Wild and Wacky Friday - Video Book signing

Margaret Atwood is getting the word out about her new novel with a coast-to-coast video launch connecting various book festivals across the country.

Atwood is set to attend the Word on the Street festival in Toronto on Sept. 27, but will simultaneously appear at sister events in Vancouver and Halifax via interactive video conferencing. She's promoting her new novel, "The Year of the Flood," about two women who have survived a natural disaster that has obliterated most human life. Festival organizers say Atwood will use the video-conference technology to speak with fans, answer questions and sign autographs long distance.

Check it out: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/atwood-to-launch-novel-in-three-cities-at-once/article1217215/

The technology she is using is called "LongPen" - read more about it at http://www.longpen.com/. It allows someone to write in ink anywhere in the world via tablet PC and the internet.

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2007/12/the-longpen--fr.html

Dimdim. Another Web Conferencing Tool

I am checking out DimDim, another web-conferencing tool. Setting up a meeting in Dimdim is very easy. You can kick off a meeting immediately or schedule it for later (including recurring meetings).

The product lets you conduct online slide shows using PowerPoints and PDFs. You can annotate as you go and let users mark up, too. You can also work on a shared, multipage whiteboard. Or you can share your screen, which is useful for demos.

There are a lot of ways to interact with your viewers. You can send them Webcam video and audio (or make it a two-way conference if you like), chat with all attendees, or send private instant messages to individuals.


Check it out: http://www.dimdim.com/index

Fuze Meeting

Came across this alternative for web conferencing. With Fuze Meeting you can:

• Host web conferences from your computer
• Host audio conferences or attend web conferences from your mobile phone
• Get a free phone conference number
• Share presentations, documents and synchronized video in HD
• Fetch attendees so your web meetings start on time

What caught my eye was the mobile meeting component - With Fuze Meeting you can easily host audio conferences and attend online meetings from an iPhone or BlackBerry or WiFi-enabled mobile device or laptop. I am going to test this feature and will let you know how it functions.

You can sign up for a free account - without inputting any credit card information.

Check it out: http://www.fuzemeeting.com/

Register for a live walkthrough of Fuze Meeting. Hosted Mon-Fri at 11 AM (PST). Please be sure to sign up at least two hours in advance. http://www.fuzemeeting.com/how-it-works/demos

Meeting software

Yesterday, I hosted 2 different meetings - a webinar with folks around the globe (used GoToWebinar) and the first day of my 3-day training class (used GoToMeeting).

I've used both products before - but not to the extent of these meetings. The webinar program worked great - the only problem we had was getting people to register so they got their log in link. The separate link is needed to track individuals during the webinar - you get a nifty report at the end of the webinar. This product is great if you have more than 10 people on the call. Pricing is good - $99/month for unlimited people and calls.

I used GoToMeeting for my class. The only problem we've had is using the USB headset instead of a phone. Had a MAC user who wasn't able to get his system configured correctly.

You can try out either program for free. I will provide info on other web meeting programs later in the week.

Check it out: https://www2.gotowebinar.com/en_US/webinar/entry/entry.tmpl

or https://www2.gotomeeting.com/?Portal=www.gotomeeting.com

Web Conference Training Tips

I am doing a 3-day online instructor-leading training class this week. I came across this good article that has lots of helpful tips.

Learning to use web conferencing technology is pretty easy, but there is a lot more to training via web conference than just putting on a headset, dialing up an audio-conferencing bridge, and logging onto the application.

Check it out: http://www.syberworks.com/articles/28-Web-Conference-Training-Tips.htm