Stephen Nold

Top Technologies for 2008: Webinars
February 27, 2008

The term webinar stands for Web-based seminar, which can represent a variety of presentations or meetings transmitted via the Internet. A webinar is a form of Web conferencing used to conduct live meetings or presentations.

A webinar harnesses the power of technology by creating multi-directional communication and allow participants to share information in an array of digital mediums.  Another tool also categorized in the same genre is a webcast, in which the data transmission is one way and does not allow interaction between the presenter and the audience.  

A webinar can provide supplementary education for organizational members in the time between conferences and events.  Webinars can also extend the life of events and keep attendees participating even after the event is over.

A webinar can be collaborative and may include polling or question and answer sessions to stimulate dialogue between the audience and the presenter.  A webinar is 'live' in the sense that information is conveyed according to an agenda, with a starting and ending time. The presenter may speak over a standard telephone line, pointing out information being presented on screen, and the audience can respond over their own telephones, preferably a speakerphone. There are a few web conferencing technologies on the market that have incorporated the use of VoIP audio technology to allow for a truly web-driven presentation, removing the need for any external devices, such as telephones.

Posted by Stephen Nold on February 27, 2008 | Comments (0)