Web Conferencing

Web conferencing is used to conduct live meetings or presentations over the Internet. In a web conference, each participant sits at his or her own computer and is connected to other participants via the internet and telephone. 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.

A webinar is a specific type of web conference. It is typically one-way, from the speaker to the audience with limited audience interaction, such as in a webcast. A webinar can be collaborative and include polling and question & answer sessions to allow full participation between the audience and the presenter. In some cases, the presenter may speak over a standard telephone line, pointing out information being presented on screen and the audience can respond over their own telephones, preferably a speaker phone.

Web Conference Features

  • Slide presentations (often created through PowerPoint or Keynote)
  • Live video (via webcam or digital video camera)
  • Web tours - where URLs, data from forms, cookies, scripts and session data can be pushed to other participants enabling them to be pushed though web based logons, clicks, etc. This type of feature works well when demonstrating websites where users themselves can also participate.
  • Recording (for viewing at a later time by anyone using a unique web address)
  • Whiteboard with annotation (allowing the presenter and/or attendees to highlight or mark items on the slide presentation. Or, simply make notes on a blank whiteboard.)
  • Text Chat- For live question and answer sessions, limited to the people connected to the meeting. Text chat may be public or private.
  • Polls and surveys (allows the presenter to conduct questions with multiple choice answers directed to the audience)
  • Application sharing (where participants can view anything the presenter currently has shown on their screen. Some screen sharing applications allow for remote desktop control, allowing participants to manipulate the presenters screen

There are countless applications for web conferencing, and the impact of these meetings can be measured immediately. IHC can help your organization add more punch to its communication strategy by adding web conferencing to its culture.