WebEx ™ Alternatives

We're getting a lot of viewers telling us that they are having problems with the WebEx audio teleconference call service (dropping calls, poor quality, etc.).  Cisco WebEx is a software company so audio conference calling is clearly not their core business.  We did some research with our user community and came up with a two solutions to the problem.

1. Keep using WebEx for the web conference service but use a audio conference call provider that has integration with WebEx for audio conference calling instead of WebEx.  A few viewers wrote in that they are happy with Communique Conferencing 
2. Switch to another web conference technology that is more reliable such as Adobe Connect.  Adobe Connect does not do a lot of marketing but it just won Editor's Choice for 'Best Web Conferencing Service" by PC Magazine.

ReadyTalk Link Press Releases to Webinars

ReadyTalk just announced a new feature that lets webinar organizers create and distribute a press release as an integrated step during the scheduling and setup of the event. 

I am not aware of any other web conferencing service with a similar capability.ReadyTalk has made the connection between scheduling a webinar and promoting it easy and template-driven. They automatically put you into the press release software (iReach from PR Newswire) with default text and the registration link for your event already embedded in the template. All you have to do is edit the text to better suit your preferences and select a distribution/payment option.

Details and see screen shots on the ReadyTalk blog at this address: http://j.mp/rtalkpr.

Lync Audio Conferencing

Communiqué Conferencing recently announced the availability of integrated audio conferencing with Microsoft Lync Online, a part of Microsoft Office 365. By combining Communique’s audio conferencing services with Lync Online, customers will be able to automatically launch a group voice conference call from any chat, web or video conference within the Lync Online interface.

The integrated audio conference call solution for Microsoft Lync Online delivers:

• Call scheduling via Microsoft Outlook
• The ability for meeting participants to join for external locations and multiple devices
• Dial in/out
• Mute/unmute
• Lock/unlock
• End conference
• VoIP/PSTN integration, including combined recording of web and audio content
• *0 in-call operator support

For more information on Lync audio conferencing. Microsoft PinPoint Lync Online Audio Conferencing.

Tips For Running A Webinar With Webcam Video

A company called MediaPlatform recently created a short and fun video illustrating what not to do when presenting using a video webcam.

Video Link: http://youtu.be/0YeTZS6GSI4

New Adobe Connect Webinar Features Coming Soon

Adobe announced a limited public beta program for the upcoming release of Adobe Connect for Webinars. Codenamed Maple, this release is designed to be targeted at the webinar lifecycle, including registration and some new interactivity features. The beta also includes their new mobile version of the software for Android devices.

Read more about the Beta program

ReadyTalk Previews Video Clips In Webinars

ReadyTalk just announced beta availability of a new feature letting webinar hosts share prerecorded video clips during meetings. Video clips must be uploaded to the ReadyTalk server where they undergo a conversion process. The Quick Start Guide says that conversion can take up to two hours, and ReadyTalk recommends doing the conversion at least a day in advance and testing the converted output before the live session.
Once uploaded, videos can be played as part of a webinar session. Attendees hear any audio in the clip and the playback audio/video is included in the session archive recording.
Details and links to documentation are available in the announcement on the ReadyTalk blog.

15 Ways to Bring Social Media to Events

Do you host online events or Webinars?  Social media enables event attendees to connect in powerful ways. Social media can help promote events and empower attendees to share. This article from the Social Media Examiner includes 15 ways you can infuse social media into your events.
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/15-ways-to-bring-social-media-to-events/ 

Annoying PowerPoint Survey Results

Dave Paradi’s annual PowerPoint annoyances survey results are in. The results this year are not much different than in past years. Dave’s top-five audience annoyances once again generally fall under the banner of presenters effectively writing white papers on PowerPoint slides. Presenters write out their speech in full sentences on the slides and are left with nothing to do but read those sentences out loud to their audience. Sometimes they cram in data-filled charts, tables, or graphs to support their statements with a mass of evidence.

Creating and delivering presentations in this way makes a tremendous amount of practical sense. It’s quick… You don’t have to waste time thinking about design issues or finding graphics. It complies with corporate guidelines… You just fill in the bullet points on your company’s “Title and Content” slide layout. It doesn’t require much, if any, practice… Your script is right there in front of you to be read. And it works great as a handout, allowing offline audiences to read through the information for themselves later.

If you are going ask your audience to commit their valuable time to listen to you, create a presentation. Not a white paper that happens to be written on sequential slides.