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The recent terrorist attacks here in the US have caused many companies and individuals to rethink how they want to market to and work with others. As a result, web-enabled presentations and or collaborations are finally coming of age – the technology works with a minimum of hassle, it’s an efficient way to give marketing presentations, hold meetings, provide training and do product demonstrations. The cost savings can be significant, especially when contrasted with all of the burdened costs of holding conventional meetings; i.e. travel, hotel, transportation, facilities and “time out of the office issues.” Here is a quick primer on some baseline issues to consider when weighing the effectiveness of virtual marketing presentations and meetings.

1. There are a broad number of vendors, although the “virtual presentation and meeting” market segment has undergone consolidation in the last few years. I’d recommend assessing these four market leaders: www.webex.com (well established with diversified terms of services), www.placeware.com (corporate focused), www.centra.com (provides a good client plug in that enables Voice over IP (“VOIP”) communications, www.raindance.com (emphasizes teleconferencing).

2. PC configuration, Internet access and firewall issues all need to be considered when your assessing the effectiveness of this process and technology. Port settings need to be “tuned” or optimized, the PC must have multimedia capabilities if your using VOIP, just about any speed of internet connection will work, but the experience for the attendee can vary depending on the connection speeds and how “heavy” your presentation is with graphics.

3. Web presentations offer a lower cost model versus traditional presentations or meetings, but there are burdened costs for web-enabled marketing – phone conferencing can be anywhere from $.15-35 per minute per user, presentation uploads for a standard power point presentation (which is the defacto app for virtual presentations), can cost $10-30. per presentation, costs per attendee can vary tremendously but average $50-500. per session, depending upon the number of users.

4. One of the most expensive parts of virtual meetings is always the teleconferencing component. All of the market leaders have some VOIP component (voice over IP) but most are not publicizing this technology or service, as they don’t want to cannibalize a significant contribution to their revenue streams. One exception is Centra – they are offering VOIP integrated services with their standard web presentations or meetings. The audio quality is good, analogous to voice quality of a standard cell phone call – but there is a client download (small under 250K) to deal with and you must have a multi-media enabled PC.

5. Some web-enabled presentation challenges include the need to keep people involved – you can do this easily by leveraging the chat capabilities, dynamic polling, and standard Q&A components built into the application. The higher their interest level (as in real world meetings) the better your meeting or presentation will be.

6. Marketing presentations can be easily archived and made available to others on a 24/7 basis – this archiving can include the standard presentation, enhanced with video or audio components, depending on the sophistication of your presentation. Be prepared to pay an extra charge for this – but the marketing ROI can be significant, especially when you factor in how little most companies charge for an archiving service versus your front end costs.

7. Virtual marketing enables a whole set of web-enabled processes – you will have the ability to easily capture your prospect/customer’s e-mail address and standard contact points via a registration process, involve them and capture preferences via polling in your presentations and “push” follow up communications during your presentation/meeting or later. But, it’s very important to include standard “privacy” statements in your materials and adhere to them as you move forward through your business processes.

8. How does video conferencing impact your assessments of web-enabled presentations or collaborations? This depends on your budget, number of people attending the presentation, presenter and attendee locations and other intangible that are specific to your business. In general, video conferencing works better for very small (under five people) presentations or meetings, due to some of the inherent challenges of this medium.

About The Author

Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of business development and marketing experience - he is the founder of Intelective Communications, Inc., http://www.intelective.com, a results-driven marketing services company providing proprietary services to clients encompassing startups to public companies. Lee@intelective.com

Lee@intelective.com

Web and video conferencing technology is becoming more sophisticated with each passing day. A few years ago it was a novelty just to talk with someone online, and view his or her image at the same time. Today web conferences bring together entire companies in complex interaction that rivals live face-to-face meetings. How you might benefit from the latest developments in web conferencing depends on your particular needs. Here are a few points that you should consider.

1. Do you need to make a Powerpoint or other presentation during your conference?

If you answered “yes” to this question, then you will be glad to know that current web and video conferencing services allow the host of a conference to present a slide show or power point demonstration that will be visible on the screens of all the participants of a conference. Similarly, hosts can also open and show other document formats to their attendees. If you need this kind of capability, make sure that your conference provider can give this to you.

2. Do you require telephone conferencing integrated with your web/video conference?

Many organizations have found telephone conferencing to be an effective way to get work done. If you are already connecting with your members and staff via telephone conferences you can expand on this by choosing a web conferencing system that integrates telephone conferencing along with the online conference. The combined service will give you the ease of phone conferencing along with the enhanced visual and presentation features of online conferencing.

