Great America Networks Conferencing Blog

Different VideoConferencing resolutions for different uses

GAN Conferencing is leading the industry in accessibility and ease of use for WebConferencing. With webcams becoming more and more common on computers, there is a good chance that the members of your meeting will have the ability to share live video. It's the days of everywhere VideoConferencing and QuickVisuals is leading the way.

The flexibility to QuickVisuals is very apparent when it comes to VideoConferencing. When you are looking for a team of 9 people to be in one conference all on video, you want to make sure speed and wide scalability is the top priority. For an executive meeting, you might want a higher quality stream to be the setting with only 2-3 windows showing.

The beauty of working with GAN Conferencing is we are a personal type of company. As your video conferencing needs change, you can contact us to change your service instantly. Your Dedicated Conferencing Consultant will go over with you what you are looking to accomplish, and recommend the settings that work best for that situation. This isn't something that is required to be changed often, but when it is needed, it usually is very important.

QuickVisuals offers 4 main resolutions of live video in your meetings from a small quick stream good for open environments or many people on the screen, up to an HD resolution window that is optimized for a closed environment with the focus on quality. It's always important to remember the bandwidth requirements of VideoConferencing and your attendees likely connections.

The flexibility of both QuickVisuals and GAN Conferencing is all in place to make sure your important meetings function the way you want them to and with the best possible quality, no matter how varied they might be.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Keeping track of everything. How automated reporting helps you stay organized.

There is a reason what we do all day is called business. It keeps us very busy! Sometimes too busy to keep track of all the things that you know you should. Corporate is calling for more and more tracking of time and activity, and it is just good practice to stay productive and efficient, but who has the time to make reports all day?

Great America Networks Conferencing is here to relieve you of the menial but all-important task. We will keep track of all the conferencing you do and email you a copy of everything that you want to know about your conferences. This is of course configurable by you to be active or not, but in this day and age, a log of activity is very beneficial. Here is a rundown of some of the ways GAN Conferencing can help you stay organized:

You have a morning conference call and need to make sure you are aware of who was on the call and how long they were there. Also Accounting wants to know the cost of each call as it happens, and your supervisor is interested in knowing how you have been spending your day as well.

With the settings you can customize in your QuickPortal, you are able to have a log of all the teleconference information emailed to you and 2 other email addresses within minutes of completing a conference. This way you have a record of all attendees, dial-in numbers, durations, and costs for every call in near real-time.

After lunch you run a marketing webinar for lead generation to your companies new product. This is something that you will do routinely to generate more interest as your products adoption grows so you are constantly fine-tuning your presentation to make sure it is as efficient and current as possible.

In QuickVisuals you are able to configure a report to be sent to you automatically that includes a link to every slide that was shared, all media that was played in the meeting and any chat conversations that took place. Also available is the names of all attendees with their phone numbers, durations, and the time that any Webcams were activated during the conference. By comparing multiple reports you can fine-tune your presentation in an easy and efficient manner.

The training session on the new product was of course scheduled while you were performing your marketing webinar so you could not attend live. Fortunately, the moderator of the session has forwarded you the QuickVisuals Meeting Report along with the link to the recording. As the day dies down, you plan to review the session from home after dinner. A simple click and you're in the meeting on your home desktop. The usual introduction is standard fare for your sessions so you click the bookmark to 'Slide 5' and on, then view the training video that was shared and download the Whitepaper that was distributed as well. there were some good questions asked both in the chat transcript and verbally over the TeleConference that really provides additional insight for you.

The ability to have a log of your activity in conferencing is beneficial on many levels to both you, and to your company. Great America Networks Conferencing offers reporting services free of charge with QuickConnect, QuickVisuals and QuickPortal that all allow you to concentrate on your business and move on quickly to your next task.

Making your day easier is what we are here for. Let us help you.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Present from Anywhere with QuickVisuals!

In the perfect world we are able to run our WebConferences on our main desktop computer in our office or home always. All of our presentations,  media, and information is right there and ready to go. We have the computer perfectly setup how we need it for the WebConference and things always go exactly according to plan.

