2011 Web Conferencing Solutions: What Does It Take?

Video Chats

First, you should have some type of video camera. If one isn’t built into your PC, you can plug an aftermarket webcam into a USB port. Prices start under $50.

You’ll also need software and service to carry the face-to-face conversation. Applications included with your PC may allow live chatting from computer to computer or computer to smartphone.

Be aware, the quality is only as good and reliable as your connection. If wireless service is spotty or you’re on a low-bandwidth Web connection, the video quality could suffer and transmissions may be disrupted.

Video Conferencing

For anything more than person-to-person video chatting, look to more robust service plans. Video conferencing is usually an option with VoIP services, but not always a standard feature of online meeting and conferencing solutions. With either approach, you want to know what’s required of all parties to this visual conversation.

Some key questions: Will they need to have special software installed or be subscribers of a hosting service in order to participate? Also, how many video feeds will the service support, and what, if any, additional charges will be incurred?

Web Conferencing/Meetings

A number of solutions are available, but prices and features vary. Your best option depends on how you plan to use the service, what types of meetings you’ll be conducting, and to what extent participants need to interact. Sharing documents should be intuitive, and the host or presenters may need their entire desktop displayed on the screens of other participants.

The amount of collaboration may necessitate specialized requirements. For instance, if participants should each have the power to mark up or revise a contract, you may need a more expensive solution.

And as far as pricing goes, if you’ll be hosting only the occasional meeting, you may be better served with a pay-as-you-go plan, with fees based on the number of participants as well as the duration of the meeting. But if you’re planning virtual conferences on a regular basis, a monthly or annual subscription will be the better investment.

Before subscribing, take advantage of the free trial periods offered by most vendors of these solutions. Lasting as long as a month, these allow you to put the system to the test, explore its features in an interactive environment, and decide if it’s really where you want to meet online.

Webinars

If you’re looking to the Web as a marketing or education channel, different priorities emerge. First, there’s the number of attendees. Expect dozens, possibly hundreds, and make sure the system allows reasonable numbers. Rather than a single host, you may want to offer sessions with several presenters, so you’ll need a system that makes it easy for any one of them to take charge.

Live video streaming, as well as real-time sharing of files or the entire desktop, can be important. To maintain audience interest, interactive polling with instant results can be an effective tool.

Finally, will your webinar will be a one-time event or something you’d like to make permanently available, on demand? For that, you’ll want the option of recording the session in a format that can be easily hosted and watched online or offline.