Tips on Setting Up Online Meetings

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Thiago Prado

   

Scheduling a meeting Before you start a meeting at the office you need to schedule a meeting room, find a conference phone and get some donuts on your way to work. You also have to do a few things to set up an online meeting. It only takes a few minutes and I’ll walk you through the options. This article will be reference WebEx’s MeetMeNow software because it’s what I use, but the tips apply to most online meeting software.

Choose date and time

Choose a meeting date and time. Most control panels offer this is as the beginning of the online meeting process. By default your local time zone is displayed but can be changed if needed. You also want to schedule an estimated meeting duration. Don’t forget to select email reminders and the default reminder time on most meeting applications is fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes before the meeting the attendee will receive a reminder email. Is the meeting a recurrence? You can set up the meeting to recur each week at this time if applicable.

medical online meetingTypes of invitations

Most online meeting applications offer several different ways to send meeting invitations. WebEx offers three types of meeting invitations. The most popular way is to log into the meeting application and choose the option “schedule a meeting “. The most popular applications offer toolbar integration into applications such as Internet Explorer®, MS Office® and Excel®. I find this to be the most convenient feature that MeetMeNow has to offer. If you’re meeting attendees are already using instant messengers you may have the option to schedule a meeting directly from your instant messenger. MeetMeNow has built in Instant Messenger functionality.

Choosing options

Not all meetings are like, some are interactive and others require a one way presentation. Here’s some of the options that you may want to consider when setting up your next online meeting. Chat allows people to use text messaging features to communicate during the meeting. Attendees can text the meeting organizer or each other. Video option allow attendees to either view your web cam or vice versa. The notes feature can be set up to either allow just the meeting organizer or all attendees use a built-in notes feature. Notes can later be printed out at the end of the meeting. File transfer is a popular choice to allow the presenter to publish documents and files to attendees. WebEx MeetMeNow has a unique feature to send feedback to the host. When the meeting ends a feedback form appears to allow meeting attendees to give feedback on the meeting experience.

Privileges

After selecting your options you may want to set up some privileges for your attendees some of these are selected by default and others aren’t. You can allow attendees to save shared documents or perhaps print only. Attendees may have the option to view the attendee list, thumbnails or control applications or desktop remotely. You can also select detailed chat options allowing participants to only chat with you or all attendees.

Conclusion

The options and settings reviewed above will depend upon the type of meeting you are having. Obviously a sales presentation or training demonstration will be different than any brainstorming meeting. But now you know some of the choices you have and the flexibility that online meeting software has to offer. I have written detailed reviews of the webs top online meeting software. Please visit my independent reviews and see how they compare in features and functionality.

Demosthenes Damon is a article writer who uses online meeting software to save money and communicate with clients. See detailed reviews at http://www.onlinemeetingrecap.com or online meeting software

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Business Meetings Online – Catch the Wave of the Future

Posted on January 2, 2010 by Thiago Prado

   

Are you new to business meetings online? If so, you need to get with the program! Holding business meetings online is becoming an accepted, even encouraged, practice in today’s enterprise. Hosting or attending business meetings online is an essential component of business communications.

Today’s online meetings are collaborative affairs. You can share applications and documents, send messages, and even work on the whiteboard. Online meetings are definitely revolutionizing the way people interact. No longer just a business tool, you’ll find religious groups, addiction support groups, and civic groups meeting online.

online meeting webSeveral web sites have emerged that allow participants of online business meetings to exchange graphic files and images while eliminating the need for a video cam or web cam. An added bonus is there is no need for you and/or your meeting partners to download cumbersome software before the meeting.

Business meetings online, used appropriately, can save small business owners, and their clients, time and money. Note that I’m not advocating using an online meeting to cold-call or prospect with. First time meetings with potential clients are probably still best held face-to-face. But a follow-up meeting to answer questions? Definitely think about doing it online. Where a phone conference is a “tell” method of selling, the online meeting takes it to the “show-and-tell “method.

