Posted on 05/21/2007 12:14:06 PM PDT by PeteePie
Just thought I'd tap the most mobile, informed, and technically savvy pool of of esoteric talent in the great US. I need to source tools for creating and hosting a Webinar for my place of employ. We're big so I we have to project technical credibility along with the message. We want to be able to play the "event" back so hosting is also a spec for this job. I've never delved into this arena of the internet realm before but I need to do it right - that's why I thought I'd take a stab at a superior solution from the minds of the Right.
- later -
I thought that’s what Instant Messaging was for............
My suggestion is to call it an online seminar, not a Webinar. (I dislike portmanteau words.)
www.effectivemeetings.com/technology/conferencing/success_webinars.asp
Offer virtual free pizza.
...you lost me at esoteric. :)
Will their be a networking function with an open bar afterwards? That’s where I get most of my business done. (ahem)
Yeah, so far so good. I’m getting good feedback. I wish I was doing one for Domino’s. Send out a scratch-n-sniff, a phone number and virtual demo the baking process. Too bad I work for a bank.
I work with MSFT Live Meeting, which works fine.
Long ago I worked with WebEx, which worked well at the time.
Other than that, you can try the big webinar players such as WebEx, Breeze by Macromedia (now Adobe), Meeting Place by Cisco, Interwise, and Placeware by Microsoft.
If you google 'web conferencing', you'll see a number of smaller alternatives as well.
The key to any successful 'webinar' is to keep the audience engaged. My advice is to get a book with good accelerated adult learning techniques. Lots of great ways to encourage questions and interaction. Good luck!
Thank you!
> I need to source tools for creating and hosting a Webinar for my place of employ. We’re big so I we have to project technical credibility along with the message.
Do you have any alternatives to a “Webinar”? I think they suck as a communications medium: even when done really well, they suck. The message will not get thru, it will only suck. Projecting technical credibility along with the message will not be possible, because of the loud sucking sound that accompanies every Webinar. That is because Webinars are a misuse of technology akin to Automated Attendant, VoiceMail, E-Mail and Texting. The latest on a long list of things NOT TO DO with Technology.
There is no way to make them un-suck. They suck majorly and their vaccuum cannot be easily broken. There are better ways to deliver the message, surely?
We’ve used Webex and GoToMeeting for demo’s and training.
Seems to be quicker on gotomeeting.
Hardest thing for me to deal with is lack of feedback from the auduence. As a trainer and presenter, I usually llok out at the peoples faces to see if they get it.
In webinars and gotomeetings, that isn’t possible.
Best idea - practice,practice,practice, record one and show it to someone who isn’t familiar with the material. If they have questions incorporate those area’s into your presentation as well. That way you don’t leave out critical info for dummies.
>>Too bad I work for a bank.<<
Forget Domino’s. Offer free money!
We use the following service:
It also has a recording feature — although we use a third party program — Camtasia — to record. After that, the recorded file has to be converted to the playback media of your choice.
> Your take is actually right on the money. Our marketing group pushed back with politically correct sentiment along these same lines. People will “multitask” (read “sleep”) during the thing but sales people seem to need to blame their downturns on something, might as well be “gee, if we had a decent on-line seminar, the products would sell themselves!”
Sadly, I speak from experience. I was told to “Webinar” rather than do what Salesmen should do — visit clients in-person — and the results sucked. The company lost squillions of dollars because clients do not like to be Webinar’ed. Indeed, they find the technology intrusive, obnoxious and arrogant. Who wants to be talked down to by a machine, anyrate??
The “Webinar” concept didn’t do my commissions one bit of good! And the moron at the top of the chain somehow just couldn’t believe that his Webinar idea actually sucked.
Best advice? Resist the indignity of Webinars are hard as you possibly can: you will be doing your company’s shareholders a huge favor.
LOL. From your diatribe, I gather that smoke signals are your preferred method for distance learning.
Gotcha - you were using them for sales. I agree with you on that. Get thee in front of your customer.
One more thought on Webinars: what kind of message does this misuse of Technology send to the most important people in your company’s life — your Clients?
How’s this one for a start:
“Uhhh, gee. I don’t feel like getting off my lazy ass and climbing into my car to visit you, like a good salesman should. It’s too much bother to book an appointment and have to talk to you in person. Instead, I’m going to make you all sit down and talk to you by remote control, all at once, for my convenience. Please pretend to be as interested as I am pretending to be. Truth is, I don’t really care about human interaction: that’s what computers are for. Uh-Yuk! Uh-Yuk! Uh-Yuk!”
With technology it’s important to observe The Golden Rule: “Just because it is technically possible, it does not necessarily follow that you should do it.”
Computer geeks and the powers-that-be (like my CEO who thought Webinars were a great idea) sometimes don’t get this core, fundamental concept. So sending them to free, intensive Yoga classes on Company Time should fix the problem. After much practise and flexibility-building, it just might be technically possible for them to stick their heads up their West Ends. Whether they *should* do this is a matter open to debate...
...but the lesson would be learned, permanently.
that sounds just like the scenario that’s unfolding here. We enlightened marketing types, who get paid to know this stuff and make proper recommendations, know it’s going to be a waste. Problem in a large corp is there are plenty of intertwined departments involved around which failure can be assigned rather than on the reality that these things actually suck. Thanks for the validation!
> that sounds just like the scenario that’s unfolding here. We enlightened marketing types, who get paid to know this stuff and make proper recommendations, know it’s going to be a waste. Problem in a large corp is there are plenty of intertwined departments involved around which failure can be assigned rather than on the reality that these things actually suck. Thanks for the validation!
It’s a pleasure, mate — and I wish you all the best.
Sometimes I feel like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (except I’m not so pretty) driving stakes thru the hearts of Dumb Ideas: like VoiceMail, Automated Attendant, and Webinars. Anything and everything that tells Clients that they are not important enough to be dealt with immediately and in person, face-to-face if possible.
Face-time with Clients is THE MOST VALUABLE THING that a Salesman can have. It is THE MOST VALUABLE GIFT a company can give to its Clients. People buy from people that they like, and nobody else. That is what Relationship Management is all about. And Relationships are built face-to-face, with Face-Time. So why in Thunderin’ell would *anybody* voluntarily adopt technologies that erodes Face-Time??
Not on my watch!
*DieHard*
> LOL. From your diatribe, I gather that smoke signals are your preferred method for distance learning.
Funny you should mention distance learning. When I established the Guardian Angels in New Zealand, the closest Chapters to me was Oregon and Reno. So my training could not happen in person, it had to happen via distance learning. I had to learn the entire syllabus — some 550 pages of manuals — by myself.
I put the manual on one of those thingamys that plug into your USB port — you know, the ones you can wear on a lanyard — and plugged it into my laptop whenever I had a spare moment, usually while on the road during the evenings in a motel somewhere en-route to a Client’s place.
That, and e-mail, worked a treat.
A Webinar would never have worked, and would have driven me crazy.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
Whatever you choose, tie up with a couple of friends and Practice to get a good feel and understanding of its points and limitations.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
Good luck.
Thank you Guvnuh!
Being among the most mobile, informed, and technically savvy pool of of esoteric talent in the great US, I feel compelled to ask; What the heck is a Webinar?
> Being among the most mobile, informed, and technically savvy pool of of esoteric talent in the great US, I feel compelled to ask; What the heck is a Webinar?
It is an obnoxious use of technology, whereby the web browser is used in real-time, remotely, to flash a bunch of demo junk onto your screen — to which you are supposed and expected to “Oooooh!” and “Ahhhhh!” at all the right moments. And there will be a speakerphone on the desk to ensure that you do.
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