4 Types of Online Meetings and, a Neologism, Defined!

1. The Web Conference… as defined by Wikipedia
A web conference is used to conduct live meetings, training, or presentations via the Internet. In a web conference, each participant sits at his or her own computer and is connected to other participants via the internet. This can be either a downloaded application on each of the attendees' computers or a web-based application where the attendees access the meeting by clicking on a link distributed by e-mail (meeting invitation) to enter the conference.

The companies listed below (as well as other less well-known) provide competing web conference platforms. They differentiate their offerings with special application-specific software integration features, network facilities and a variety of on-premise and, increasingly, new SaaS delivery models.
• ADOBE
Acrobat Connect
• CITRIX
GotoMeeting
• CISCO
WebEx
• IBM
Lotus Sametime
• MICROSOFT
LiveMeeting

NOTE: In the early years of the Internet, the terms "web conferencing" was often used to describe a group discussion in a message board and therefore not live. The term has evolved to refer specifically to live or "synchronous" meetings.

2. The Webinar… as defined by Wikipedia
A webinar is a neologism to describe a specific type of web conference. It is typically one-way from the speaker to the audience with limited audience interaction, such as in a webcast. A webinar can be collaborative and include polling and question & answer sessions to allow full participation between the audience and the presenter. In some cases, the presenter may speak over a standard telephone line, while pointing out information being presented onscreen, and the audience can respond over their own telephones, speaker phones allowing the greatest comfort and convenience. There are web conferencing technologies on the market that have incorporated the use of VoIP audio technology, to allow for a completely web-based communication.

NOTE: A neologism is a newly coined word that may be in the process of entering common use, but has not yet been accepted into mainstream language. Neologisms are often directly attributable to a specific person, publication, period, or event.
Neologisms often become popular through meme tics, by way of mass media, the Internet, and word of mouth, including academic discourse in many fields renowned for their use of distinctive jargon, and often become accepted parts of the language. Other times, however, they disappear from common use just as readily as they appeared. Whether a neologism continues as part of the language depends on many factors, probably the most important of which is acceptance by the public. It is unusual, however, for a word to enter common use if it does not resemble another word or words in an identifiable way.

When a word or phrase is no longer "new", it is no longer a neologism. Neologisms may take decades to become "old", however. Opinions differ on exactly how old a word must be to cease being considered a neologism.


3. The Web Cast… as defined by Wikipedia
A webcast is a media file distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, webcasting is “broadcasting” over the Internet.

Webcasting is also used extensively in the commercial sector for investor relations presentations (such as Annual General Meetings), in E-learning (to transmit seminars), and for related communications activities. However, webcasting does not bear much, if any, relationship to web conferencing, which is designed for many-to-many interaction.

NOTE: The largest "webcasters" include existing radio and TV stations, who "simulcast" their output, as well as a multitude of Internet only "stations". The term webcasting usually refers to non-interactive linear streams or events. Rights and licensing bodies offer specific "webcasting licenses" to those wishing to carry out Internet broadcasting using copyrighted material.


4. Virtual Shows & Briefing Centers… as defined by Wikipedia
A Virtual Event is a gathering of people sharing a common virtual environment on the web, rather than meeting in a physical location. Virtual events are highly interactive, looking and feeling a lot like their physical counterparts. Popular uses of virtual events include:
• Virtual tradeshows,
• Virtual job fairs,
• Virtual conferences, and
• Virtual company-wide gatherings.

Virtual events are used to deliver presentations, trainings, departmental meetings and sessions led by stakeholders from company executives to product management and human resources.

Virtual events can offer a number of ways for participants to connect and communicate. They can include Webcasts with live presentations or pre-recorded videos where the presenters are available for questions and answers at the end of the session – a technique called Simulive. Virtual booths, forums and designated meeting places allow participants to connect with event staff or fellow attendees using online chat, video and voice. Or, participants can leverage their social network within the event to form interest groups or find like-minded individuals. They can also share the findings with their online communities, often creating a viral aspect for an event.

Each of the emerging software companies listed below provides competing virtual event platforms. They differentiate their offerings with application-specific features as well as registration and attendee analytics that enable users of their software to build deeper relationships as well as communicate messages in the mode most attractive to each participant.
• InExpo
• ON24
• Stream57
• UnisFair


Note: Virtual Events v. Virtual Worlds
One of the key differences between virtual worlds and virtual events is that a virtual world is available as a persistent environment, even after the live part of the event is over. Many organizers are moving from episodic events to a continuous virtual engagement of their customer and prospect communities. This permits attendees to return to parts of the event to see a complete session again, review content or gather additional information. Typically, virtual event organizers allow attendees to store the information gathered in a virtual briefcase, which can contain marketing collateral, as well as contact information of people they met, presentations they attended and content of conversations they held.

