Human communication is the cornerstone of good business. While simple customer transactions are increasingly taking place online without any human interaction, most behind-the-scenes business decisions are still made by two or more people who communicate extensively.

Of course, throughout history, most business meetings and conferences have been conducted through face-to-face meetings. But starting around 6 or 7 decades ago, phones started to become an essential tool to make things happen in business.

But nothing since the advent of the telephone has rivaled the revolution in business communications witnessed with the rise of the Internet. Since the late 1990s, Web conferencing technologies have moved well beyond email or text chat to new levels of sophistication.

If you’re looking for affordable conferencing, Web-mediated communication is the way to go. Here are 5 frequently asked questions about cheap web conferencing:

1. How is web conferencing different from phone-only conferencing?

A: Using the phone to discuss business ideas, conduct training, and sell to customers limits communicators to only one dimension of communication: voice. By contrast, web conferencing brings into play additional dimensions such as video, live text chat, whiteboarding, and application sharing. And, since Web-mediated communication takes advantage of the essentially free infrastructure of the public Internet, it is cheaper to operate per minute than conference calls.

2. How are web conferences different from in-person meetings?

A: Web conferencing (or Internet conferencing) also offers advantages over meeting in person, or “face to face.” Namely, these two: a. cost of attending the meeting, and b. the ability to gather almost instantly.

To illustrate the difference: With in-person meetings, you must take some form of transportation (car, plane, bike, boat, train, etc.) to physically visit the person you want to meet with, for which you often need to make an appointment well in advance. However, with online meetings, the time between the decision to meet and the actual meeting can be as little as 2-3 minutes.

3. What are the things to look for in a web conferencing system?

A: There are a number of characteristics to look for in a good system. Of course, what’s really available to you depends on the systems you’re considering. However, some of the features you may be interested in in these systems are: whiteboard sharing, application sharing, website sharing, desktop control, desktop viewing, voice over IP (VoIP), online chat, ability to record meetings for later reference, audience polls, audience tests, streaming media, and various security features.

4. How many people can use an Internet meeting system at the same time?

A: Many systems are designed for up to 20 attendees to use at a time. However, many of the webcast and webinar software applications can accommodate up to hundreds or thousands of attendees (usually in listen/view only mode, though with some feedback capability) at one time.

5. Are there any drawbacks in using online communication for business meetings?

A: The only drawbacks to using online communication technologies relate to the limitation of not being able to experience certain types of non-verbal communication present in most face-to-face meetings, such as body posture, subtle facial expressions, and hand signals. surrounding visuals. in the room.

If you’re looking for affordable conferencing, web communication is something your business should seriously consider.