It also never rains on important outdoor events. Traffic lights always turn green as we approach, and every situation works flawlessly according to plan in every aspect of our business and life.

Well now welcome to the real world.

It may rain when you need it not too. The lights can take forever and, believe it or not, there are twists and turns in most every decision to make for our business and life.

You need to be flexible.
You need to be able to adapt.
You need your conferencing service to as well.

QuickVisuals from Great America Networks Conferencing is the most flexible service there is for WebConferencing or VideoConferencing. You can be at any modern computer using just about any browser they might have on it.

It's completely cross-platform so just about any computer will do. You have no installation to worry about so you're up and running instantly. You don't even need your presentation information as it's stored in your Online Library!

It just works whether you are traveling and stuck in an airport using their kiosk, a local retail office store, a library, or anywhere. You have the ability to adapt. You have the ability to not have to cancel your meeting. You have the ability to come through. You have QuickVisuals and Great America Networks Conferencing behind you.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Custom Branding - Promote your brand, not your WebConference providers.

You get a lot of benefits when working with QuickVisuals for your WebConferencing. A simple to use platform that is accessible by virtually anyone. Full featured WebConferencing with integrated 100% quality audio. The ability to show PowerPoint, your desktop or rich media seamlessly to hundreds of people, and the world class level of customer support offered by us here at Great America Networks Conferencing.

But these are only some of the many reasons to choose QuickVisuals as your WebConference platform. A major benefit that is not offered by just about anyone else out there in the industry is the ability to fully custom brand the service for your company.

When you invite people into  conference with another provider, are they going to the providers domain? Are they looking at the providers logo the whole time? Why should you promote the WebConference company, when you want an additional avenue to promote your own brand?

At Great America Networks Conferencing, we allow you to completely customize the QuickVisuals interface. From the backdrop of the conference, to the login page colors and logo, even down up to a custom subdomain. Have your attendees see your name everywhere on the way into the conference, rather than ours, or any other webconference provider. Only at Great America Networks Conferencing can you have that level of full customization.

Allow us to help you put your best foot forward with your presentations, in a service that promotes your company 100%, and not someone elses. Contact us today.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

The many uses of a hammer

I am not a handy guy. That's why I work with technology instead.

Don't get me wrong. I can fix a few things. Put together some stuff following the directions, and occasionally do something with tools that will impress my wife at least. I'm no Bob Villa, but I can handle your basic tools without winding up in the emergency room.

One of the many useful things my grandfather taught me growing up that I always remember is that almost every job needs a hammer. A hammer is the most basic of tools. It's easy to use, and takes little to no training to be proficient with it. It is also one of the most versatile. A hammer allows you to:

• Drive a nail
• Yank a nail (or anything)
• Break stuff (one of my favorites)
• Extend your reach (good when on your knees working and don't want to get up to reach something)
• Pick-Up things
• Push a button
• Tap minor adjustments
• Break more stuff

It is the tool that has been around for the longest time and will be around forever in any toolshop. No matter how far nailguns advance, you would be hard pressed to find a real handy guy without a hammer.

A good WebConferencing platform has many of the same qualities. Easy to use and can be done with little or no training, (although we are always happy to train you). It also needs to be versatile. Your WebConferencing service should allow you to:

• Present information
• Receive information
• Make an Impact
• Allow you to reach your audience anywhere without limitation or restriction
• Provide the ability to pick-up looks on peoples faces (with video)
• Train, Collaborate, Research, Present, Sell!
• Internally adjust policies and procedures
• Choose to do any one, or all of these things at a moments notice with anyone!

QuickVisuals is the most versatile tool you can have in your business toolbelt. With little training you can invite, present, and collaborate with just about anyone regardless of their computer specs or connection requirements.

Imagine if you had a hammer that could only drive nails, and nothing else?

