Collaborynth

So far we've looked at emails and wikis and decided that while email is helpful, wiki's are integral to any collaboration project. Today we're going to be casting our eyes over something that has a little more of what I like to call the "shiny" factor - Web Conferencing.

Web Conferencing - A Brief History

Web Conferencing in one form or another has been around since the advent of the web. In the early days of the internet it consisted of people using text based messaging systems such as irc to conduct meetings, and since then has grown to include video, internet telephony, "desktop sharing" and so much more.

Web Conferencing As A Collaboration Tool

Web Conferencing is used extensively in the Free and Open Source Software community. Projects such the as Linux Kernel, Apache Web Server and Ubuntu Distribution use irc to conduct meetings, because of the geographically diverse nature of their members.

At a more advanced level, international business is more and more being conducted via systems that allow not only for full voice and video communication, but also for the presentation of prepared materials, and even live demonstrations of software and other products and services. These tools are also becoming available to smaller organisations and the cost is rapidly falling.

Considering the global financial situation, web conferencing is becoming an increasingly viable alternative to both international and interstate travel. Even outside of the collaborative area, it allows businesses to conduct meetings at a fraction of the cost of a physical meeting.

Best Use In a Collaborative Project

The best use of Web Conferencing in a Collaborative project is to replace those physical meetings that don't absolutely require the physical presence of all attendees. This allows you to reduce costs and still maintain the same level of interaction required.

An example could be a national not for profit organisation that has governing board members in different cities. Rather than spend thousands of dollars to gather these board members in one place for a monthly meeting, they could meet using a web conferencing system, which would not only save the organisation the money usually spent on travel and accomodation, but also allow the board members the convenience of being move straight from their meeting to their other responsibilities.

Webinars

There is another use for web conferencing that is gaining in popularity. That is the "webinar". This is essentially a "one to many" type web conference, where one participant controls the meeting and delivers a presentation while the other participants watch and listen, much as you would do a physical seminar.