Free Ways to use Web Conferencing to grow your business

Web conferencing has become a popular means of commuincating with customers and potential customers over the internet. It reduces the need for travel and saves everyone time. There are a number of companies that provide these services. Some are free and many involve a fee. Here we define the terms used and includes a resource list for web conferencing, webinars, webcasts, and podcasts.

Web conferencing is when you conduct a LIVE meeting or presentation using the Internet (many to many interaction). In a web conference, you sit at your computer and are connected to others in the meeting via the internet.

A webinar is a one-way web conference (speaker to audience) but can include questions & answer sessions.

A webcast is the transmission of non-interactive audio or video content over the internet (speaker to audience).

A podcast is a series of audio or video files that are downloadable from the web. It is an acronym for Portable On-Demand Broadcast.

A teleconference or teleseminar is the live exchange of information among many remote people via a telecommunications system.

Tips for Web Conferencing:

• Hold a live webinar.
• Record your webinar and make available as a webcast or podcast.
• Record your webinar and post the audio or slideshow to share with customers or potential customers.

Resources: Web Conferencing (most of these are fee based)

• Vyew – FREE! With Vyew you can conduct meetings in real time using a shared workspace, webcam, voice over IP (VoIP), free teleconferencing, text chat and desktop sharing. In addition to uploading, sharing and presenting content you can invite participants to annotate and collaborate on content during the meeting. Participants can be allowed to navigate the workspace independently to collaborate on different portions of the content. You can also record the meeting for playback.
• Glance - up to 100 guests see your screen...you can share your mouse and keyboard with guests, or even see and control their screens!  Inviting a guest is as easy as a phone call, email or IM.  There's even free Glance phone conferencing available with every account.
• Adobe Acrobat Connect - With Adobe® Acrobat® Connect™ Pro software, you can create instant, collaborative meetings with just a web browser and the Adobe Flash® Player.
• InterCall - InterCall, the world’s largest conferencing provider,. Our integrated web, audio and video conferencing makes web meetings, webinars, audio conferencing, online training seminars and multi-point video conferencing easier and more productive.
• Microsoft Office Live Meeting - Office Live Meeting is a conferencing solution that you can use to engage audiences in online meetings, training, and events. Learn how you can schedule, join, or present a Live Meeting by using newly available features, including audio, video conferencing, and uploading handouts for distribution.
• WebEx Communications - WebEx is an easy way to share ideas with anyone, anywhere. It combines real-time desktop sharing with phone conferencing so everyone sees the same thing while you talk.
• GoToMeeting - Easy Online Meetings – Anytime, Anywhere. Use GoToMeeting to present, demonstrate and meet all you want – for one low flat fee.

Resources: Webinars

• Dimdim - Display your presentations to anyone remotely with Dimdim, a challenger to Webex. Has a free version.
• SlideRocket - SlideRocket is the leader in online presentation software. With SlideRocket you quickly make stunning presentations, manage a library of slides and assets, share them securely with colleagues, and measure how they're used. It has some web conferencing capabilities.
• ON24 Inc. - Global Provider of Webcasting and Virtual Events Solutions

Resources: Podcasts

• Apple iTunes - post your webcast to the iTunes store and make your content available to all iPod users.
• Podcast.com - Podcast.com is the premier podcast destination that provides access to a growing list of over 60,000 curated and constantly updated podcast feeds representing more than 1 million episodes of audio and video content.
• Podcast Alley - Podcast Alley is the podcast lovers portal. Featuring the best Podcast Directory and the Top 10 podcasts, as voted on by the listeners. Has forums covering how to make a podcast, podcast software, podcast directories, music for podcasts, etc.