Some services allow the host to pay the long distance bill of all the participants (toll free conferencing), while others require each participant to cover their long distance fees.

3. Do all of your conference participants use the same type of computer?

If your participants are going to be using a variety of computers (PC, Mac, Linux) then you will benefit most by choosing a web conferencing system that works on any platform. While earlier conferencing systems required the downloading of complex software that would work only on specified operating systems, newer conferencing formats are delivered online and are browser based. They work on any operating system and if yours in an eclectic audience, then you will get best results with this type of conferencing.

4. Will it be necessary for one of your technicians to “take-over” and operate the computers of any of your participants?

If you wish to use conferencing as a service tool and want to avoid having to send out your service team on physical visits to clients, you can save a lot of travel time and cost by selecting a web and video conferencing system that allows the host of the conference to go online and actually take control of the computer of the client or conference participant. If you are looking at web conferencing as an after-sales service tool, then this particular feature will probably give you one of the most important benefits that you could wish for.

5. Do you want to conduct an online poll or survey during the conference?

If you have a large organization and want to make a quick and accurate poll of opinion or vote on a particular issue then the new polling capabilities of the most advanced web conferencing services will be an important feature for you.

Similarly, if you need to gather demographic information about your meeting participants, obtain valuable input, or quiz and test your participants, then the new online survey capabilities of current web conferencing systems will be an important feature to look for when choosing your conference format. Data from these types of online “surveys” can typically be saved and used for future use.

6. Do you want to brainstorm online, using a “whiteboard”?

Brainstorming is a great way to tap the ideas of a group and to come up with and select new ideas. If this is what you like to do when holding physical meetings, then you will probably want to be able to do the same thing in your virtual meetings as well. This is now possible in some of the more advanced web conferencing systems by using a “group notepad” that enables meeting participants to utilize a shared workspace. The results of these brainstorming sessions can typically be saved in a storage area.

Which of these features will benefit you the most? It all depends on your particular needs. However, one thing is sure: once you experience the convenience of online meetings, you will not want to go back to the era when every meeting required you to pack up your bags and get on an airplane.

There are many consumer products that we are allowed to try out before purchasing. We test drive cars, we try on clothing and footwear, and we can even taste small samples of food at the grocery store. So why not do the same for conference calling solutions?

Fortunately, most conference call services provide a free trial for their services. Many others provide demos. However, there’s really no substitute for using a service as you would in an actual business setting.

One thing to be aware of is that many of the free trial conference calls require that you provide your credit card information when signing up for the free trial. They will not charge your card during the free conference call trial period. However, you then will need to cancel your subscription before the trial period expires or your card will be charged for the next billing cycle of the conference call service. This usually isn’t a problem provided you remember to cancel the service if you don’t wish to become a long-term subscriber.

Once subscribed to the free trial conference call service, you should take advantage of the opportunity. Put the conference calling service through its paces. Spend some time on the vendor’s Website learning about the features of the service. Then recruit some participants from your organization to help evaluate the service by taking part in a conference call.

It helps to have a checklist of the features you want to test out. If the service allows you to share applications over the Web, then make sure that the participants are set up for this. Make note of how intuitive the user interface and instructions for using the service are.

Also observe how responsive the data stream is, especially if using video as part of the conferencing service. Of course a great deal depends on the bandwidth of your connection to the Internet, but the load on the conferencing service’s servers will also influence responsiveness. Time of day and demand will also impact throughput.

In order to keep things manageable you should probably take on one free trial conference call evaluation at a time. It may prove helpful to setup several conference call sessions with each service to get used to the service and try out all of its features. Of course, if after the first session you realize that the service just won’t work for you, then by all means, cancel your free trial and move on to the next free trial conference call evaluation.

As more businesses look to increase opportunities for collaboration with employees and partners and to better connect with prospects and customers, they will be turning to conferencing solutions. It pays to make the investment in time and effort to evaluate potential conferencing solutions. The service provider offers the free trial conference call, but it’s up to you to take advantage of it.

Richard R. Rojas covers the telecommunications industy and writes about business conference calls technology trends and services.

