Web Conferencing Dictionary
Web Conference/Web Conferencing: A web conference is used to conduct live meetings or presentations over the Internet. In the early years of the Internet, the terms "web conferencing" and "computer conferencing" were often used to refer to group discussions conducted within a message board (via posted text messages) therefore not live, but the term has evolved to refer specifically to "live" or "synchronous" meetings, while the posted message variety of discussion is called a "forum", "message board", or "bulletin board".
In a web conference, each participant sits at his or her own computer, and is connected to other participants via the internet. This can be either a downloaded application on each of the attendees computers or a web-based application where the attendees will simply enter a "URL" or website meeting address to enter the live meeting or conference. These web-based applications are used either with Flash or Java technology.
Types of Web Conferences:
Event: Allow us to manage your next online event. We'll handle every detail from registration to post-session follow-up.
On Demand: Enjoy the freedom and flexibility of hosting Web and audio conferences at anytime without making reservations.
Support: Support based web conferences enables high quality customer support over the Internet. Representatives gain the ability not only to see the customer’s problem, but also to get hands-on access to it – dramatically expediting resolution time and giving each customer the personalized attention that builds loyalty. Support based web conferences make it possible for support reps to help multiple users at once and allow an assistant technician to join the session as well. With personalized features such as picture ID, text chat, and interactive whiteboards, web conferences deliver a level of interaction that can’t be matched by telephone or email communication.
Training: A secure and reliable eLearning application, helps you achieve an immediate improvement in the content, effectiveness, and consistency of your online training programs. Customers, report that they're able to surpass the effectiveness of live training with web-based collaborative capabilities. These tools enable your organization to train geographically dispersed teams, all at the same time, with the highest levels of interactivity available from any eLearning solution. Just by eliminating travel, you'll save enough time and money to improve or expand your online training programs. Gives you continuous support for your most important, high visibility conference events. Experienced operators actively manage the conference and offer support for queuing questioners, polling participants and exchanging information with the conference host.
TERMS
Archive: A recording of a web conference that is available for viewing after the conference takes place.
Collaboration Platform: Unified electronic platforms that support synchronous and asynchronous communication through a variety of devices and channels. Collaboration platforms offer a set of software components and software services that enable individuals to find each other and the information they need and to be able to communicate and work together to achieve common business goals. The core elements of a collaboration platform are messaging (email, calendaring and scheduling, and contacts), team collaboration (file synchronization, ideas and notes in a wiki, task management, full-text search), and real-time collaboration and communication (e.g., presence, instant messaging, Web conferencing, application / desktop sharing, voice, audio and video conferencing), and Social Computing tools (e.g., blog, wiki, tagging, RSS, shared bookmarks).
Live Meeting: Microsoft Office Live Meeting is a web conferencing service operated by Microsoft. Live Meeting includes software that is installed on client PCs, and uses a central server for all clients to connect to. Currently, those servers are under the control of Microsoft, however, Microsoft also produces Office Communications Server which is an enterprise conferencing server product. The software is available for free download from the Microsoft website. There is also a JAVA based console which has antecedent release functionality. This also operates in a Mac and Solaris environment.
Multimedia: (Lat. Multum + Medium) is media that utilizes a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun (a medium with multiple content forms) or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which only utilize traditional forms of printed or hand-produced text and still graphics. In general, multimedia includes a combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video, and interactivity content forms. Multimedia is usually recorded and played, displayed or accessed by information content processing devices, such as computerized and electronic devices, but can also be part of a live performance. Multimedia (as an adjective) also describes electronic media devices used to store and experience multimedia content. Multimedia is similar to traditional mixed media in fine art, but with a broader scope. The term "rich media" is synonymous for interactive multimedia. Hypermedia can be considered one particular multimedia application.
Q&A: Viewers have the opportunity to submit a question to the presenter during the live broadcast of the event.
Registration: A web page containing blank fields to be completed by users prior to accessing a web conference. REGISTRATION EXAMPLE
Streaming: Streaming is multimedia that is constantly received by, and normally displayed to, the end-user while it is being delivered by the provider. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather than to the medium itself. The distinction is usually applied to media that are distributed over telecommunications networks, as most other delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g. radio, television) or inherently non-streaming (e.g. books, video cassettes, audio CDs). The verb 'to stream' is also derived from this term, meaning to deliver media in this manner. WEB STREAMING EXAMPLE
Webcast: A Webcast is a media file distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology. As a broadcast may either be live or recorded, similarly, a webcast may either be distributed live or recorded. Essentially, webcasting is “broadcasting” over the Internet. The generally accepted use of the term webcast is the "transmission of linear audio or video content over the Internet". A webcast uses streaming media technology to take a single content source and distribute it to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. The largest "webcasters" include existing radio and TV stations who "simulcast" their output, as well as a multitude of Internet only "stations". The term webcasting is usually reserved for referring to non-interactive linear streams or events. Rights and licensing bodies offer specific "webcasting licenses" to those wishing to carry out Internet broadcasting using copyright material. Webcasting is also used extensively in the commercial sector for investor relations presentations (such as Annual General Meetings), in E-learning (to transmit seminars), and for related communications activities. However, webcasting does not bear much, if any, relationship to the idea of web conferencing which is designed for many-to-many interaction. The ability to webcast using cheap/accessible technology has allowed independent media to flourish. There are many notable independent shows that broadcast regularly online. Often produced by average citizens in their homes they cover many interests and topics; from the mundane to the bizarre. Webcasts relating to computers, technology, and news are particularly popular and many new shows are added regularly.
WebEx: WebEx Communications Inc. is a Cisco Systems, Inc. company that provides on-demand collaboration, online meeting, web conferencing and video conferencing applications. Its products include "Meeting Center", "Training Center", "Event Center", "Support Center", "Sales Center" "MeetMeNow", "PCNow", "WebEx AIM Pro Business Edition" "WebEx WebOffice" and others. According to analyst firm IDC, WebEx is an on-demand market leader.
Webinar: A webinar is a type of web conference, that tends to be mostly one-way, from the speaker to the audience with limited audience interaction, such as in a Webcast, which is transmission of information in one direction only, like watching a concert on the internet. A webinar however, can be very collaborative, and include polling and question & answer sessions to allow full participation 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. In most cases, 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 a telephone.