I recently made the decision that as a part of my continuing education, I really need to learn more about the tools that are available to me for both video conferencing and web conferencing. I’ve had Skype for some time now but have just decided to actually start using it. I’m also looking forward to Google activating it’s new voice call features on my Google Apps account. Hell, I pay for Apps and people who have just standard free Gmail get these features while I, a paying customer, don’t? What is up with that?
Web conferencing has really caught my eye particularly since I plan on offering services in a very short time (watch for that announcement) where having this capability will be crucial. I’ve been to GoToMeeting and Webex events and, were I an enterprise level company instead of some poor little schmuck living in Boise, Idaho, I’d have to look seriously at those. I don’t have huge needs and I have a budget to match. Enter DimDim.
I’ve heard some of my colleagues talk about this service and so it was already on my short list. First of all, if you only want to have 10 or less invitees to an event and you are willing to share one webcam (which you can pass around to assigned or rotating presenters) … it’s 100% FREE. Sweet! I have opted to trial their Pro version which will allow groups of up to 50 and with four webcams. With paying annually instead of monthly and other incentives, I can go Pro (and probably will) for as little as the equivalent of only $19 per month. I call this a great value! Check out this screen shot which shows video chat on the bottom left, standard chat on the right sidebar, and screen sharing (with all attendees) in the center.
So, what can you do with DimDim? Through the “screen sharing” functions, and there are actually three different ways you can accomplish this, you can conduct training and demonstrations on new products and services. You can also upload and share documents like Power Point presentations. Inviting attendees is a snap and, unlike some other applications I have used, attendees are not required to install any software at all to participate in a session. A simple URL will take them directly into the meeting. Anyone who will be presenting and wishes to be able to share their screen will need to install a free utility program in order to be able to do so. On the Pro version you can have public or private meetings while the free version allows for public meetings only.
DimDim has many other cool features that I am not going to get into today. Suffice to say … I’m pretty excited about the possibilities!
Thanks for visiting!
Craig
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Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. NetWorks! Boise Valley is a business to business networking organization for the most serious sales and marketing professionals only.
