Search
Recommended Products
Related Links


 

 

Informative Articles

Edit-able Art
Ways to Edit Art Graphics If you’re an individual who’s someone less than an art graphics expert, you might think that a good piece of digital art is just something that didn’t take as much as a drop of sweat from digital artists. You might think...

PcAnywhere
If you've ever managed or had to deal with more than one computer system, then you've undoubtedly wanted to be able to control one remotely at one time or another. In my job, my staff and I manage about a thousand computer systems (servers and...

Redirect Worms Away
My site is hosted on an Apache web server. Why is that? Because, in my humble opinion, Microsoft's IIS web server is in no way qualified to service internet web sites (it is excellent as an intranet and applications server, however). Another reason...

Risks Of Desktop Software - 1
This is the second in a series of articles highlighting reasons why we need a new model for anti-virus and security solutions. Reason #2: the Desktop Security Software Risks The risks of placing software on the desktop are such that I...

Your PC can contribute with Google Compute
Have you heard of the SETI Project? SETI stands for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, and the project is operated by the University of California at Berkeley. SETI monitors and processes radio signals from space, looking for possible...

 
Google
Web Conferencing - What is it?

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: web conferencing software, choosing a web conferencing tool and internet conferencing.