If you are looking for WebConferencing services for a specific reason, make sure you don't wind up with a service that limits your growth and capabilities down the line. You never know what you might find yourself using your tool for in the future.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Question & Answer tips during a Webinar

Great America Networks Conferencing offers hold-your-hand kind of service and support for our clients as you have heard me mention a few times before. It is important because the chance to learn, prepare, and practice before a webinar is important for insuring a good event. We take your events seriously and do all that we can to make sure they run the way you envision them.

One of the ways we try to do that is to assist in the first time or two that you might be having a webinar with our service. This means I have sat in on a lot of webinars, and have seen some that run better than others in the "presenter skills" department.

One section that can be a challenge to some is the inclusion of a live Question and Answer session in the their webinar. At Great America Networks Conferencing we make it easy to have a professional, and efficient Q & A with our QuickAssist Live Operator service. What we cannot do though is predict the questions your audience might have and ask, or worse...not ask.

In reading a post from Ken Molay over at The Webinar Blog, he addresses some very good tips that can help you make sure that the your Webinar Q & A session runs as smoothly as possible. Give the post a read as it offers some good insight, but I'll list the tips here as well:

1) Get people used to typing in their console early and often. Ask a question or two that is easy and fun. Ask people to type their first name, or identify a picture taken from a TV show or movie. You want them to learn that interaction is expected, natural, and non-threatening.

 

2) Refer to questions and comments throughout your presentation if you can. Just a quick offhanded remark can let people know that their contributions are being noticed. "Karen says she agrees with that. Thanks, Karen!"

 

3) When possible, refer to questioners by first name only. This builds a personal connection, but doesn't identify them to the public. It's the perfect match between recognition and privacy.

 

4) Avoid the phrase "That's a good question." If you overuse it you sound insincere. If you use it on some and not others, you imply that some questions aren't as "good."  Try alternate phrases such as "I'm glad you asked this question, because it gives me a chance to…" "Interesting… Let's take a look at that."

 

5) ALWAYS have seed questions ready to cover slow spots. Read them as if they came from the audience (announce a fake first name). People tend to start asking questions when they hear other people asking questions.

 

6) Keep your energy up, up, up! If you give a big sigh at the end of your presentation and read off questions in a bored tone of voice because you've heard them all before, nobody is going to want to play with you. Be enthusiastic about the opportunity to interact with your audience. Make them believe you LOVE doing Q&A!

If you give webinars on a regular basis, I definitely recommend subscribing to Ken's blog as he gives informative posts that can help you in a multitude of ways, and from a platform independent perspective as well.

In the end, good presentation skills in webinars come from the same place people earn them in live in-person events. Practice, practice, practice. Having a company that will work with you on that practice can make all the difference between a webinar... and a memorable webinar.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

How to know it's time to add Web to your TeleConferencing

Many companies see the immediate need for TeleConferencing today. People are always on the go and rarely in the same place for very long. When you have to talk to a group, there is no better way than a TeleConference to get everyone together quickly for a discussion.

There are some signs though that it might be time to organize a WebConference in addition to that TeleConference. Here are some questions to ask yourself to see if it's time for your company to implement WebConferencing:

• Are there documents or items being discussed that are visual?
• Does someone often say "Do you see that part...?" during the conversation?
• Is the phrase "I'll e-mail it to you after the call" said a lot?
• Is there usually a member who is not prepared with all the information available?
• Do you spend a good portion of the call re-hashing previous calls and points made?
• Would it just be more efficient if people could see what you are talking about instead of explaining?

A WebConference can alleviate these issues that are common to conference calls, and QuickVisuals from Great America Networks Conferencing is the industry leading simplest WebConference to implement. The visual element of a WebConference encourages 70% more retention than just hearing something. Your calls will be more efficient and more productive with less questioning what everyone is looking at, and confidence that the goals of the call have been addressed.

Allow a Dedicated Conferencing Consultant show you today what benefits WebConferencing will have to your business and productivity. Contact us today!