If you think continuing education, or lifelong learning, is important to the success of your business, then you need to think about how much time you, or your staff members, spend on attending a traditional class or seminar. First you’ve got to get into your car and drive to wherever the meeting is, wasting precious hours in traffic. And being on time just isn’t enough! You’d better arrive early so you can get a good parking spot, register, and get a halfway decent seat. Then you can twiddle your thumbs or reread the agenda five or six times while you sit there and wait for the course to begin. And when it’s over you’ve got to walk back to your car, despite inclement weather, and drive back to your office. So, now you’ve spent three or more hours of your busy day to attend a one-hour class.

Whether it’s making the leap from employee to entrepreneurship and starting your own business, excelling in your current career, seeking a better job, motivating your staff or managing your time and money — there is a way to gain access to personal and professional knowledge, camaraderie, and one-to-one interaction simply by using your telephone. Teleclasses are a great way to effect positive change in your life. Telecommunication is the buzzword – and virtual classrooms, teleclasses, tele-seminars, tele-learning or conference call classes are the wave of the future!
Teleclasses are offered on a wide range of business and personal development topics and are an exciting, innovative way to attain valuable information, explore new ideas and gain new skills. You can examine your spirituality, inspire your life through the arts, learn a craft, dialogue on best places to travel, learn to create better relationships, learn to eat better or exercise to improve your health and fitness, or just simply have fun.

A teleclass is much like a regular class – except it brings the classroom to your doorstep! The technology is as simple as punching the digits on a telephone and the returns are immense! You simply dial into the conference call at a designated time; announce yourself to the other class participants, and the program begins. The facilitator/teacher makes a presentation and there are usually questions and comments, followed by a lively and robust exchange of ideas. A major perk is that most teleclasses are offered at a variety of times and dates, allowing you to schedule them at your convenience.

Usually one-hour in length, and fully interactive, teleclasses can be accessed from your desk, your home, your car, a pay phone or even your hotel room. Best of all, the cost is significantly less than a traditional class or seminar when you consider travel and time; making tele-learning an extremely affordable knowledge tool. Teleclasses offer positive and essential education, using technology as a tool for communication with strong and consistently positive results. And when the program ends, you hang up the phone. And guess what, your one-hour class took exactly one hour!

One distinct advantage is that you can interact with other people that have different ability levels, skills and backgrounds, who can be from almost anywhere in the country or the world. You can take a class just for yourself or you can set up a teleclass that everybody in your company can take simultaneously. The groups are usually small, 20 or less, so everyone gets individual attention through instruction that is both topical and focused.

Teleclasses are a hassle-free, money saving alternative to traditional “in person” seminars and classes. NO Travel – NO Parking fees and you get cutting-edge, innovative and customized learning in an informal setting with a select group of people who, like you, want to take command of their learning experience and aren’t afraid to take risks to increase their knowledge base and accelerate their development! So the next time you contemplate taking a seminar or a class to improve your business, personal or interpersonal skills — you might want to make it a teleclass.

Rick Sherréll is the founder of Pro Speakers Bureau (http://www.ProSpeakersBureau.com), an Atlanta-based agency that delivers high-quality speakers, trainers and subject matter experts as well as a variety of teleclasses, seminars and special events. For list of available teleclasses visit http://www.ProSpeakersBureau.com/Teleclasses

Have you been trying to get a simple and practical photo editing
tool? Have you been creating a photo collage with
style?Wondershare Photo Collage Studio is a new digital photo
collage utility that assembles favourite photos into an artistic
compilation. With Photo Collage Studio, you can make
great-looking photo collages, either quickly and easily - with
templates, or creatively - with rich animated/static cliparts to
choose from. And each masterpiece can printed over and over
again. Truth to tell - I enjoy using it.

Some may ask: I have Photoshop; why do I need any other software
to work with images? What’s good about this Photo Collage
Studio? Here’s my opinion: Photo Collage Studio provides an
alternative way for those people who would like to edit their
photos, but would rather not spend time on some hard-to-master
software like PhotoShop. In PhotoShop, you may need several
steps to add mask or set an appropriate shadow. But in Photo
Collage Studio, just select a sample, then with a click you can
see the same effect right away. You may also see the detailed
merits as following:

1. Drag and Drop - Want to turn your favorite photos & pictures
into amazing standouts? You must have many memorable photos
taking on various occasions,does it ever occur to you that, just
a few clicks, you can touch up them even more? With Wondershare
Photo Collage Studio, the process can be easier! This powerful
software can instantly locate your photo in hard disk, all you
need to do just drag and drop it to the main interface of
software, and then decorate it with photo frames and mask
effect. Simple and Practical!

