Web conferencing service use state-of-the-art technology to enhance a typical phone conference call. Rather than just a telephone bridge to allow voice interaction between participants, web conferencing is a powerful, live, online, multi-media event. Slide presentations, digital media, and high-quality images or video can be incorporated into web conferences for all participants to view.
The presentation is broadcast live over the Internet from a remote location, sending signals to each participant's personal computer. The live audio is harmonized with the visual content to create a seamless presentation with a highly effective and interactive delivery method. The person who is leading the conference may advance the appropriate visual content on each participant's computer screen (as if advancing a slide projector) synchronous with the voice presentation.
The audio may be two-way with an integrated telephone-based bridge or may be one-way with streaming audio, which is heard through the computer's speakers. Streaming audio makes international participation more feasible without the expense of lengthy long-distance telephone calls. Participants who are not connected by the telephone bridge may still participate interactively through the use of a dedicated interactive instant messenger. By way of a chat server, participants may type in questions addressed either to the presenter or to any other logged in participant.
Most web conferencing service companies also have a provision for real-time polling. This allows participants to answer multiple-choice questions or polls on their computer with the results of answers from all participants being displayed almost instantly.
To join a web conferencing service, it usually simply takes an e-mail invitation to a webcast that is sent to the participant, and the user only has to click on the URL listed in the invitation. Alternatively, users can log on to a web conference through the Internet broadcasting company's homepage.
The presenter or leader has full control over the webcast. The leader decides when to advance visual media and which microphones (individual telephone connections) are open for live discussion or questions. The leader may also pass off the webcast controls to any participant at any time during the conference.
Costs are remarkably inexpensive, averaging 25 to 60 cents per minute per participant. This equates to $150 to $360 for 10 participants for one hour. This cost equates to the actual number of computer users logged on. In other words, if a presentation is being made to a conference room or lecture hall full of participants through a single computer attached to a data projector, the cost applies only to the single computer that is actually logged on. An hour-long presentation could be made to a conference room with hundreds of participants for well under $100.
Other things to look for in a web conferencing service is security procedures (you don't want your competitors listening in), scheduling, contact-management tools and multiplatform support (Macintosh, Windows, Unix). There are a number of commercially available Internet broadcasting companies that provide good service and support, including MShow.com, WebEx.com, and Raindance.com. Finally, some services can be branded or hosted on your own site, so you can customize the features and interface to match your corporate identity and conferencing needs.
By Greg Hitchcock.