The Different Types of Web Conferences

Meetings, presentations and collaborations are all different
types of web conferences in popular use today. Web conferences
are flexible and answer different needs within the business and
other communities. The power of a communication tool lies in the
ability of it to partner, disseminate and share information.

The first, a meeting, is most closely associated with web
conferences. The meeting format allows information to flow back
and forth. Presenters are able to deliver their information and
the recipients respond or ask questions. The web meeting in this
case allows for interactive possibilities depending upon what
has been preset.

These possibilities include but are not limited to document
sharing, real audio, whiteboards and much more. There is another
type of meeting that uses only the presenter side of the
equation without the Q and A or response.

This type of presentation is much like a video viewed on a
television, the audience is there to read the presenters
information and there is no opportunity for reciprocal
communication.

Another popular form of web conference is the presentation. This
is the format most often used when celebrities, instructors or
others 'visit' with their audience. The communication is
controlled because content can be presented via slide shows,
chat, streaming audio or video.

The audience is usually logged in, assigned a 'row' or a
'channel' - the equivalent of assigned seating in a theater -
and must communicate with a moderator to ask any questions of
the presenter. This format is popular because there can be
interaction without degenerating into chaos. The moderator's job
is to do exactly that - moderate the information linking the
audience to the presenter. The presenter can choose to answer
some questions and in most cases will directly address the user
who asked the question though all present will be able to read
it.

It's also worth mentioning that in these types of conferences,
the audience can usually only communicate with the moderator and
others in their 'row.' Because conferences of this type can have
ten thousand people potentially, there is no violent scrolling
of hundreds of conversations, but rather a 'murmur' of the
people assigned closest to you.

Collaboration is a format that offers real-time viewing and
modification of shared documents and files through the Internet.
No special software is required for any number of users to view
a shared document. Collaboration answers the need for teams in
different locations to be able to work together simultaneously
on a shared document.

Other practical applications include training, teaching and
researching. This format may be used in conjunction with
conferences, but less likely to be used in the presentation
unless it was a class on how to write a business letter, for
example. In that case, a presenter could discuss things in the
conference while showing the actual 'work' on the shared
document.

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communication costs. Discover all you need to know about voip,
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http://www.web-conferencing-101.com/

About the author:
John Simpson works in software development. Some time ago he was
asked to research voip and web conferencing. Now his company has
slashed their comms bill and travel costs, using web
conferencing technologies.