2. Get Creative - Want to add more fun to photo & picture with
you imagination? Photo Collage Studio allows you to resize and
rotate photos & pictures, lighten up them with clipart and word
arts, etc. This software also provides multiple selectable photo
frames sorted in various themes, such as holiday templates, art
templates and plant templates; completed with special mask
effects, you can turn a so-so picture a work of art!

3. Print, Email and Wallpaper - What’s the better ways to enjoy
and share your masterpiece? Photo Collage Studio offers several
ways to help distribute and share them. It can automatically
attach the newly created photo & picture to your email or save
it as wallpaper to personalize your despot; it can also print
your collage at virtually any size. Those distribution methods
make your works more available to your family and friends.

The trial version of Photo Collage Studio will place a water
mark on the output. You may download it for a free trial at
http://www.photo-collage-software.com, just feel free to make
wallpapers or personal photo collages - that’s very easy and, I
dare say, kinda addictive. Print or email your collages to your
friends and family who’ll think you’re a genius for creating
them!

Enjoy !

ALEXANDRIA, Va. & TURIN, Italy - Oct., 2005 - Audio MPEG, Inc.
and Sisvel, S.p.A. announced that Thomson S.A. and a number of
its subsidiaries have been sued in the United States and Europe
for infringement of several MPEG Audio patents by its MP3
players and digital set-top boxes. This patented technology was
developed and is owned by France Telecom, TDF (Telediffusion De
France), Philips, and IRT (Institut fur Rundfunktechnik GmbH).
The patents are essential to the MPEG audio compression standard
used worldwide in MP3 players, TV set top boxes, digital
television broadcasting, and an increasing number of consumer
electronics products.

The lawsuits were filed by Sisvel S.p.A. and Audio MPEG, Inc.,
who have the right to license the patents. Litigations for
patent infringement against Thomson are now pending and
progressing in Alexandria - Virginia, Mannheim - Germany, and
Milan - Italy. In this process, thousands of Thomson MP3
products have been detained by the customs authorities in
Germany and continue to be detained by customs following a
preliminary injunction issued by the Mannheim Court in Germany.

According to the complaints, Thomson markets and sells MP3
players, TV set top boxes, DVD players, and CD players using
MPEG audio compression covered by the patents of France Telecom,
TDF, Philips, and IRT, without a current license to practice
those inventions. Over 250 companies are licensed under these
patents and are paying royalties. Until recently, Thomson was
also licensed, but failed to renew their license in 2005.

The lawsuits seek royalties for past infringement, punitive
damages for willful infringement, attorney’s fees, and
injunctions to permanently prohibit Thomson from selling MP3
players, TV set top boxes, DVD players, and CD players using
MPEG audio compression.

“By refusing to renew their license under the MPEG Audio
patents, Thomson has ignored its duty to respect intellectual
property of third parties. This led to the seizure of its
products by the Customs Authorities and made lawsuits necessary
in both the United States and Europe,” said Gen. Richard I.
Neal, President of Audio MPEG, Inc. “Thomson’s failure to take a
license is not only unfair to the owners and the inventors of
the patents, whose efforts and research have made this
technology possible, but also to the over 250 competitors of
Thomson who are meeting their intellectual property obligations
as licensees under these patents. Our actions both in the United
States and overseas are all about accountability and
responsibility.”

According to John Paul, a partner in the law firm of Finnegan,
Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP, “The US litigation
against Thomson is pending in one of the fastest moving Federal
trial courts in the United States, a court known as the “rocket
docket.” Litigation in the US is focused on getting all of the
facts out in the open and that process consumes a tremendous
amount of time, energy, and expense. In the rocket docket the
consumption of these resources is even more intense because the
court requires that the litigation must be completed much faster
than in other courts.”

Who are Sisvel and Audio MPEG?

Società Italiana per lo Sviluppo dell’Elettronica S.p.A (Sisvel)
is a patent management company that has become a leader in its
field with offices in Turin, Milan, and Hong Kong. It has the
rights to license a number of patent portfolios, including the
non-US patents in a portfolio relating to MPEG audio
compression. Originally established in 1982 as a joint venture
by the Italian television producers, it later acquired the
entire patent portfolio of Indesit and conducted a number of
successful licensing programs in various fields of consumer
electronics.

Audio MPEG, Inc. is a patent management company, located in
Alexandria, Virginia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sisvel
and has the rights to license the US patents in a portfolio
relating to MPEG audio compression.