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Bringing the right ingredients together

My grandmother was a great cook. My sister is a great cook. My mother on the other hand...you know how they say things can skip a generation? That's my mom's cooking. She has always been a wonderful mother and provider, and she can follow a laid out recipe just fine, but there was that something that my grandmother and sister can do, that just eluded her in the kitchen.

Some call it instinct, talent, or skill. What I think it comes down to is just bringing the right ingredients together in the right way, and doing the little extras that make the difference. It goes for more than just cooking. It applies in business as well.

There are many companies that provide similar services, as in the Conferencing industry. All are following pretty much the same basic recipe also. Take a conferencing bridge, software, infrastructure, plus a few more things. Mix it all together with good customer service, and sprinkle some smart business management in the mix and you have a company providing a conferencing service. Some just stand out more than others.

What could be the difference? Better ingredients make for a better result. Using only top quality hardware and cutting edge software ensures the right experience when a presenter is moving through a conferencing presentation. Proper training and support gives that person confidence in the outcome they will have. A smooth experience bringing all of your guests to the table ensures they will be the most receptive to your offering as well.

Great America Networks Conferencing strives to put everything in place from the hardware, software, training, support, and pricing to make sure that you get the best possible product and your event, whether its the daily meal or holiday special, is going to be a memorable one for all that were involved.

Contact us today and we will take the care to make sure that your company is going to have it's audience leaving the meeting stuffed full of information, and impressed with your presentation of it. We'll take care of the kitchen.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Control your TeleConference from within QuickVisuals

Have you had a webinar where everything was going good until you open the floor for questions? You see the attendees list raise their hands to ask a question. You cross your fingers hoping this goes well as you hit the keypad of your phone to un-mute the entire TeleConference to hear the questions.

Immediately you have background noise, office chatter, open car windows, and who knows what else filling the TeleConference line. There must be a better way to just talk with one person at a time?

How about asking people to un-mute their own line if they want to ask a question. As much as you would like to think it will be simple to announce the name of the person to do so, there is inevitably a few who jump the gun, or can't get their line un-muted. "Was that #6 or *6?" Then they forget to mute it again, and there is the background noise issue again as too many lines are open.

What you need is full control of your TeleConference. What you need is your TeleConference integrated into your WebConference, so YOU are the one who is in control of which lines are open and muted. QuickVisuals gives you this power with GAN Conferencing's Full Audio Integration.

Utilizing QuickConnect TeleConferencing in your WebConference is already a great boost in quality over the so called "free" services that are out there. The added benefit that QuickConnect is 100% integrated into QuickVisuals is just icing on the cake. Mute or Un-mute the entire call with ease. Individually right-click on a person's name in the QuickVisuals attendee list and you have options to Mute/Un-Mute or even hang up that one line. What could be simpler?

For a full demonstration in just how easy and smoothly you can control your accompanying TeleConference during a QuickVisuals Webinar, Contact us today.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

The great VideoConferencing decision for business

The good folks at ZDNet have a great article on the main choice a company has to make when considering to implement VideoConferencing into their communications. Go forward with a built in solution for an exorbitant amount of money that will require maintenance and upkeep, or look into a hosted service that is cheaper and easier, plus more accessable.

I am the first to say that there is no hosted service that can pull off the "feel like you are there" appearence of some of the $250,000+ installed videoconferencing systems. It really is a phenomenal marriage of microphones, cameras, bandwidth, and architecture.

This is a great solution for 2 companies that regularly meet by flying around the world and meet regularly. Also it is good for one multi-location company that just has to have that "like you're there" feeling. Outside of those situations, though it might be a bit much to get the job done.

QuickVisuals from Great America Networks Conferencing offers VideoConferencing that is available anywhere to anyone with a computer, camera, and internet connection. No worries about protocols, configurations, or accessability. It just works for just about anyone you want to videoconference with.

You will not think you are in the same room with the other parties. You will not mistakenly reach at the screen to shake the other persons hand. What you will do though is have a videoconference easily and with just about anyone you choose to, right from your desk, or anywhere.

Saving a quarter million dollars wont hurt either. Contact us today.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
Skype: anth.russo