Posted by Kevin Micalizzi on Mon, Oct 05, 2009 @ 01:00 PM
What is the secret to a great web meeting?
Wayne Turmel, the president of www.greatwebmeetings.com, offers his suggestions for a great web meeting.
Any meeting is great if it does three things:
- Accomplishes what it set out to do
- Doesn’t take longer than necessary
- Doesn’t bore everyone to tears
First, you have to decide what it is you want the meeting to do and why a web meeting is the best way to accomplish it. Take the time to plan your meeting:
- Who will participate? Do you want everyone to be able to speak at once or do you want them to use the Chat feature to comment and ask questions? Most importantly… do the people you invited need to be there? Nothing drives an audience crazier than being forced to attend a web meeting they have no opinion about, input into or stake in.
- What information needs to be shared and how will you share it? (Think collaboration tools, PowerPoint files, application sharing, documents). Pick the best way to make your point quickly.
- How long is your meeting? Anything over 40 minutes and you’re on borrowed time. Remember, two short meetings are much more productive than one long one. If you can share some information or get people thinking about topics before the meeting it can speed things up considerably. Preparation is key.
- Have you told them what to expect? Always let the audience know what the expected outcome is and how long you expect it to take. If they know it will be an hour, and at the end of it you’ll have a decision on the Johnson project, they’re more willing to hang in there than if they have no idea how long the pain will last or what the meeting is about.
- Are you building in chances for people to participate? The more you actively engage them, the longer they’ll stay interested. If it’s a one way data dump, you’ll lose them shortly. Think about asking questions that require written input, you can have them vote agree/disagree with their response buttons, if their microphones are live, let them talk and ask questions as you go instead of holding them til the end. RULE OF THUMB… you should never go more than 3-4 PowerPoint slides without some kind of interaction with your audience, even if it’s just checking in to see who’s still awake.
- Have you practiced? Nothing kills a presentation like lots of ummm, errrs, looking for lost notes or sounding like you’re reading off the page. Practice the important pieces of your presentation, make notes to yourself, and don’t be afraid to move your arms, talk loudly and look up from your script. These things all add colour to your voice. And reading your slides or notes over to yourself is not practicing. Practice out loud… in real time….. a lot.
Wayne Turmel is the president of www.greatwebmeetings.com, a company that specializes in helping people use web-based presentation tools to do more than simply present, but to communicate and connect. He is also the host of the Cranky Middle Manager Show podcast, and doesn’t suffer bad meetings well. He can be reached at +1 630 347-8369 or wturmel@greatwebmeetings.com
Posted by Steve Chazin on Thu, Aug 13, 2009 @ 03:03 PM
I was talking to my cousin Mike this week and he gave me a great idea. Then I heard from my friend at FanDraft, a fantasy football live draft tool. Because so many people draft their Fantasy Football teams in person or via the phone, Dimdim is a great solution to save them time, money and travel. After all, fantasy football is about making some money and winning...so let Dimdim save you some money and help you win!
Here is how to use Dimdim to draft your team:
1. Sign up for Dimdim for free. You'll be able to host draft sessions with up to 20 people on your fantasy football team. (if you need bigger rooms you can easily upgrade at any time.)
2. Schedule a Dimdim meeting for draft day and enter the email addresses of your draft partners - an invitation will be sent automatically. Or grab our instant Webinar Widget and post it on your site or blog or tweet it to your partners & teammates.
3. Start your Dimdim meeting on draft day and share your desktop or web browser. Your partners all join via the link in the email and instantly see your computer screen while everyone talks to each other via the telephone conference bridge that comes with Dimdim for free.
4. Now collaborate in real time and pick that great team together! And don't worry, none of your draft partners need to install anything to help you pick the best players.
Ready... Set... Dimdim!
P.S. If you sign up for Dimdim or follow or RT @Dimdim or tweet #DimdimFantasy between now and Sept 13 you can win Madden 10 with a PS3, XBox or Wii system and FanDraft software! We're celebrating Dimdim, Madden and Fantasy Football!
Here is Kevin and Lou with the stuff you can win!
Here is the video description of the aforementioned Webinar Widget:
Posted by Kevin Micalizzi on Tue, Jun 30, 2009 @ 11:32 AM
We recently introduced a new benefit for our Dimdim Free members: refer a friend and your Dimdim room automatically gets bigger!
It is super easy:
- Log into your Dimdim Free account
- Click Refer a friend
- Invite your friends
For each friend who signs up, your Dimdim Free room size will automatically grow to accommodate 5 more people (up to 100).
We'll be giving away a prize each day to a random friend who accepts an invite. Check back daily for winners and prizes or follow @dimdim on Twitter.
Thanks!