Other solid benefits of online business meetings are reduced expenses, higher productivity and increased time. These are mainly accomplished by eliminating travel time and expense. Rather than have the meeting attendees gather in one physical location, the World Wide Web is used to create a virtual meeting place that can be accessed with the proper login credentials.

Online meetings are a secure way to interact with your clients, business partners and team members. This makes them ideal for sales pitches, performance reporting or providing training for other members of your organization. Online meetings make audio communication possible by using VoIP (voice over IP) applications.

Online meetings are idea for organizing small impromptu meetings of fewer than 8 participants. This particularly benefits small businesses where interactions tend to be spur-of-the-moment and include fewer participants than in larger companies.

I have been a small business owner for over 20 years. During that time a few “killer apps” have come along that really take my business to the next level. The ability to host and attend business meetings online is one of those playing-field-levelers that I can’t do without. You should do yourself a favor and try doing business meetings online. Take advantage of one (or more) of the FREE TRIALS you’ll find at the Online Meeting Review Site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elizabeth_Drake

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Web Conferencing Can Save Your Small Business Big Dollars

Posted on December 25, 2009 by Thiago Prado

How much do you spend on travel expense (transportation, meals, lodging, etc.) for conferences, meetings, sales presentations, and training? How much of that expense would you like to save?

With recent advances in PC and Internet technology, even small businesses can save large portions of their travel expenses. And those savings can start today.

online meetingIf doing business involves frequent meetings with small groups of co-workers, customers, prospects, or vendors, and if travel expenses are often part of the picture, then it’s time for you to learn how you can cancel those expensive hotel reservations, tear up the plane tickets, and keep the car in the garage.

Here’s how: online conferencing. Yes, it’s here, it’s practical, it’s secure, and it’s very inexpensive.

When you think of technology for meeting at a distance, you may be picturing special rooms equipped with tens of thousands of dollars worth of specialized teleconferencing equipment. That was the 20th-century solution. Some large corporations still use it. But the smaller, more nimble businesses of the 21st century choose online conferencing. It’s easy and it requires no special equipment other than the PC, Internet connection, and web browser you already have.

The new generation of online meeting tools let you meet whenever you want with anyone you wish. You can host a meeting or join one that someone else has organized. You can start an instant meeting or schedule one for a future date and time. You can even create the schedule and send the invitations directly from Microsoft Outlook.

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Video Conferencing Public Rooms- Go Public, Go Practical

Posted on December 24, 2009 by

Your business is going global. You’ve got people working for you in Bangkok, Auckland, Florence, and Paris. Thankfully for you and the people who work for you, gone are the days of waiting for telegrams to arrive. Nor is there any need for you to yell in competition with inaudible static just to get your message across. In this day and age, modern technology has made it possible for you to connect with real people in real time. Thanks to a wondrous little innovation called video conferencing, you can connect to your liaisons officer in Zimbabwe and talk to him almost as if he were in the same room with you.

Video, What?

Video conferencing technology allows you to utilize the Internet to send or receive audio files and images to any or all of your business associates around the world and vice versa. The quality of the sound and images you send and receive is dependent on the speed of your Internet service provider, so if you don’t want your image frozen in mid-blink with half-closed eyelids, high-speed is the way to go.

Can You Afford It?

Video conferencing equipment is usually set up in conference or board rooms. Video conferencing equipment does not come cheap, however. High-tech video conferencing equipment includes LCD screens and projectors, routers, and speaker phones, and would eat up a hefty chunk of last year’s profits. If your company can afford it, though, then by all means, purchase all the equipment you need. If you’re still cutting corners or just breaking even, however, purchasing video conferencing equipment would not be a good idea.

Make It Public!

Who’s to say you can’t use video conferencing technology? Even if your resources are not as bottomless as your ambitions, you can still use video conferencing technology. How? By utilizing video conferencing public rooms! Video conferencing public rooms are conference rooms with the necessary state-of-the-art video conferencing equipment you need. They may be rented or leased.

