Great America Networks Conferencing Blog

All the WebConferencing information in one place!

A big thanks to Guy Kawasaki and the fine people at Alltop.com. They just opened the channel for WebConferencing and our  Blog is placed first on the list.

For those of you that are new to Alltop, you can consider it an online magazine rack for just about any topic you would imagine. It truly is Aggregation without Aggravation as they say.

Some other great blogs that are included there is Ken Molay's The Webinar Blog, Webinar News, Conferencing News and Webinar FAQ, along with many other fine blogs and news sites related to the WebConferencing Industry.

Definitely Well worth a visit. Don't worry all followers that are awaiting news on the upgrades to QuickVisuals, the details will be forthcoming soon.

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

How many hoops do you force your audience to jump through?

As riveting and important as your content might be, there is only so many hoops that your audience is going to be willing to jump through to meet you. If you are having a Tele-seminar or Webinar and you want to make sure that you have a high attendance, you have to make it easy for people to show up. If it is too complicated, they just wont come.

Every additional hoop that you require people to jump through is going to turn back a portion of your audience. Some of these might seem minuscule, but it is what is important to each members situation that matters. Each of the following will deter some of your audience:

• The call in number is not toll-free
• There is a download to view the webinar
• I have to sign up for an account with (insert random service here)
• Only certain Operating systems allowed (Not Mac/Linux compatible)
• I have to control muting/un-muting of my own phone upon entering
• I can't take much more of that "now entering/now exiting" announcement
• I have to re-size my screen, or scroll to see the entire presentation
• You need my email address?? Why?
• My favorite browser is not supported.
• Oh good there is a recording if I miss it live. I have to download a proprietary player to view it.
• Java updated again and I am a version behind. I can't get in.
• This is too complicated!

With Great America Networks Conferencing, we can remove every one of these objections for you. Make it easy for your audience to join you, and they will!

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

Faster isn't always better.

Did you know?

 Driving faster to your destination isn't any better than driving at a leisurely pace, as far as saving gas goes. For every 5 mph over 55, you lose roughly 10% of your fuel economy. So even though you may have gotten to work a little earlier this morning by going 70 mph, you’ve lost roughly 30% of your fuel economy! 

 So don’t rush in the morning! Give yourself the time you need while reducing your pollution and saving yourself money by obeying those speed limits!  Or it might be time for you to find out more about Telecommuting and you could avoid that trip all together. If you would like more information or would like to setup telecommuting in your business, please contact me.

Dave Hatfield
GAN Conferencing
Account Services Manager
Office: (312) 432-5352
dhatfield@ganconference.com
www.GANConference.com

How can you meet your social network?

I have multiple accounts in the social networking space. From LinkedIn, Facebook, Delicious, Plaxo, and of course Twitter, I have a wide range of connections on the web. There are also contacts in my Outlook and Gmail account as well. All in all, I know a lot of people in a wider demographic than ever before.

How could I reach them all at once in a live situation? Some networks are more immediate than others, but if I wanted to have an open conversation, and share information in real time with the people on my different social networks, is there a way?

If you got this far, and have read any of my previous blog posts here, I'm sure you know what the answer is going to be. A QuickVisuals WebConference is flexible enough, and compatible enough that I can send a mass invite to my connections across all my networks and be confident, that anyone who wants to join my impromptu meeting will be able to.

Windows user of course. Mac or Linux users, which are prevalent in the social network space, not a problem. What about my not so tech oriented friends who can manage their email accounts and basic web browsing only. No tricky plug-ins or sign-ups for them to join, so they can make it. Just click and enter a name.

I have contacts in some tight secure financial, government, or legal institutions though. Not to worry as with No Downloads required, they will be able to join in easily without having to call in the IT department. My International connections can join in from anywhere, and in many locations of the world, call on the TeleConference line toll-free as well.

Having mass compatibility, along with a simple to use interface, makes QuickVisuals one of the most accessible ways to communicate with the largest range of people. Does your business target a wide demographic? Can you accommodate them all without a section being restricted in your current communications? You can with Great America Networks Conferencing.

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

The different ways we communicate today.

Yesterday I was quoted in a blog post by Yvonne Divita. I'm honored she thought enough of my comment to include me in her blog.Thank you Yvonne. But that isn't why I write this. I write this because it made me realize just now how much communication has changed in recent years.

Yvonne asked a question on Twitter, which I replied to instantly. She also received a number of other replies as well. Twitter really is an amazing wealth of information if you know how to use it. She posted my reply in her Blog and sent a Tweet informing me, (and others) that she blogged our comments, with a link to read it.

I read her blog and left a comment on it, (communication form number two). I sent an Instant Message to a friend of mine, as he is in a management position and leadership is a big part of his job, so I thought he would enjoy the read. On the phone I mentioned to my wife that I was quoted, (as I know there is no more honest critic of every word I say than her) and told her where to read it. Also, my mom still gets a kick out of seeing her son's name in an article, so I emailed the link to her as well.

Now I am blogging about it myself. That's six different forms of communication in case you lost count. And that was without a personal face to face conversation or sending it out to a large number of people, such as I would share in a WebConference or Conference Call.

The next time you have get some information to someone, or to many people, keep your mind open about all the different ways we have available to us in order to accomplish that simple task. just a century ago, it was face to face, or the telegraph. We've come a long way!

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
Phone: 312-432-5377
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Award-winning Shoretel IP PBX Platform

Were you aware that in addition to our outstanding web and audio conferencing solutions, we can provide Shoretel phone systems installed and maintained by BTI Communications Group?  BTI is an affiliate of Great America Networks Conferencing and provides expert telecommunications services in Northern and Southern California, Minneapolis Minnesota, and Chicago Illinois.

In addition, we can also save you money on your phone bills, including:

• Local Phone Service
• MPLS
• Internet
• Long Distance Phone Service
• PRI
• Calling Cards
• and much more

For more information, go to www.btigroup.com and give us a call or fill out our free consultation form.

Another Nail in the Coffin for HD-DVD Format.

Looks like another nail in the coffin for the Toshiba-backed HD-DVD format.  This article explains how Toshiba is putting an axe in the program.

This is great news for consumers as no one should have to play the "format wars" game.  It's expensive and if you end up on the losing end of the war you have wasted a lot of money.

www.ganconference.com

Wal-Mart to only sell Blu-ray DVDs.

This isn't related to conferencing and collaboration per se, but the war between Blu-ray and HD-DVD seems to be favoring the Blu-ray camp right now.  This article tells how Wal-Mart is phasing out HD-DVD altogether and will only offer Blu-ray beginning in a few months.  This will be a major blow to the HD-DVD camp and the major backers, including Toshiba.

What does this mean to you as a consumer?  If you remember the Betamax versus VHS wars, I firmly believe that Blu-Ray will be the VHS and HD-DVD will be the Betamax.

Time will tell.

www.ganconference.com

Looking for a new laptop?

This article describes the new Apple MacBook Air.  If you're in the market for a stylish and thin notebook then you might want to take a look at this article.  I'm not a big fan of Mac's but I have been looking at getting one to use from an R&D perspective.

www.ganconference.com

Pure VOIP Through PC Only Communication

For those of you who know me personally, you already know what a big fan I am of Virtual Worlds and Online Role Playing games.  One important aspect of these communities are that they require a high level of constant communication.  Most of them utilize chat messaging as their "core" communication type, however the move towards VOIP audio is starting to become more prevalent.