Web Conferencing ? What is it?

Web Conferencing is, very simply, a meeting, conference or seminar that is held over the World Wide Web. Web conferencing can refer to audio, video or text-based conversations and are conducted in real-time.

Web conferencing is an incredibly useful resource for anyone who trades within a global market place. It literally allows you to be in two places at once - sitting at home or in your office whilst conducting a meeting with someone one the other side of the world.

In its simplest form web conferencing can take the form of free downloads such as Microsoft NetMeeting or Yahoo Messenger. Subscribers can participate in text-based 'chats', inviting others into their conversations and being able to communication in real-time. Add a simple digital camera to this equation and you have the beginnings of an elementary web conferencing application.

At the other end of the scale, the most sophisticated applications allow seminars and presentations to be made to hundreds of delegates at the same time. Meetings can be fully interactive, allowing question and answer sessions, the sharing of files and documents and slide show presentations to be broadcast.

What Can I Do With Web Conferencing?

How you choose to use web conferencing will very much depend upon your line of work. A webinar (an online seminar) is less interactive than a web meeting, but is a very effective means of presenting sales pitches, performance reviews and delivering staff training.

A web meeting on the other hand, can be fully interactive not only in terms of audio and video but also by allowing the sharing of documents and files and viewing them online.

What is Online Collaboration?

Online collaboration is an excellent resource for project management, especially when team members are located in different geographical locations. Online collaboration provides an advanced level of document management and file sharing. Documents and files can be viewed, modified and updated online and in real time.

What Are The Benefits Of Web Conferencing?

The main benefits of web conferencing are to be found in terms of time and money savings. The need for travel is greatly reduced, and therefore so are the associated costs of travel - tickets, accommodation, subsistence, to name but a few. Employees spend less time waiting for flights, travel or just generally being away from their desk and therefore have more time to spend productively.

Enhanced communication is another benefit of web conferencing. Where colleagues could perhaps only meet face to face a few times a year, for example, web conferencing allows them to meet on a daily basis, if required. With people talking more, work gets done more efficiently and more accurately.

How Much Does It Cost?

The cost of web conferencing depends on how sophisticated an application you need. Low-level, one-to-one systems can be set up these days for virtually nothing. The most advanced systems, unsurprisingly, can run into thousands of dollars. Careful research, however, and thoughtful analysis of what you need from a web conferencing system can allow you to budget accordingly and match a system to your needs. The chances are, if you are spending money on travel then you will recoup the cost of your web conferencing software over time.

Diane Parker is a web content writer who specializes in internet related topics. Her conferencing articles include: web conferencing software, choosing a web conferencing tool and internet conferencing.

Why Jesus?

There are many contradictions in life and none more easily seen than when contrasting how God teaches us to live by His Word, the Bible, and how we are taught in the world, the school of hard knocks.

For instance the classic for me was to 'look after number one', because nobody else was going to look after me. How different this is compared to God's way where He says, look after others and He will look after us. Another example is that Jesus taught the disciples not to worry about what they would wear, about food and shelter, but just "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you" (Mathew 6:25-34).

In "every day modern life" we tend to live flat out because things have to be done 'now'. We are tired, stressed, impatient, selfish and barge our way forward with all the worries of the world on our shoulders. We have downers to help us sleep, uppers to wake us up, coffee for the kick start in the morning, beer at lunch to soothe the stress and wine at night to help us wind down. The more we live this way, stress abounds and I have found it leads to ill health, indecisiveness and lack in ones life.

What does Jesus say in (Mathew 6:25-34), "Don't worry"? Ten times in this passage He says don't worry!! Why?

I have found that if we simply stop living this way for a while, (Romans 12:1-2) and put our trust in God, then life changes for the better. Through right living, He can and will bless us daily in every area. Take some time and read these passages in the Bible. Psalm 1, Joshua 1 and Jeremiah 17:5-8, and begin to see God's Kingdom Principles, and you will find out that you can TEST God to see if He has integrity. God is God and He honours His Word. The Bible is God's Word. If you read Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2 again, you will find a great challenge, one which my wife and I have taken up and we can verify that God is a God of integrity and He does honour His word.

How does God want us to live? When we read the Bible there are lots of rules and regulations and lots of things we do not understand. The Bible can seem so complicated. The more I read though, the more I understand that because of my weak nature, my sinful desires, the more I realise it is so hard to do the right thing.

