Web conferencing that doesn’t suck
As a news organization, we are on web conferences all the time and some of the biggest challenges are poor sound quality, a slow product, features that are lacking, but most importantly, inaccessibility because most web conferencing tools use Adobe Flash or are web based only and cannot be used on a smartphone or tablet, which can tether any web conferencer to a desk at inopportune times.
Not at LiveMinutes.com whose clever tagline is “the best way to live” (get it?). The completely free tool offers collaborative tool like a shared whiteboard, shared documents (even PDFs), maps and videos with Skype and Dropbox integration along with others, all in HTML5 (which means it will work on any device or computer, even yours, iPad fans). One of the more innovative features we know we’ll be using is the downloadable report generated after completing a web conference that outlines all that took place for record keeping purposes.
It’s great for keeping a virtual team on the same page or to connect with clients in a more meaningful way than the phone. It’s dead simple and breaks a lot of the webconferencing rules, especially by an obviously Apple inspired design that is clean and streamlined as opposed to the tiny fonts and antiquated user interfaces of various other webconferencing tools.
LiveMinutes.com says, “Webconferencing is boring, for lack of a better word. Of course it shouldn’t to be that way.” The service is free and in its current interation will remain free, they are fairly adamant about that. The company will likely introduce a pro version with added options, but as you see it right now, they plan to keep it free forever.
