Differences Between Web Conferencing, Online Meeting Software, and Webinars

Webinars, WebMeeting and WebConference have many things in common and, at the same time, some differences that lead us to a conclusion: WebMeeting and WebConference are a particular form of Webinar, where the emphasis is on the exchange between people ( WebMeeting ) rather than content (WebConference).

Differences between WebMeeting and WebConference
If the Webinar is the most general category that contains the others, we can say that all have in common:


The use of some form of Webinar platform
A streaming Video
An Audio stream
Communication tools (eg chat)
And so we would conclude that they are the same thing. And no!

The online meeting is the transposition of the classic Web meeting: a group of people who gather in a space and share ideas in a relatively symmetrical, collaborating in the creation of models, strategies, processes, etc. In a WebMeeting , therefore, people gather in a virtual space and do the same things they would do in a meeting room: they share ideas, discuss alternatives, propose solutions, etc. even if everyone is in a different physical location and maybe thousands of kilometers away.

webmeeting: the online meetingWebConference is the web transposition of the classical lecture or frontal lecture, which we are accustomed to: a person speaks to several people at the same time, exposes his / her own contents and, in the end, answers questions. In this case we are focusing more on the content than on the exchange between people.

The difference between WebMeeting and WebConference lies in this:

Greater use of collaborative tools in WebMeeting
More emphasis on sharing and comparison in WebMeeting
More emphasis on content delivered in the WebConference
How to choose between WebMeeting and WebConference?
The choice depends on our goals:

WebMeeting :Collaborate with WebMeeting

collaborate
Create new ideas on a product, a service, a situation to be solved
To discuss
Find a collaborative solution
Work with a relatively small group
Keep track of session development steps (eg mind maps)
Create a shared document
WebConference

Deliver a content
Describe and present a situation, a problem, etc.
Present results
Present a project, a work plan, etc.
Communicating an idea in a unidirectional way, limiting the exchange to questions and answers
How to choose the Platform for WebMeeting and WebConference?
Now all the platforms and software for Webinars are equivalent from this point of view and allow you to move from one to another simply by configuring the tools of each of them: if I want to organize a WebMeeting I will activate the shared whiteboard, the shared documents, the question-collection space, while if I have to organize a WebConference I will offer more space to the chat, the question space, the slides, etc.

We can say that the Webinar platform is now a standard that makes no difference except in the prices and the number of accesses.
Videoconferences in the company
Raise your hand if you have not thought at least once face-to-face meetings are inconvenient, expensive and hindering the organization of their working days. Maybe it’s really time to … send them to retirement!

Videoconferences today have practically only advantages compared to in-person meetings: they are powerful tools that allow more people to talk to each other, exchange information and documents even hundreds of kilometers away. All without wasting time on the move! It’s easy to get involved too: all you need is a high-speed internet connection (and who does not?).

But what are the real advantages of videoconferencing? Below I will list five of them.

videoconferencing for companies. What are the benefits

1 # With videoconferences save money!
Whether you are a small or large company you will certainly need to communicate with partners, other locations or directly with your customers.

2 # Videoconferencing does not make you waste time
The second of the 5 advantages for companies offered by videoconferencing is closely linked to the first. In fact, time is money!

Are you tired of spending hours immersed in traffic to reach a customer? Or maybe you have to see you with your team but there is always someone late because there is no parking? Not to mention the costs of rent for a possible room and the tight time limits to avoid overlapping with the commitments of another working group!

Taking almost zero hours of travel will ensure an increase in the productivity of all staff, because everyone will enjoy a longer stay in corporate offices and an increase in time for the most important activities. Let’s not fool ourselves: time is always missing and you can not lose a bit of it!

3 # With videoconferences, everyone is more satisfied
Yes, everyone: employees, collaborators and customers. In fact, the third advantage for companies concerns human resources. More effective communication is the first step to improving your business and increasing the satisfaction of your team and your customers . Thanks to videoconferences

share more information and lose less! Thanks to the chat and file sharing it is easier for everyone to follow the conference
you can organize meetings better and ask for more feedback. No, I’m not saying to increase the number of meetings with your staff and therefore lose even more time. However, I advise you to consider cutting out some unique spaces with the members of your staff dedicated to comparison.
there is more time for each person’s important tasks and consequent reduction in stress levels, with a positive effect on the general mood
improve customer service. The customer will be more involved and will feel personally included in your business

4 # More organization with online video conferencing
The possibility of recording videoconferences is certainly one of the most interesting advantages. By registering your webconference

speed up the drafting of minutes or meeting reports, always have just a click away the audio and video of an intervention on an important decision and an objective and indisputable documentation on what has been said by everyone.
whoever enters a project at a later time can have all the necessary documentation at their fingertips: a complete and immediate “diary”.
Avoid individual briefings and training, saving more time and money.

5 # Attention to the environment!
If you have read our mission you should know: we care about the environment. And using videoconferencing is a way to safeguard it. Among the 5 advantages for companies there is also the drastic reduction of the company ‘s carbon footprint , a parameter for measuring the emissions of greenhouse gases released by companies. Introducing videoconferences and decreasing inter / extra-urban travel will also reduce the environmental impact of your business.


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