Now web conferencing is not brand new, but this was actually my first personal experience with it, and it got me thinking about how fast things have changed. Just a few years ago I was travelling all over the world to accomplish similar things. The travel was interesting, but I think the days of hopping planes to install software are over...or soon to be. The ease with which the task was accomplished with nobody leaving their desks was amazing. I think once you experience this, you won't be able to imagine why anyone would do this any other way.

Of course, installing software is only one of the things that such conferencing allows you to do. Meetings, training, sales presentations, and collaborations of any sort fit right in, and corporate workplaces are not the only venue in which such tools can be used. Internet marketers are starting to realize the power of the approach. Teleconferences have been a popular marketing tool for sometime, and webcasts and webinars are becoming more and more popular. A webcast usually refers to a one-way broadcast from presenter to audience, while a webinar usually involves two way communication - the audience can respond - typically through a telephone, although many service providers are starting to bundle in voice communication with their web services.

Imagine you're marketing an information product on the web. Want to demonstrate it's virtues to your leads? Well, it's very easy to do. Purchase a one-time meeting package from the vendor of your choice, send the web address of the meeting page to your leads, set up voice access either with the vendor, or through another teleconferencing service, and off you go! Your leads can ask questions and watch on their computer while you wax eloquent about your product...think that might boost sales?

The web conferencing vendor I used for the software upgrade provides a hosted solution, which means that there is no software to install locally and no servers to maintain - all you need is a web browser and a telephone. You can have a shared screen meeting anytime you want to with virtually no local set up work at all. In fact, during our software upgrade, a question came up that required the knowledge of one of the programmers that wrote the system, who happened to work in different state. One phone call, and he joined the online meeting from his computer, took a look at the problem, fixed it, and off we went.

Recall that I mentioned above that most services allow the "presenter" to take control of the desktops of the "audience". Imagine how simple this makes it to show your audience how a software product works - think of the travel and accommodation expenses that can be eliminated. Some corporations report saving literally millions of dollars each year by reducing travel expenses with web conferencing.

If your company hasn't taken the plunge yet, it's time you took a look. If you're selling on the Internet, think about how these tools can affect your bottom line.