This survey (PDF file) by Wainhouse Resarch found the following:
“The net result of our analysis of this survey data has led Wainhouse Research to conclude that the opportunity cost of not being able to maximize the use of web conferencing in an organization may well represent the single largest unrealized combination of cost savings and benefit delivery to occur when web conferencing is not easy to use.”
further on they say,
“Respondents also are at the high end of agreement with two more statements: 1) that “an offering with fewer features but greater Ease of Use can be of more value than an offering with more features that is complex to use,” and 2) “those who are uncomfortable with the technology are reluctant to host meetings.” While not “hard” costs per se, the logical conclusion is that value might be found in Ease of Use, and that without comfort, less activity would take place and less ROI might be gained from investments in licenses, equipment and infrastructure. ”
they continue,
“This ranking exercise, in which we assigned values based on how items were ranked, found that Ease of Use is so meaningful it is ranked as the #1 criterion for selecting web conferencing.”
We couldn’t agree more. When it comes to web conferencing, for most people, less is more.
If you want ease of use, WebMeeting123 is the best and most affordable solution available today on the market. We have done away with all but the most important features to make web conferencing simple and easy to do.
Unlike other solutions with tons of unneeded features, WebMeeting123 is simple and affordable at only $79 a year. Don’t take my word for it, try it out for free and let me know what you think.
Mitchell
I was a bit hasty in an earlier post in claiming that GEICO had dropped their Cavemen campaign in favor of “The Money You Could be Saving” campaign. Wrong. Cavemen were readily seen hawking GEICO products throughout the NCAA men’s basketball tourney.
My question is with all the money GEICO spends on its commercials, how exactly is it able to offer lower priced auto insurance? 
BTW, GEICO stands for Government Employee Insurance Company. I don’t think that that is a requirement to be a customer anymore.
Mitchell
The New York Times is reporting that Cisco is buying Pure Digital Technologies.
And who is Pure Digital Technologies you ask? According to the article:
“Pure Digital started selling the Flip line of products in 2007 and has since shipped more than two million units, which cost $150 to $230, depending on the model. The device’s claim to fame has been its minimalism.
The Flip recorders have just a few buttons, weigh a few ounces and have 1.5-inch screens. In addition, they arrive without cables, relying on a built-in connector that plugs into a computer’s U.S.B. port for both recharging and transferring video files.”
Minimalism is their claim to fame. That is the approach we’re taking with WebMeeting123 . We have reduced desktop sharing to just three clicks of your mouse. We think it’s not just easier to use, but that it’s simply a better way to do business. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Mitchell
So easy a caveman can do it. We’ve all seen the ads where GEICO exclaims that switching to GEICO was so easy that, well you know. These ads were so popular that the caveman characters even had their own TV show for a while. I don’t think it lasted long. Good thing that.
So GEICO, understanding the financial mess many of us are in, respecting our collective and newly discovered frugality, has come up with a new campaign. “The money you could be saving with GEICO”
So, GEICO now has ads promoting both its simplicity and how much money it can save you. Simplicity and low cost are exactly what you get with WebMeeting123. Compared to WebEx and GoToMeeting, WebMeeting123 is much easier for both the presenter and the guests to use and it costs a fraction of the price.
Maybe I need to co-op the image and call it the money you could be saving with WebMeeting123 .
Mitchell
So, while doing a bit of research, I came across this wonderful page at Microsoft.com.
Apparently, in their infinite wisdom, Microsoft has decided to stop offering NetMeeting to their customers.
“Microsoft NetMeeting is a feature of previous versions of Windows that is not available in this version of Windows.”
They go on to say “If you want to collaborate with a small group of people, and everyone is using computers running this version of Windows, Windows Meeting Space is your best choice.”
Nice. Just make sure all your guests are running the same version of Windows. How considerate of them.
I think that they have it all wrong. People just want a simple, easy way to have web meetings and share their desktop. Just saying…
Mitchell
I was reading about a new book called Designing Interactions after finding out about it upon seeing this photo:
In the book, the author, Bill Moggridge interviews David Liddle. “David Liddle, project leader for the design of the Xerox Star, the founder of Metaphor Computer, and head of Interval Research, explains that a technology is adopted in three phases —the enthusiast phase, the professional phase, and the consumer phase—and that these phases apply to the technology of a remote control just as much as to a computer.”
Now, I would suggest that the same is true for desktop sharing / web meeting software. Early generations were for large, technologically sophisticated, corporate users. Later solutions for the “mid-market” have begun to appear, but up until now, there really hasn’t been a desktop sharing / web meeting solution designed for the rest of us who just want to share without having to learn how to use complicated software.
If you are like that, then I think you will like WebMeeting123 . WebMeeting123 is just plain easy to use. We developed WebMeeting123 because we feel that all of the other desktop sharing solutions available are complicated and expensive to use. We felt there was a better and easier way to hold web meetings.
One click to start a meeting and one click to invite. Then you share. 1-2-3. That’s how easy it is to use WebMeeting123 .
Mitchell