Video Conference - VOIP Info ... phone, service providers, discount, download, free calls,cheap,sip: April 2008

Article : Maximize The Results Of Your Online Web Meetings

By : Mostafa ElAwady

Before holding an online web meeting, you must be aware of the following:

1. Your online web meeting should be short and on track. The duration of the event should be no longer then one hour or maximum of one hour and thirty minutes.

2. What type of questions will you ask those attending the web meeting? Asking questions keeps everyone’s attention and allows you to effectively teach your guests.

3. As a courtesy to others in attendance, ask guests to hold their questions until the end of the meeting. Chances are that you will answer most questions during your presentation. Asking guests to hold their questions will reduce the overall meeting time for everyone.

4. Advise guests to preinstall the web meeting plugin before the live meeting. If guests will be speaking during a meeting, advise them to use the integrated audio setup and testing feature before the live meeting. Guests can perform this audio setup and test without logging in.

5. Prepare an optimized version of your PowerPoint® that is less than 2 MB. This will allow guests to see the presentation quickly and easily.

6. Always have a recording of your presentation available before a live meeting. Recorded presentations can be enjoyed by those unable to attend the live meeting. In the event a guest has a problem with their computer or internet connection, they can still enjoy the presentation. You may have invested thousands of dollars to promote your web meetings, and you lose time and money when someone can not attend the live meeting or has some problem that is beyond your control.

7. Practice your entire live presentation using the web meeting room program a minimum of 5 to 7 times from start to finish. This is the most important thing you need to know before holding an online web meeting.

8. Make sure the online web meeting service you are using offers free live training.

9. When it comes to web meetings, choosing the right service that meets your needs can be a daunting task. Make sure the program you choose meets the following important criteria:
• Login is fast and easy.
• Those with a dial-up connection can participate without problems.
• Web meeting program works with corporate firewalls.
• No Active-X control is required to run the program.
• You can easily create and manage live meeting polls and surveys.
• You can create and host your own custom registration pages.
• No scheduling is required, you can hold meetings anytime you decide.
• You can use any payment gateway to sell access to your meetings.
• The PowerPoint® presenter displays slides in dual format.
• Live video conferencing offers synchronized audio and video.
• Your guests can enjoy hands free meetings, you control everything they see.
• You can record and control your recorded presentations.

source : http://www.articleboy.com/Article/Maximize
-The-Results-Of-Your-Online-Web-Meetings/24716

Article : Video & Web Conferencing: How To Determine Which Features Will Benefit You The Most

By Dan Richmond

Web and video conferencing technology is becoming more sophisticated with each passing day. A few years ago it was a novelty just to talk with someone online, and view his or her image at the same time. Today web conferences bring together entire companies in complex interaction that rivals live face-to-face meetings. How you might benefit from the latest developments in web conferencing depends on your particular needs. Here are a few points that you should consider.

1. Do you need to make a Powerpoint or other presentation during your conference?

If you answered “yes” to this question, then you will be glad to know that current web and video conferencing services allow the host of a conference to present a slide show or power point demonstration that will be visible on the screens of all the participants of a conference. Similarly, hosts can also open and show other document formats to their attendees. If you need this kind of capability, make sure that your conference provider can give this to you.

2. Do you require telephone conferencing integrated with your web/video conference?

Many organizations have found telephone conferencing to be an effective way to get work done. If you are already connecting with your members and staff via telephone conferences you can expand on this by choosing a web conferencing system that integrates telephone conferencing along with the online conference. The combined service will give you the ease of phone conferencing along with the enhanced visual and presentation features of online conferencing.

Some services allow the host to pay the long distance bill of all the participants (toll free conferencing), while others require each participant to cover their long distance fees.

3. Do all of your conference participants use the same type of computer?

If your participants are going to be using a variety of computers (PC, Mac, Linux) then you will benefit most by choosing a web conferencing system that works on any platform. While earlier conferencing systems required the downloading of complex software that would work only on specified operating systems, newer conferencing formats are delivered online and are browser based. They work on any operating system and if yours in an eclectic audience, then you will get best results with this type of conferencing.

