What Is Web Based Conferencing?
Web conferencing is nothing but a new way of meeting people and carrying out demonstrations over the net. Earlier, web conferencing was often used interchangeably with computer conferencing. So, Web based conferencing can be simply termed as conferencing or discussions through the Internet.
A computer conferencing was general group discussions held inside a message board (later popularly known as forums), which was not live. So, the term was particularly evolved as Web Conferencing which was quite apt considering the fact that the discussions were fairly live.
In a web based conference, each member is required to sit on his/her respective computer, and is connected to other members through the Internet. They will share a same platform by using a common downloaded application from the Internet itself, which is installed on each of the members; computer systems. There is another way to get connected as well, in which the members can sign up on a web-based application where the members will simply enter a URL or website address and respective passwords to enter the live discussion board. These web-based applications used either Flash or Java technology.
The history of web based conferencing doesn't go too far backwards, but it is very clear that the need for real time was required very early. This prompted the take of Real-time text-chat facilities like the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) which started in August 1988 but gained prominence in the early 1990s. Then came web-based chat and instant messaging software applications, which became very popular in the mid-90s. And by the late 90s, the first true web conferencing service became available which paved the way for other web-based conferencing tools in the fray. As of now, in 2008, the market keeps to flourish as web conferencing is now a more broadly accepted option to one-on-one meetings requiring logistics issues, and as a more productive form of communication than the voice conferences.
Web based conferencing can be done using many technologies like having a common screen, emailing, chat, and also Voice of Internet Protocol (VoIP). In other words, web conferencing lets the members to get the same info simultaneously, and allows them to talk about things with each other using text or voice protocols. With so many choices available in a usual web conference, it is not required to visit distant clients or colleagues under normal conditions. So, the web based conferencing has many benefits like various communication services and also lets you save on the costs. Last but not the least it saves you from the traveling hassles and brings the world at your doorstep
Web Conferencing
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