Web Conferencing Basics

The teleporting thing didn't work. But we nailed web conferencing.

So the future is here and while there are still no flying automobiles or a reliable means of teleportation, we decided to at least put together a web conferencing solution that’s ahead of its time.

Web conferences, or online meetings if you will, allow people to meet in remote locations over the interweb. Kidding, the Internet, and share anything on their screen with real-time synchronization. And while it’s not quite as much a time saver as teleportation would be, it’s pretty close.

Does online meeting signal the end of face-to-face interaction?

Unfortunately for us, it doesn’t. People will always want to meet face to face for certain things. For instance, making sure the chairman of the new company you’ll be working with has a strong handshake.

But there will be a lot of times you’ll want to stay put, cut travel costs, and get funky with some remote web conferencing action.

Mr. Hot Shot Expert on the subject is a busy man.

Besides saving money on travel, a web meeting is also a practical solution for when a meeting is needed, but important people are unable to be in the same room. For instance, maybe a discussion needs to involve an expert or some other key person who does not have time to travel to the meeting location.

Thanks to web meetings, everyone can get together in one online conference room, whenever.

Sometimes you just need a touch of web conferencing.

Pretend you’re trying your hand at guacamole and the recipe calls for a dash of salt. You wouldn’t go and unload the entire saltshaker. The same principle applies to web meetings. Say you’ve got most of the meeting attendees in the same room, except for maybe one or two. A dash of web conferencing lets you bring the stragglers into a meeting as needed.

It’s faster than the speed of going online, searching for a flight, getting a cab to the airport, waiting to check in, getting harassed by security...

A lot of times business decisions need to be made in a split second. Start a web conference and get everyone together just about instantaneously. Arrive at a decision everyone agrees on. Then get back to work. And take comfort in knowing airport security is doing random screenings on someone else.

Command the room like an attention-starved diva.

Grownups are a lot like kids – easily distracted and chatty when they should be paying attention. Keeping everyone focused in a web meeting can still be a challenge, as is the case with regular meetings, but with easy-to-use tools and real-time synchronization, keeping everyone’s attention on what you’re walking them through is a little easier.

You still have to be organized and on your game, but at least you can control what other meeting attendees are looking at, limiting the amount of wandering eyes. Sing it, girl! Or guy!