4. Will it be necessary for one of your technicians to “take-over” and operate the computers of any of your participants?

If you wish to use conferencing as a service tool and want to avoid having to send out your service team on physical visits to clients, you can save a lot of travel time and cost by selecting a web and video conferencing system that allows the host of the conference to go online and actually take control of the computer of the client or conference participant. If you are looking at web conferencing as an after-sales service tool, then this particular feature will probably give you one of the most important benefits that you could wish for.

5. Do you want to conduct an online poll or survey during the conference?

If you have a large organization and want to make a quick and accurate poll of opinion or vote on a particular issue then the new polling capabilities of the most advanced web conferencing services will be an important feature for you.

Similarly, if you need to gather demographic information about your meeting participants, obtain valuable input, or quiz and test your participants, then the new online survey capabilities of current web conferencing systems will be an important feature to look for when choosing your conference format. Data from these types of online “surveys” can typically be saved and used for future use.

6. Do you want to brainstorm online, using a “whiteboard”?

Brainstorming is a great way to tap the ideas of a group and to come up with and select new ideas. If this is what you like to do when holding physical meetings, then you will probably want to be able to do the same thing in your virtual meetings as well. This is now possible in some of the more advanced web conferencing systems by using a “group notepad” that enables meeting participants to utilize a shared workspace. The results of these brainstorming sessions can typically be saved in a storage area.

Which of these features will benefit you the most? It all depends on your particular needs. However, one thing is sure: once you experience the convenience of online meetings, you will not want to go back to the era when every meeting required you to pack up your bags and get on an airplane.

source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Video-andamp;-Web-Conferencing:-How-To-Determine
-Which-Features-Will-Benefit-You-The-Most&id=229492

Article : Video Conferencing Will Help Your Business

Submitted By: Robert Michael

Does your business have locations far and wide, with employees who must meet with each other in order for your business to run smoothly? If so, you know how expensive gathering all your employees together in one place can be. Video conferencing could help your business save time and money, as well as increase productivity and employee satisfaction.

If your business is one of the many that must pay employees’ travel time, transportation, hotel, and food expenses in order for them to attend meetings in person, you know how these expenses can add up. And when your employees are on the road or in the air, your business loses hours of productivity.

Video conferencing provides a better option for many of today’s business owners. Purchasing and maintaining video conferencing equipment is an investment on which you can expect to see immediate returns.

Video conferencing is a technology that integrates audio and video, allowing employees to see and talk to each other as effectively as if they were in the same room. The advantage is that they are actually miles, even continents, apart.

And with so many recent advances in video conferencing technology, your business can become video-conference ready at a reasonable price. Ten years ago video conferencing costs could run as high as $50,000 per site! Now, packages are available for less than half of that, and can often be paid for or rented monthly for payments of under $100!

Once your business starts taking advantage of video conferencing, travel time and all the cost associated with it are eliminated. Important decisions can be reached quickly, and meetings can be called spontaneously whenever opportunities arise. No longer do you have to wait for everyone to meet face to face. Video conferencing greatly accelerates the decision making process.

How many times have you arranged for all your employees to be present at a meeting, paying for many of them to travel great distances away from their regular job sites, only to realize all too late some key data or resource was forgotten back at home? Video conferencing eliminates the hassles and headaches that are associated with traditional meeting methods.

One of the biggest advantages of video conferencing is to the employees themselves. No longer is it necessary for employees to spend days, even weeks away from their families and their on-site responsibilities just to attend meetings? If your employees could meet face to face instantaneously, all the benefits of face to face communication could still exist, without any of the drawbacks of travel time and expense.

With advanced technology and reduced costs, your business does not have to be a Fortune 500 company to take advantage of video conferencing. Stop spending dollars needlessly – equip your business for video conferencing today.

source : http://www.isnare.com/?aid=62753&ca=Computers+and+Technology