Web Conferencing

Web Conferencing is a videoconferencing session through internet. It is used to conduct live discussion, meeting or presentation over the internet which is more interactive and more collaborative. In a web conference, each participant sits at his or her own computer and is connected to other participants via the internet. This can be either a downloaded application on each of the attendees computers or a web-based application where the attendees will simply enter a URL (website address) to enter the conference.

Web conferencing offers advantages over traditional room-based videoconferencing because applications such as collaborative Web browsing, file transfer and application sharing are easily supported over the Internet. Web conferencing first appeared in the late 1990s with products such as PlaceWare, Microsoft's NetMeeting and IBM's Sametime.

Software and service providers

• Adobe Acrobat Connect
• Convenos Meeting Center
• Dimdim
• Elluminate
• Genesys Meeting Center
• Glance
• GoToMeeting
• IBM Lotus Sametime
• InterCall
• Microsoft Office Live Meeting
• WebEx
• WebTrain
• Zoho Meeting

Types of Web Conferencing

Web Meeting

With growths in international business and a growing trend towards home working, the need for a virtual meeting place is increasing. A web meeting is just what it says - a meeting that takes place over the Internet. This facility has the capabilities to hold real-time conversations and share documents. Web meetings can be fully interactive, allowing participants to converse in real time and for information to be exchanged between delegates.

Web meeting set-ups vary in terms of sophistication and a very rudimentary system can be set up using just a digital camera and a broadband connection.

The Webcast

As the name would suggest, a webcast is a type of broadcast similar in nature to a television broadcast except, of course, a webcast takes place over the Internet. The broadcasting nature of this facility means that there is little opportunity for the presenter and delegates to interact with each other and therefore its function is primarily as a presenting tool. The other main feature of a webcast is that it can be broadcast simultaneously to hundreds of recipients.

If your requirement is for a presenting tool that also offers the interactive features of a web meeting, then you should consider a webinar.

The Webinar

As the name suggests, the webinar is a facility that allows you to conduct a seminar over the web. Allowing a greater level of interaction than the webcast, a webinar enables the presenter to conduct question and answer-type sessions with delegates. However, you should remember that a webinar does not afford the same degree of interaction as a web meeting.

Other Uses For Web Conferencing

Online Presenting

Web conferencing can also be used for conduction online presentations. Online presenting is ideal for sales pitches, performance reporting or providing training for other members of your organization. Add on features include slide shows, web based conversing and audio/video streaming.

Online Collaboration

This is by far the most commonly used type of web conferencing and is the ideal solution for organizations who have multi-location sites yet require collaboration between their employees on projects and documents. Online collaboration has file sharing capabilities that updates changes and alterations to documents in real-time to avoid errors.

Source: Wikipedia and Web Conferencing Services by Diane Parker