What are my standards of living for today ? Where do the limits begin and end? Well I don't drink or swear anymore, but can I steal that pen from work, do I use the bosses phone behind his back, do I work hard or do I bludge for the day? Can I justifiably get angry with my wife and kids and carry on as if nothing is wrong, even when I know I am going against God's will?

I believe that is why Jesus did and could sum up all these rules and regulations into 2 great commandments. We read them in Mathew 22: 37-40. Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandment hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Jesus said to love God and love your neighbour as yourself. Why you might be asking? Look what the Bible says!! God has written His laws on our hearts (Ps.37:31, Jer.31:33, 2 Cor.3:3 ) and has given us a conscience. When we follow our conscience we will inevitably begin to follow God and His Ways. Life begins to get better when you put other people first. Life gets better when you love God, others and yourself. Life gets better when you realise that you aren't the most important person in the world. Care for someone, help someone, give something to someone without expecting anything back. Try it, try Gods way, prove it for yourself.

It is by living with this very attitude of love for God and others and oneself, that will bring us more in tune with God and more out of tune with the world and its misdeeds. Look at it this way; love gives, but selfishness takes. Love cares for others but self looks after me. If you think about these two examples, which do you think is the better way to live?

Colin Thomson is an Electrician who works the Internet part time for extra income. He has been a Christian for 7 years and loves the Lord and His ways. You can get in touch with him through his affiliate opportunites at no obligation if you so wish through his website http://www.cthomson.plus.com

I Don?t Want To Be Sold; I Want To Buy

I went shopping for clothes today.

My plan was to buy a navy blue sports coat, a couple of shirts and ties and maybe a pair of black shoes.

Understand that as a sales trainer, I want people to ask me to spend my money. I'm not going to buy unless asked. Unfair you say! Maybe but here's the thing... Unless you ask me to buy, I won't.

How hard would it be for me to spend maybe $1,000? As it turned out, it was very hard. Let me recount what happened.

Store 1. A well-known CBD menswear store. Actually they were having a sale - up to $200 off sports coats. I went to the display, took a coat off the rack and put it on. A size too small. A well-dressed, well-groomed senior staff member came up and said there was one in the next size and gave it to me. I tried it on and it fit and looked good.

Reduced to $399 and there's me with cash in my pocket... I said I wanted to look at shirts so he put the coat back and left me alone. Taking two shirts, I went to the tie rack and picked out two nice ties. Then I took them back to the coat rack and held them next to the coat.

Talk about giving out buying signals!

I was completely ignored. All they had to do was to say, "Great selection - they go together really well. Was there anything else you wanted?" and over $700 would have found its way into their cash register.

I left the store with my wallet intact and no new clothes.

Store 2. Drove from the CBD to a suburban mall. I knew the store I was going to; found the sport coat rack and tried one on as two staff members watched. I looked at myself in the mirror, went to get a shirt and tie and held them up in the mirror too. No one spoke to me. I was there for ten minutes and again left with my wallet intact. Of note was that there were no other customers in the store at the time.

Store 3. A little more down-market this one - a guy with a purple open-necked shirt hanging outside his pants (looking like the host from a reality TV show like "Idol").

He saw me hovering around the coats and asked me if I knew my size. I told him and he showed me where they were, giving me four different colours and styles to try on.

He was really helpful, explaining fabrics and what to wear with them. I politely told him that they weren't quite what I was looking for so what he did next was to refer me back to store 2 where he said they had "better brands"

No sale. Three times I'd tried to spend several hundred dollars. I went home with the money still in my wallet.

No one asked me why I was buying the clothes; what I was planning to wear them with or where I was planning to go when wearing them. No one attempted to get my name for their list. No one bothered to ask me to buy. It's so simple, it's annoying.

Oh, and guess what else? Not one of them made any attempt to get my name, address, or email details. So none of them offered me the opportunity to hear in advance of new ranges, summer / winter sales. Missed opportunity.

Please understand, I don't want to be sold, I want to buy but I sometimes need help. Here's the message: If you don't ask, you won't get.

? James Yuille, Brisbane, Australia, 2004.

