, very simply, a meeting, conference or seminar that is held
over the World Wide Web. Web conferencing can refer to audio, video or text-based
conversations and are conducted in real-time.
Web conferencing is an incredibly useful resource for anyone who trades within
a global market place. It literally allows you to be in two places at once –
sitting at home or in your office whilst conducting a meeting with someone one
the other side of the world.
In its simplest form web conferencing can take the form of free downloads such
as Microsoft NetMeeting or Yahoo Messenger. Subscribers can participate in text-based
‘chats’, inviting others into their conversations and being able to communication
in real-time. Add a simple digital camera to this equation and you have the beginnings
of an elementary web conferencing application.
At the other end of the scale, the most sophisticated applications allow seminars
and presentations to be made to hundreds of delegates at the same time. Meetings
can be fully interactive, allowing question and answer sessions, the sharing
of files and documents and slide show presentations to be broadcast.
What Can I Do With Web Conferencing?
How you choose to use web conferencing will very much depend upon your line of
work. A webinar (an online seminar) is less interactive than a web meeting, but
is a very effective means of presenting sales pitches, performance reviews and
delivering staff training.
A web meeting on the other hand, can be fully interactive not only in terms of
audio and video but also by allowing the sharing of documents and files and viewing
them online.
What is Online Collaboration?
Online collaboration is an excellent resource for project management, especially
when team members are located in different geographical locations. Online collaboration
provides an advanced level of document management and file sharing. Documents
and files can be viewed, modified and updated online and in real time.
What Are The Benefits Of Web Conferencing?
The main benefits of web conferencing are to be found in terms of time and money
savings. The need for travel is greatly reduced, and therefore so are the associated
costs of travel – tickets, accommodation, subsistence, to name but a few. Employees
spend less time waiting for flights, travel or just generally being away from
their desk and therefore have more time to spend productively.
Enhanced communication is another benefit of web conferencing. Where colleagues
could perhaps only meet face to face a few times a year, for example, web conferencing
allows them to meet on a daily basis, if required. With people talking more,
work gets done more efficiently and more accurately.
How Much Does It Cost?
The cost of web conferencing depends on how sophisticated an application you
need. Low-level, one-to-one systems can be set up these days for virtually nothing.
The most advanced systems, unsurprisingly, can run into thousands of dollars.
Careful research, however, and thoughtful analysis of what you need from a web
conferencing system can allow you to budget accordingly and match a system to
your needs. The chances are, if you are spending money on travel then you will
recoup the cost of your web conferencing software over time.
Diane Parker is a web content writer who specializes in internet related topics. Her conferencing articles include: http://www.conferencing-in-the-web.com/, http://www.conferencing-in-the-web.com/web-conferencing-tool.html and http://www.conferencing-in-the-web.com/internet-conferencing.html
[tags]webinar, web conferencing[/tags]
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