Web Conferencing Lingo Explored

  

  

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While Web conferencing can offer a number of benefits for the nonprofit or the small business, it can be a confusing to understand the technology option and even industry lingo. You may understand that Web conferencing uses the Internet to allow for the transfer of audio, but maybe a closer look at different features and lingo will help you navigate the Web conferencing maze.

Let’s take a look at just a few of the different issues that may come into play when trying to facilitate Web conference sessions:

IM – instant messaging is something that can come in handy during a Web conference session. If a participant needs to communicate directly with another attendee or the presenter without including others, sending an instant message allows a note to be sent without visibly interrupting the conference.

Shared Desktop – how effective would all of your meeting be if you could allow the attendees to not only see your desktop computer, but also move around within the applications? Web conferencing is much more effective when all attendees have total access to desktop applications.

Telepresence – this term is often used to refer to top-tier conferencing systems available from such providers as Cisco Systems. For the small business or nonprofit, such systems are more than is necessary to conduct effective Web conference sessions. As for the meaning of this term, it simply means you are able to project your presence through telecommunications technologies without physically being in another location.

Webcams – there are few surprises with webcams as they serve exactly the purpose for which they were named. A webcam is either a separate peripheral that is placed on top of a computer monitor or it could also be built directly into the monitor. Either way, it is used to transfer captured visuals to an application on the computer or over the Internet.

Don’t Forget Security

One of the main questions that can arise when considering Web conferencing solutions is whether or not you are putting your company at risk. In truth, any online activity presents certain risk to the organization, demanding that you have specific protections in place. Keep in mind that when you add new software or platforms to your network, it creates new risks. As a result, you must make the necessary changes to your firewall and virus protection to keep the system healthy.