About the author:

James Yuille is a sales and marketing consultant and trainer with over 32 years experience. He is based in Brisbane, Australia. His free weekly sales and marketing newsletter provides topical information for business owners and salespeople. Find out more at http://www.jamesyuille.com

PR Failure Defined

I define public relations failure this way:

• key audience perceptions are not monitored

• a realistic, corrective goal is not set

• an improper, or no real strategy is selected

• a persuasive, compelling message is not prepared

• communications tactics are selected mostly by hunch

• and no follow-through perception monitoring is done to determine progress.

Failure insured! Similar, in fact, to the artillery commander who tells his gunners to point their cannons in any direction and fire them when they feel like it!

No plan, no results!

Why not deal this way with those external target audiences whose behaviors really have an impact on your organization?

Who are they? List them in order of their impact on your operation. And let's concentrate here on #1.

What do you really know about how they perceive your operation? This is vital, of course, because perceptions almost always lead to predictable behaviors. That's why it's so important that you get this step right.

Fact is, you must interact with members of this target audience and question them carefully. What do they think of you and your organization? Do you detect negative undercurrents? Are you surprised by certain inaccuracies or misconceptions? Has a rumor crept in to their consciousness to do its dirty work?

The answers prepare you for establishing the corrective public relations goal. For example, straighten out that wrong impression. Or fix that misconception. Or correct that unfortunate inaccuracy. Rumors, of course, need immediate attention to neutralize them in the minds of target audience members.

With your goal all set, what is your strategy for achieving it? This one is a time-saver because there are only three strategies designed to deal with this situation: create opinion (perceptions) where none may exist; or change existing opinion; or reinforce it. Your goal will point you toward the proper choice.

Now here is the real challenge ? preparing the message you will send to members of your target audience.

To be persuasive, it must be believable, clearly presented and compelling. Ideally it should deal with the most important problem you wish to correct so as not to divide the reader's attention. For example, an inaccuracy, misconception or damaging rumor. Of course, your message must use supporting facts and figures that have been carefully checked for accuracy.

Recapping, you have now monitored and evaluated opinion among your target audience to determine the extent of any problems, you have set your corrective public relations goal and strategy, and you have prepared an impactful and corrective message.

How will you effectively deliver that message to members of that important outside audience? The answer lies in communications tactics, which some refer to as "beasts of burden" because they will carry your message to the right eyes and ears.

There are scores of tactics awaiting your pleasure. For instance, you can use newsletters, special events, press releases or open houses. You might also consider face-to- face-meetings, radio and newspaper interviews, speeches or emails. The key consideration is that a communications tactic be targeted specifically at the members of your #1 external audience.

Sooner rather than later, you will wonder if your public relations effort is making any progress towards your goal.

And that will require that you put on your opinion monitoring hat and go talk to members of your target audience once again.

As them the same questions you used in your earlier information gathering exercise. Only this time, stay alert for answers that indicate perceptions are changing in your direction. Of course, this means that, before long, behaviors should be changing as well.

And that is the test for public relations success: perceptions altered and behaviors modified as called for in your plan.

When all is said and done, what you will have is an important outside audience more accurately informed about your organization and, thus, more likely to behave in ways that help you achieve your objectives.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.

Robert A. Kelly ? 2003

About The Author

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks about the fundamental premise of public relations. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net. Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com

War Declared On Instant Messenger: How to Stop Your Child from Wasting Their Life Away Online

Hey Parents! I hate to tell you, but there is no such thing as "useful instant messaging". Your crafty child might try to take advantage of your lack of "Techie" know how when they say in that whiney voice... "But Mom?I'm IMing my friends about homework." Don't buy it! They are simply playing up the school is important bit so they can get you off their back.

To be fair, yes kids might spend a couple minutes discussing their school assignments. But for every 30 seconds of actual work, another 30 minutes are lost in useless chatter with the hundred or so "friends" on their buddy list! And if your child consistently pulls the "I didn't know the assignment" excuse, then bigger school problems than instant messaging are on the horizon.

You can easily stop the hours upon hours of instant messaging with one simple gesture? PULL THE PLUG! Now, I don't really mean to literally pull the plug out of the computer on your child. The last thing we want to do is get into a power struggle with your child, or break your $1500 computer.

No, what I mean is simply lay down the law. Allocate a specific period of instant messaging time per day. One hour of IMing is not going to kill anyone or their social life. And in that one hour time slot they will have plenty of time to discuss homework, their teacher, the new kid in class, or whatever.

