by Chris Bartot - Senior Producer
27. May 2009 08:51
People have trouble differentiating between webcasting and web conferencing. While participation via the Internet makes them similar, their optimal audience size and event impact make them different.
You are an executive for a global corporation. Your company is tightening its belt but you must still pass important information on to employees so they can achieve their goals in the coming year. You need to create excitement. You need to move seamlessly among presenters and prerecorded content. You need the wow factor. You consider using the Internet and are about to experience your first webcast.
A webcast is equivalent to a TV broadcast, in which a live (or prerecorded) program is sent from a central location to an unlimited number of viewers, streamed over the Internet as audio and video and received within a branded interface. Savings come from eliminating venue booking and travel costs. Participants still experience a high-end, branded meeting with consistent content, seamless transitions among presenters and prerecorded media with a live-meeting wow factor. The webcast is typically viewed using your computer’s web browser and Windows Media Player or RealPlayer. Different connection speeds can be used based on network needs. Presenters can use PowerPoint as well as pre-recorded media–all in real time. Interactivity can be achieved through audience questions and polling. A webcast retains the live-meeting-style production often provided by a production company.
Ever get invited to participate in a WebEx, or Live Meeting event? You accept the invitation, dial into a phone conference bridge, connect to the Internet and login to the Web portion of the conference. You and a small group of participants share PowerPoint slides; have discussions; review white papers, etc. Perhaps you view a video or two, exchange control of the meeting and vote on issues. It is a good meeting and all for a reasonable cost. Sound familiar? You just experienced a web conference.
Web conferencing is similar to a face-face meeting or seminar, with multiple degrees of presentation, interaction and collaboration among a smaller group of users. These user-driven Web conferences are generally interactive with the ability to share presentation rights and control of applications among all group members. Attendees generally dial into a conference bridge to receive the audio in real time and access the internet to view the presentation. This technology continues to advance and some leading Web conferencing services such as WebEx and Microsoft Live Meeting are now offering versions which deliver the audio, presentation and video playback as a single Web connection. A Web conference is normally driven by the client who owns the licenses needed for everyone to participate. All media must be pre-loaded into each participant’s computer prior to being viewed making it difficult to ensure that all participants are receiving the same content at the same time.
Webcasting and Web conferencing each have their place in the world of corporate communications. It really depends on who you want to reach and with how big a bang.
Chris Bartot is a Senior Producer with Quicksilver who this past winter helped Right Management reach their leadership over three days using webcasting.
