Beyond The Net
Virtual meetings take boredom out of boardroom
By Janine Warner
The next time you are attending a meeting with a well-known keynote speaker, look closely. The person at the front of the room may not really be there. You may be looking at a virtual image brought to you over the Internet.
Sir Arthur Clark, author of 2001, A Space Odyssey, addressed a gala event last year in Los Angeles as a 3D guest while he enjoyed the comforts of his own home in Sri Lanka.
Created by Teleportec Ltd. ( www.teleportec.com), the system Clark used projects a life-size, three-dimensional image so real people who have seen it claim some audience members actually think the person is in the room.
Teleportec's system is still expensive and not widely used, but much simpler Web-based conferencing systems are increasingly common and are being used for everything from hosting board meetings to making sales calls.
At its most basic, online conferencing systems require only a computer and an Internet connection. If you want video, you'll also need a high-bandwidth Internet connection and a camera.
What's making virtual meetings so popular is the development of collaboration software programs that enable users to have multiple windows open at once so they can simultaneously ''see'' the person speaking on video while they view a PowerPoint presentation or watch as someone makes changes to a document in another part of the screen.
Many also feature chat capabilities that enable you to direct comments to all of the people involved in the teleconference, or send a specific message to one person -- kind of like passing notes in class. Popular programs today include Centra Symposium ( www.centra.com), Microsoft NetMeeting ( www.microsoft.com) and WebEx ( www.webex.com).
To get the perspective of some of the people most affected by the advent of virtual conferences, I traveled (Yes, I got on a plane and went in real life) to the National Speakers Association annual convention in Atlanta.
It was a remarkably technically savvy group, using the Internet for everything from keeping in touch while they travel to reaching audiences half a world away. But even as they embrace new technologies, most professional speakers don't think virtual meetings will ever take the place of face-to-face meetings.
''Virtual meetings will replace real meetings when virtual hormones replace real ones,'' said Corbin Ball ( www.corbinball.com), an international speaker, consultant and writer who specializes in technology solutions for meeting professionals.
Corbin has led a number of virtual conferences and said chat software, audience polls, and video help make these sessions more effective, but he added, ``It's still very strange when you can't see the whites of their eyes.''
Kare Anderson ( www.sayitbetter.com), an Emmy-award winning former television reporter and professional public speaker, believes meeting in person will always be important: ``The more senses involved, the stronger the human connection.''
If you must host a virtual meeting, she said, it's best if the audience has a sense of who's leading it. Virtual meetings work better, Anderson added, if the audience has met the presenter in the past, or has at least seen the person on television or video.
Speakers have been quick to embrace the Internet, said Marsha Mardock, director of communications for the National Speakers Association, noting 94 percent of the group's members are online.
''We have such a breadth of ages, styles and expertise among our members,'' Mardock said,``and almost all of them grabbed onto the capabilities of e-mail right away.''
Still, Mardock said, the National Speakers Association believes it's important to bring members together in person for most of their conferences and events. They have, however, upgraded their website to handle everything from online event registration to the ability for speakers to update their biographies on the site.
Janine Warner is a consultant, speaker and the author of several books about the Internet, including `Managing Web Projects For Dummies.' To learn more, visit the site: www.janinewarner.com
First publication, The Miami Herald, Mon, Apr. 08, 2002