Virtual Reality

What's the difference between reality and virtual space? What's the difference between interacting with people face to face and avatar to avatar? Why are experiences in real life often considered more valid than experiences in a virtual environment?

I won't drop names, but there are people who passed away and played games like Second Life and World of Warcraft whose physical funerals were attended by very few people. This is understandable, because their interactions with the real world most likely stopped outside the workplace with an exception of keeping in contact with family. That said, those same people have had funerals held for them in their respective games that were attended by hundreds.

Clearly they had an impact on the lives of other players. It may not have been physical, but what about emotional? Does physical reality take precedence over mental reality? What is reality?

That's a very large, cumbersome topic. In a topic such as "What is reality," I feel use of 1999's The Matrix is necessary, in which Morpheus states, "If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain." The truth is there's no way to know for certain that when I touch my keyboard it feels the same as if you were to touch it, there's no way to know our brains are interpreting those electrical signals the same way. We've come to an agreement that sandpaper is rough, but we can't know that we have the same sensation when we touch it. A good example of this is taste. Maybe the reason some people like tomatoes and others hate them isn't because they disagree about what sensation equals "tasting good," but because they don't taste the same thing.

I would argue the only things creating "reality" are the experiences we have. If the response to a virtual world is that it's not real because you can't touch and feel the chairs in the room, what about those who can't feel any sensation? Because they can't feel the chair, is it any less real for them? What about the blind, who can't see their objects to interact with them the same way the sighted can? Is it any less real for them? When you start to remove the individual senses, what you're left with are a set of experiences that define reality.

Put that in the setting of a virtual environment. Just because an attendee is experiencing something a different way doesn't make that experience any less real. There's still a mental experience occurring. In some ways, there's even a physical experience occurring as the users touch their keyboards. In another way, like the sandpaper example I used earlier, what if two avatars shaking hands is a physical experience because we agree that it is? Some would already argue that when they enter a game the avatar is not a representation of them, it is them. When those Second Life and World of Warcraft players died, did their avatars not die with them? They're no longer playable, not without account information. It's an extension of their being. I have a feeling that as the virtual experience becomes more commonplace, so will the acceptance of these virtual realities as truly real experiences.

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26-year-old MLB Star Makes NFL Coach Look Like a Rookie.

I commute between Cincinnati and Minneapolis every 2-3 weeks for business. Being the avid sports fan that I am, I enjoy following the professional MLB and NFL franchises in each city. The Cincinnati Reds and the Minnesota Vikings are my favorites, but the Bengals and Twins get ample attention and discussion around the water cooler, too (as well as part of my annual sports entertainment “spend”).

That is why the recent article in “The Fan Issue” of ESPN – The Magazine caught my attention. The author – Ryan Hockensmith – sent out 479 letters to a variety of professional athletes and coaches in an effort to find the most fan-friendly star in sports. In his piece, Thanks for Writing… Hockensmith shares the highlights – and low-lights – of his efforts to make a connection with a sports star during summer of 2009.

Surprisingly, it is Joe Mauer, the 26-year-old MVP catcher of the Minnesota Twins – with some help from his Mom, Teresa – that earned the Joe Phan Inaugural Favorite Athlete of the year.
Interestingly, but not surprisingly to those of us who follow the Cincinnati Bengals, the author was not impressed with the response he received from Coach Marvin Lewis of the Bengals. Hockensmith’s letter to the Bengals Coach/GM/Franchise Demigod Marvin Lewis was retuned 12 days after it was sent out last June 17th with a letter directing him to the Bengals online pro shop where he could purchase Coach Lewis’ signature. Disappointing is the kindest word I can use for Coach Lewis’ response, arrogant is more accurate, but the most articulate is Hockensmith’s:

THE BIGGEST LOSER IN THE JOE PHAN PROJECT? THE BENGALS, WHO SUGGESTED I PAY FOR THEIR HEAD COACH'S AUTOGRAPH.

As a business person who sells every day and strictly adheres to “the customer always comes first” mantra, it boggles my mind that any organization – least of all a professional sports franchise that relies upon fans for its very existence – can respond in as unfriendly a manner as the Bengals and Coach Lewis.

Building a connection with your stakeholders – whether it is a fan base or a customer base – is critical to success in every aspect of business. In contrast, the other major professional sports franchise in Cincinnati - the Reds – is very good at this. The Reds conduct a REDS CARAVAN each January to re-connect with their fan base. It has become an annual “rite of winter” and is a fun way to excite the fan base and it generates goodwill for the team and lets the fans know the team cares about them.

It’s the little things that make the difference between winning and losing. Small steps build momentum. Coach Lewis and Joe Mauer both know this, but their interactions with fans reflect vastly different priorities, interpersonal skills and respect for those who pay their salaries.

Recommended Reading: The Little Red Book of Selling – 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness.