Difference between revisions of "Video Conferencing When You Can't Travel"

Pick any Sci-fi movie about the future and what do you see? People communicating just by voice or by voice and picture? That's right, there is always a video feed of calling parties. We were promised video calling as a norm by the turn of the millennium yet its 2010 and I don't see many telephones that have a camera attached to them let alone an LCD display.

But not all hope is lost as we have the option to make video calls thanks to availability of free and easy to use online services. These service can help you save valuable time and money on travel yet allow you to meet the person face-to-face. Using video conferencing, managers can check-in with their colleagues in a more productive conversation, off-site members can have a more engaging discussion with team members. Collaboration is much easier when people can read each other's body language and facial expressions leading to fewer misunderstandings.

Here are a few sites that can serve your video conferencing needs:

1. {{{2}}} (visit) -- Skype has been around a while and many businesses depend on it to communicate with clients as well as employees.
2. {{{2}}} (visit) -- Google Talk is delicious when it comes to integration with your existing Google services.
3. {{{2}}} (visit) -- ooVoo offers the usual video calling experience for free but a paid subscription gets you set up for a 6 way video call and a whole lot of goodies such as video call recording, embedding a video chat room in your website and more.
4. {{{2}}} (visit) -- TinyChat is a web based platform that allows audio and video connections for upto 12 clients. Their p2p site allows quick access to an online video room without the need to sign up or download any program. All you need is a computer with a web cam and microphone.