Web Conferencing System

Advances in technology and the Internet have brought about the rapid increase in development of web conferencing systems. So much so that web conferencing systems are fast replacing email lists in disseminating information through the web. But don’t get this wrong though. Email is not about to get phased out.

Mailing Lists vs. Web Conferencing Systems

A mailing list is a type of online service wherein a group of people get to share the same information. This is done through a central source, typically called a List server, which is responsible for sending out information to all subscribers of the list. The List server is nothing more than a computer which stores a list of email addresses.

There are several problems with email lists that led to businesses using web conferencing systems instead. These are:

* Email is an inconvenient tool to limit access to specific mail items to specific people within a group. List servers mail to everyone or no one at all. Of course, a human Moderator may be chosen to intercept and edit the incoming messages but this significantly limits the interaction between members. The goal of web conferencing system is to enhance human interaction between participants as what is possible in an online environment.
* Mail arrives chronologically. They are also not organized in any other way. This makes web conferencing systems much more preferable since, with the use of playback options, the minutes of a virtual meeting could be stored using the application’s more advanced organization capabilities.
* Email is hard to read. You notice that email messages usually have lots of cryptic header material, no formatting, and virtually no font changes. Web conferencing systems on the other hand is done real-time and makes use of not just text messages but voice, video, and whiteboard graphic as well.
* Graphics cannot be displayed in most systems.
* No common document database. Each person has his/her own copy of each mail item, and people very in what they want to delete or save. If they do save messages, each person has his or her own idiosyncratic method for organizing it. With information individualized this way, it’s hard for a company comprised of several individuals to keep track of information using a common denominator.
* Replying in context is difficult. You will either have to repeat the original message or summarize it. Some email programs today actually let you delete portions of the original message but that would mean cutting up the context.
* No convenient way for multiple people to work jointly on the same document. With web conferencing system’s countless sharing options, you virtually have control over the desktop of other participant’s desktop.