InstantPresenter, an industry leader in web conference, video conference and webinar services now offers expanded webconferencing and webinar registration services. These new registration services allow the online presenter to find out exactly what their audience is interested in before the presentation, and allows them to customize their presentation to their interests.

Registration features include fully customizable forms for invitations, RSVP information or any other information the presenter would like to collect about your audience prior to the event. Data can be exported and downloaded directly into Excel in .CSV format. InstantPresenter registration services start at only $29 per month.

Along with new registration services, InstantPresenter introduces its new Content Library. The InstantPresenter Content Library allows the online presenter to store up to 100MB of presentation material on InstantPresenter’s high speed web conferencing servers. Presenters can instantly switch between content that is already available and ready to be presented. The content library allows the presenter to store PowerPoint files, Flash presentation data, images, movies and audio files. Content is now always available and ready to present.

For more information about InstantPresenter and its services, contact:

Contact:
TJ Davis
Director of Sales
InstantPresenter.com
Phone: 714-890-3008

http://www.instantpresenter.com

With the newest releases of both Citirix GoToMeeting and new GoToWebinar applications, Citrix is throwing in a few free online collaboration tools. Free VoIP and audio conferencing for both Mac and PC are now integrated to deliver a seamless experience with the newest releases the company’s webcasting and webinar applications. One-click online meetings are now possible with this new combination of VoIP, phone and web conferencing for small-group online meetings and large-group webinar events.

Citrix Online (a division of Citrix Inc.) flagship product, GoToMeeting can accommodate up to 25 attendees and it’s newer online application: GoToWebinar can accommodate up to 1,000 attendees simultaneously

Vice President of Citrix Online, Elizabeth Cholawsky:

[With the new releases of GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar], every feature is based on extensive user feedback, from full Macintosh access to this new total audio solution.

Citrix Online sells direct via a sales force and online, but also has a channel program that offers incentives to resellers who recommend Citrix products to clients. Citrix has approximately 7,680 channel and alliance partners in more than 100 countries world-wide.

As more companies enlist technology to help co-workers and outsiders collaborate around the world, webinars, videoconferencing, instant messaging and online meetings can make business communication easier - and cut travel costs as fuel prices soar. But, there can be some unintended and often embarrassing consequences.

Only a few keystrokes separate one’s private life from the virtual world. The wrong computer settings, an awkward web-camera angle, and even something as harmless as the “hold” button on the telephone can create lasting career memories. Unlike face-to-face blunders, virtual gaffes can be captured for posterity on web sites and ridiculed by viewers time and time again.

Webinar Success President, Ken Molay:

One solution, is for corporations to create guidelines for employees so that they can properly represent the company. Workers from staff assistants to the suits in the corner office need to be more tech-savvy, he says, from learning how to use equipment to presenting themselves professionally through different forms of technology. Otherwise, they might find themselves part of an office punchline.

There are some precautions you can take to prevent your embarrassing moments from appearing on youtube.com or other media sites. The first rule is to become as familiar as possible with the online meeting technology before using it live. When creating a webcast, in which a company broadcasts video and audio feed to an audience via the Internet, the presenter should be aware of the sound quality and camera angles.

Hold a practice session ahead of time and then analyze the way you sound as well as your posture and mannerisms. If you plan on incorporating technology tools regularly, it may be wise to invest in a training session with a consultant.

Finally, disable any potentially distracting applications, such as instant messaging, email notifications and telephone on-hold music, before engaging in a web conference. Companies often record and archive these online meetings to use as reference material.

iLinc, a leading provider of Web conferencing software and online collaboration solutions today announced that Technology Marketing Corporation’s, Communications Solutions has named the iLinc 9.0 Web conferencing suite a recipient of the Product of the Year Award. The award is given to the most innovative products and services brought to market in 2007. As one of the top independent providers of Web conferencing, webcasting and online collaboration solutions, iLinc provides easy to use online collaboration tools in its suite of applications to small and large businesses.

TMC President, Rich Tehrani:

iLinc has been recognized with a 2007 Product of the Year Award for their excellence in the advancement of voice, data and/or video communications, iLinc has proven they are committed to quality and excellence in solutions that benefit the customer experience as well as ROI for the companies that use them.”

With its four-product suite, iLinc provides solutions for virtual classrooms, webinars, web conferencing and online collaboration sessions. These solutions enable organizations with real-time web collaboration tools designed with specific modules for sales, marketing, training, and IT and customer service support functions. The iLinc suite of web conferencing software provides meeting leaders and attendees an online experience equal to, and in some cases superior to, in-person interaction.

Webinars and instructive web conferences should be archived and made available to individuals who could not attend the live event. These archived online meetings can be valuable as instructional material, and with good instructional design, can become an effective online course.

To be able to effectively convert a webinar into an online course, certain criteria must be met:

• The webinar objectives must be clearly stated.
• The presentation content must be ordered in a clear and concise manner.
• Polls, surveys and other audience participation to enhance the presentation.
• Avoid reading directly from online PowerPoint slides. The presenter should speak as if they’re interested in the topic.
• Use images and other media to help clarify your message.
• Encourage audio participation with the audience if available from your web conference provider.
• Keep the content relevant to the main objectives of your webinar.
• Use content and language that is appropriate for your audience.
• Include quizzes, questionnaires and other interactive elements.
• If your webinar is a segment of a series, be sure to clearly indicate where your webinar fits into the series.

The majority of web meetings today consist of a phone teleconference with a presenter scrolling through PowerPoint slides. While this usually gets the information across, it lacks the personal connection and audience engagement required for the buy-in. With small and medium businesses continually increasing their use of web conference technology, the focus needs to be on customer engagement.

Using live audio and video throughout your entire web conference will create a personal connection between you and your audience. Develop a lens presence. Presenting to a camera with no feedback is vastly different than presenting to a live audience. Look directly into the camera and speak naturally. Don’t over-script your presentation or read directly from the slides. Your confidence and familiarity with your presentation will do much more to sell your idea than mere PowerPoint slides alone.

Audience members of a webinar don’t have to worry about the embarrassment of looking bored or even dozing off during a presentation. As a presenter, you need to keep your energy level up if you expect your audience to do the same. Speak loudly and clearly and stay on topic. Keep your audience engaged. Studies show that audience retention drastically drops after 30-45 minutes unless the content is extremely interesting. Regularly take questions and conduct polls from your audience.

Webinars allow you to collaborate with customers more quickly, and over longer distances with huge cost savings on travel and travel expenses. As the technology grows however, so must your ability to appropriately use that technology for the maximum benefit for you and your audience.