The good thing about video conferencing public rooms is that you can use one for a very small fee. This makes it the cost-efficient alternative to having to set up your own video conferencing room. In video conferencing public rooms, you simply inform operators know what you need, how long you need it for, and when you need it. These operators will take care of everything for you, from the conference set-up to equipment maintenance. Undoubtedly, video conferencing public rooms will save your company not just money but also time and manpower.

Going Public

So, now the next concern is finding the best among the multitude of video conferencing public rooms available. One of the more popular video conferencing public rooms is FedEx’s Kinko’s. Kinko’s boasts of 120 locations worldwide and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It provides the latest video conferencing equipment. You even have the option of having your meeting videotaped, so you can review the proceedings at your leisure or monitor which of your executives slept while you talked.

Proximity also offers video conferencing public rooms in 3,500 locations worldwide. They can organize video conferencing involving as few as two to as many as 5,000 participants. All you have to do is show up. You don’t need to worry about a thing.

Video conferencing public rooms are sprouting like mushrooms everywhere, from shopping malls to hotels and even subway stations. Pluck the right mushroom and you’ll be guaranteed seamless and convenient video conferencing no matter where in the world you might be.

Author: Nahshon Marini
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital TV, HDTV, Satellite TV

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Why Video & Web Conferencing Are Heading Towards Mass Acceptance

Posted on December 24, 2009 by

The time is right for video and web conferencing to take off. While online conferencing is still seen as a technological novelty by some people, more and more businesses of all sizes are finding it be the solution to doing business and communicating with prospects, clients, employees and branch offices in an era of rising transport costs. Lets take a look at some of the factors that are bringing web and video conferencing to a very wide audience.

1. Bandwidth speeds are increasing while prices for broadband web access are falling. Video and web conferencing are more effective when users have broadband access to the Internet. Prices for various broadband connections to the Internet (DSL, Cable, T1s) are falling and more and more homes and businesses are now connected by broadband rather than dial-up connections. Broadband penetration in the US among home users has reached 60% and, especially crucial for online conferencing, in the workplace broadband usage has passed 85%.

2. Web cameras are more powerful and less costly
Video conferencing is aided by good images. Just as high speed connections to the Internet are needed to view the videos, improved cameras providing clear images are also important. The least expensive web cameras today cost as little as $10 and even sophisticated tripod-mounted cameras are reasonably priced, placing video conferencing within the reach of millions of users.

3. The price of oil and transportation is rising, and business travel is more costly. Rising energy prices means that businesses have to scrutinize their travel plans more closely. Video and web conferencing make it possible to hold meetings with staff in other cities without making expensive car or airplane journeys. In addition, some companies are also using web and video conferencing to meet new clients and provide service to existing clients. Improved video conferencing capabilities, combined with rising travel costs is a sure formula for online conferencing growth in the years ahead.

4. Businesses are improving productivity with online conferencing. The gains provided by online conferencing are more than just the money saved by not buying gasoline for a car or spending it on airfares. When you sit in your own office and hold an online conference with associates in distant cities, you can get back to your other work within seconds of the close of the online conference. The lost time out of office, associated with business trips, is an important opportunity cost that can be reduced by the creative use of web and video conferences.

5. The cost of web and video conferencing has come down greatly in the past year. Web and video conference services are now less costly than they were a few years ago and it is possible for a business to get a much higher return on their investment in online conferences. Monthly costs for some conferencing services are so low that even families and individuals can connect in informal web conferences. At the same time, for a reasonable price, businesses can even purchase their own internal video/web conferencing system and not depend on web conference services provided by an outside provider.

6. Schools and universities are holding online classes, exposing a whole new generation to the world of online conferencing. The surest way of spreading any new technology is to get young people hooked on it. And that is exactly what schools and universities are doing with web and video conferencing. By holding more online classes and conferences, young people are becoming comfortable with this way of communicating. As todays students enter the business and professional world, they are certain to bring with them a taste for the convenience of online conferencing.

Add up all these factors and it is easy to see why web and video conferencing are approaching the level of mass acceptance. If you are not taking advantage of online conferencing today, there is a good chance that you will be tomorrow.

Author: Dan Richmond
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cellphone news

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