Right now you might be saying, "That sounds great Chris, but what happens when my kid refuses to adhere to the allotted time?" When your child disregards your house rules it simply means they have too much free time on their hands. We all know that idleness is the devil's playground. It might be time to up their chore responsibilities. Or sign them up for an after school art class or even a sport or karate. Sometimes the best answer is to simply spend some quality time with them. Set up a time each day to play scrabble, take a walk or cook something together. It really doesn't matter what it is, just play to your kids interests and keep them busy.

The internet is a great tool, especially when it comes to education and homework. In the future we can expect to see an even greater merger of it with our every day lives. However, right now it's the great stealer of time. Getting sidetracked is very easy, (as some of you might know) and with the media induced, shortened attention spans of our children, whole young lives could waste away online. Teach your kids to use the Internet and Instant Messaging as intended. Sometimes we use it for work; sometimes we use it for play. Just be sure your kids know the difference between the two.

About The Author

Chris Pizzo is the President of Noble Learning Systems Inc. and the developer of the NEW "Amazing Homework Motivator" program.

Why are thousands of kids happily sitting down to do their homework each and every night?...Without a fight, an argument, or even a reminder? Click here now ==> http://www.HomeworkMotivator.com

Finding Long Distance

When a person moves, they need to hook up utilities. Often it can be difficult to know what you need to do and who to call. One such utility that needs to be taken care of is long distance. You probably feel overwhelmed because of the many promotions featuring long distance service. There are many kinds to choose from and many companies to look at. So, where do you begin? How do you find the best options?

The first order of business when looking for long distance is to decide what you need.

How many long distance calls do you make per month? Where do you call, within the States or overseas as well? And, how much time do you spend on those calls? Determining this information is likely to tell you what type of plan you will need. If you aren't going to use it much, a plan with fewer minutes may be the option to go with. If you use your long distance quite a bit, finding a flat rate plan may be an advantage. There is no need for an overseas plan if you do not have anyone to call.

The next things you need to consider are the companies that have plans that fit your needs. You can use the internet to compare and contrast companies. You can find information about many of them right from their websites. By doing this type of research, you can not only find the best plan available for your area, but you can also find a quality company you can trust. By taking this time now to determine the best company for you, you can start saving right from the beginning.

The Long Distance Resource Site is an all-in-one resource for everything about Long Distance.

A Look at Getting a Bad Credit Personal Loan

Trying to get a bad credit personal loan can be frustrating. It may be that you don't know where to turn to find the loan that you're looking for, or that you don't know the correct procedure for getting a bad credit personal loan. Perhaps every application that you make is turned down before you even have time to explain your situation. Don't worry, though? it is possible to get a bad credit personal loan, you just need to be able to give the lender a reason to have faith in you.

Credit where it's due

If you have bad credit, then you've done something to get it that way. Either your payments on previous credit lines were often late, or you simply didn't make some of the payments at all. Either of these factors will lower your credit score (which is a number that lenders use to determine whether or not you're a credit risk), and once lowered it can take years of on-time payments to restore you to good credit.

Of course, if you're going to make payments then you're going to need a credit line on which to make those payments. Credit cards, loans, and even some bank accounts are considered to be credit lines, and if you get one with bad credit then you might be looking at higher interest rates or sharper fees for late payments and overdrafts.

Finding the loan that you need

Getting a bad credit personal loan doesn't have to be as difficult as some might have you believe. Check with finance companies and other lenders to see what options they offer in the way of bad credit loans; often you'll be required to pay a higher interest rate or offer some form of collateral (such as an automotive title or property deed), but as long as you pay off the loan in good time you shouldn't have to worry about paying too much in interest or having your car or property repossessed. Should you be unable to find a bad credit personal loan through a finance company, you might want to check the internet for lenders of bad credit personal loans.

Once you've found the right lender for your bad credit personal loan, you need to decide exactly how much money you need (as opposed to how much you can get.) Don't borrow more than you have to? after all, you're likely going to be paying more in interest and you want to pay back the loan as quickly as you can. Borrow the minimum amount that you can get by with, and try to pay more than the minimum payment every month. With any luck, you should have the loan paid off in no time and be well on your way to restoring your credit score as well.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author's biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.