Archive for April, 2009

“Secrets of Webinar Production and Management”

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

I attended a webinar hosted on Adobe Connect and presented by Ken Molay, President of Webinar Success and author of The Webinar Blog. He had some very useful information and broke down Webinar production into 9 key steps/segments.  He estimated that typically a new event set-up takes 22-38 person hours to manage and 6-7 weeks to fully prepare.

Here are my quick notes to share (hour estimates in parentheses are based on brand new events/presenters, etc):

  1. Plan Your Event (2 hours)
    1. Based on what you are trying to accomplish – this may change your selection and evaluation process
      Ken Molay

      Ken Molay

    2. Roles – Determine Event Staff
      1. Coordinator/Administrator
      2. Moderator
        1. Answering questions
        2. Technical Support
        3. Presenter does not split their attention
      3. Presenters
      4. Marketer
    3. Pick your Dates/Times
      1. Look at time zones
      2. Unlimited events in a certain time period
    4. Create Timelines and Responsibilities
      1. Description/Target Date/Responsible Party/Status
    5. Other Decisions

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Microsoft Registered Partner

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

officelivemeetingmicrosoftlogoIt’s important to know that we are serious and dedicated in keeping up with technology. As such, we have registered with Microsoft as a Partner in using their web-conferencing platform, Live Meeting. This does not mean that this is the only platform we will use. However, it does mean that we hold high standards of practice. With that in mind, we are aiming to become a Certified Microsoft Partner.  If you are interested in conducting a customer case study, please let us know.

Webinar Techniques – “You had me at Hello…”

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

I attended a free Adobe eSeminar the other day and learned some good techniques to use when presenting a seminar on a web-conferencing platform.

Some good techniques included using:

Anticipation is created with phrases such as “At last…”, “Imagine…”, “…new…”, or offer and award at the end.
Incongruity with a question and a off the wall answer, or surprising facts.
Participation by asking questions, getting attendee involved in polls, unique answers.
Visuals are understood faster by the brain then words, thus saving time. Visuals are more memorable and keep attendees focused. Select graphics that have a lot of details, are abstract, and show contrast.
Vocal Variety by changing melody and pitch at adjectives and adverbs. Use different presenters. Use different emotions.

Bad techniques include:

Starting an introduction about yourself seems self-indulgent (have someone else introduce you, or put the focus on the attendees)
Bulleted slides
Monotone Voice

Which Web-Conferencing Software is the Best?

Friday, April 10th, 2009

Best Web Conferencing Services (article taken from All Conference Services Website)

Web Conferencing

Web-based conferencing systems use Internet browsers and servers, specific software selections, and other equipment to allow home-based individuals and businesses to interact with one another.

On the market, a multitude of web conferencing companies offer a wide range of services.

When it comes to the best, a careful analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of top products is necessary to come to a conclusion based upon individual or corporate needs.

In helping consumers locate best web conferencing software and services that cater best to their requirements, a few factors help make the decision much easier to accomplish.

The Top 7 Web Conferencing Solutions are as follows:

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