Suitable solutions for virtual meetings

[Ciapolin]

I am involved in a project at the moment were my co-workers are spread across different countries and so it is hard to organise face to face meetings with everyone. I am trying to find an internet solution to hold meetings, improve communications etc.

Does anyone have any experience in this area or know of any suitable solutions? For example, I wondered if a 'chatroom' type thing might be an option. It is a fairly large project group so one of the problems will be the logistics of managing input.

Any advice or pointers gratefully received.

[Mountain Goat]

Google for - online project management - with or without the word 'free' ?

The choice is maybe between:

1) Pay $5-15 /month and hosted on provider's webspace.

2) Free but hosted on some of your web space (most of us have got a lot spare, even from our broadband ISPs.

A lot of them have a 30-day trial

Basecamp and NetOffice look good, but best to talk with someone who's used one.

MG

[Garri]

Anything produced by the 37 Signals crew is highly recommended. Easy to use. I have used Campfire and it is brilliant, very intuitive and you can archive 'discussions' for easy reference by everyone in the group.

http://www.campfirenow.com/

I particularly like the way they've improved the interface on Campfire over the past year - it now feels more blog like.

[Alan Knighting]

Garri,

Well done, Campfire looks like a real possibility.

it now feels more blog like.

Well, “flog a dog� (Notting Hill) it looks like a blog. To me, it looks like a real-time group chat room probably because that’s what it is.

To quote from WXPNews - “A Web log, or blog, is really just a Web site formatted in a particular way. This can be done with any Web design software such as FrontPage, but software specifically made for blogging makes it easier. Some see creating a blog as an act of egotism and reading them as a voyeuristic waste of time. Others see blogging as the logical evolution of the information age or even the savior of journalism in the wake of an accelerating loss of credibility on the parts of traditional media outlets.�

Fluffy

[Garri]

Alan,

Pretty much anything by these guys is good but they themselves reformatted the presentation of Campfire to emulate a blog, probably because 99.9% of the customers are used to blogs as website.

This can be done with any Web design software such as FrontPage

Sure, but the question is: why would anyone in their right mind want to? It's like saying that with the new Intel based Macs you can run Windows. Pointless.

[enid]

Camlpfire is recommended by my daughter too but with more than 4 people there is a monthly charge - 12dollars I think.

[Garri]

Depends on how many people you need and for how long? Sometimes you have to pay for quality and if there's a few of you then expense can be shared.

[Ciapolin]

Thanks for your suggestion Garri and Enid - I will go and have look.

Because of the way the project is set up it could be anything from a couple to say 20 people at any one time (managing the logistics of so many people participating is another matter!).

[Garri]

I set up Basecamp 3 years ago for a project that involved a few people: Sony in Japan, PR agency here, me, A&R bloke, booking agent, printers & graphic designers, radio plugger, distributor, marketing guy and probably a few others I've forgotten (for good reason!). The biggest problem I had was people not wanting to use it - they preferred email!

I can't begin to tell you how crazy it got with all the emails going back and forth, some private, some not, and with the time difference being so large. One boo boo that sprang to mind was with the booking agent changing venues around for the tour. Some vital info got lost in emails and result was 10,000 posters printed with wrong venue! (at least the date was right and name of town!)

Since then, Basecamp has improved tremendously and is an invaluable tool when trying to orchestrate a large group. I no longer do what I used to to (run a record label), so have not used it for a while.

[Alan Knighting]

Garri,

Sure, but the question is: why would anyone in their right mind want to? It's like saying that with the new Intel based Macs you can run Windows. Pointless.

Absolutely! After all a blog is just a trendy way of presenting a Web Site. Some people, many people, have bought into blogs but a blog is still just a Web Site.

If you want to run Windows, and the overwhelming majority does, why buy an overpriced alternative and then buy an emulator which, if you are lucky, might run Windows - unsatisfactorily?

If one wants a simple and straightforward chat room, and I think that was the initial question, why would one want a chat room which looks like a blog? It doesn’t matter what “dedicated followers of fashion� think about it, they’re excluded from the chat room. What matters is “how does it work for those involved?�

There are maybe only five or six people involved. How can they most efficiently communicate with each other? I think by using a tried and tested chat room. Am I wrong?

Fluffy

[Garri]

After all a blog is just a trendy way of presenting a Web Site.

these days it seems the most viable (and sensible) way of presenting a website.

In the early days, I'm talking 2000 when Blogger came onto the scene, their strapline was: push button publishing. It perfectly summed it up.

I remember in 2001 my record label, and some of my artists, were being discussed by enthusiastic bloggers which saw an increase in visitors and increase in sales. A conversation ensued. I found that fascinating.

With regard Campfire, the guys at 37 Signals are renowned for keeping things simple with their less is more philosophy. You can see why they introduced a more blog-like format on Campfire.

http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/296- ... r-redesign

[vrooje]

There are, as far as I know, more than a few pieces of software that have essentially taken ICQ and AIM to the next level, to include video and audio chats, file transfers, etc. People start the software from their machines, connect, and then can use cameras, microphones, or just their keyboard to have a virtual meeting. If presentations are part of the meeting, the presenter can send everyone a copy of the file and the group can look at it simultaneously...

Qnext is one -- I mention it because it's free, and I happen to know about it because my brother-in-law is on the development team. I think it's in the early stages of release, but it's past the beta-testing stage.

I think Microsoft's NetMeeting can also do this, but I doubt it's free...

[Ciapolin]

Many thanks Brooke - I'll check that one out too.