-k
Kevin Micalizzi, Community Manager
twitter: @dimdim
Posted by Kevin Micalizzi on Fri, Jun 12, 2009 @ 01:32 PM
This week we officially moved into our new offices in the Cross Point Towers, Lowell, MA. As we're settling in I'll add more pictures. For now, here are some shots of how the space was transformed for us.
Thanks!
-k
Kevin Micalizzi, Community Manager
Dimdim Web Conferencing
e: kevin@dimdim.com
twitter: @dimdim
facebook: dimdim.com/facebook
Experience the Dimdim Live Webinar! Register at:
http://www.dimdim.com/aboutus/events.html
Posted by Kevin Micalizzi on Wed, May 27, 2009 @ 12:39 PM
With more than 10,000 meetings and webinars happening per week on our hosted service, it's clear many are taking advantage of Dimdim Free and Dimdim Pro.
Having a great service to use doesn't guarantee a good or effective meeting/webinar -- so I'm on the hunt for the most fascinating, compelling, and powerful stories of how Dimdim is being used. I'd love to hear from you...
Is your story the best? Let me know!
Thanks!
-k
Kevin Micalizzi, Community Manager
Dimdim Web Conferencing
e: kevin@dimdim.com
twitter: @dimdim
facebook: dimdim.com/facebook
Experience the Dimdim Live Webinar! Register at:
http://www.dimdim.com/aboutus/events.html
Posted by Kevin Micalizzi on Tue, May 19, 2009 @ 12:02 PM
Less than a month ago, I asked for help with the Webware 100. With less travel and tight budgets we know how important it is to be able to work together effectively while keeping costs down. Many of you have experienced the power of our free web conferencing and even took the time to email me to let me know you'd voted. Your vote made a difference, thank you!
Dimdim is a Webware 100 winner!
You helped us win. Our team is so that we thought it would be nice to do something to thank you. So we're having two Webware 100 'Thank You' contests.
Contests
1. Retweet our Thanks:
For the next 10 days you have a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift certificate. Just tweet the following:
RT @dimdim: Thanks for helping Dimdim be a Webware 100 winner! http://bit.ly/dimdimwins #dimdim
That’s it. The more times you retweet this message, the more chances you have to win that day. There’ll be a new winner drawn each day until Friday, May 29, 2009. You must retweet each day to be eligible to win that day.
2. Login or Signup:
Twitter can be fun, but we know not everyone uses it so we’re also offering a $500 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky winner who signs up for Dimdim or signs into their account between now and next Friday May 29, 2009.
If you don’t have a Dimdim account yet, just sign up. Or, if you are already using Dimdim, just sign in to your account. It’s that easy!
Thanks!
-k
Kevin Micalizzi, Community Manager
Dimdim Web Conferencing
e: kevin@dimdim.com
twitter: @dimdim
facebook: dimdim.com/facebook
[balloon image adapted from Flickr-House Of Sims]
$100 Amazon Gift Certificate Winners!
Posted by Kevin Micalizzi on Mon, Apr 27, 2009 @ 03:37 PM
Let's face it, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are boring. Wedged between Monday's painful "back to work" and Thursday's "just one more day."
This contest is closed
Congratulations to our winner @madly59!
We're hoping to improve this week for one lucky winner on Twitter by giving away one Digidesign Mbox 2, and getting the word out about Dimdim's Webby nomination.
This contest differs from our "Retweet to Win" contest (but you can join that one too!) It's not how often you tweet, it's all about
getting others to retweet for you.
Every time someone retweets your contest message, you get another chance to win (only their retweets of your message count.) Here's how the message should look when your coworkers, friends, family, neighbors, dogs, etc. retweet you:
RT <your Twitter name>: Help @dimdim win a #Webby http://bit.ly/Dimdim4Webby & retweet so I win too! http://bit.ly/retweet4u
To be clear, should be your Twitter name. For example, if I was eligible (which I'm not) I'd want to see as many people as possible tweeting 'RT @kevinmic: Support free web conferencing! @dimdim 4 a #Webby http://bit.ly/Dimdim4Webby'
The contest starts midnight (EST) Monday and
goes until midnight Wednesday (EST).
Every time someone retweets your contest message (as shown above), you get another chance to win.
More retweets of your message = more chances to win!
Get as many retweets as you can to increase your chances of winning a Digidesign Mbox 2. The Mbox 2 is some seriously cool and fun audio equipment from the leader in audio, Digidesign. It's their "most popular personal studio system ever."
The winner will be announced via @dimdim (on Twitter) this Thursday.
-k
Posted by Kevin Micalizzi on Thu, Apr 23, 2009 @ 01:10 PM
A name like Dimdim generates conversation. It's a name you're not likely to miss. Unless you were looking for us on the Webby Awards ballot. We were listed as "Synchronized Live Communications". (Something we provide, not who we are.)
It's tough to get above 5th place when even your committed customers and friends can't find you. That's been fixed and we are now listed under "Services & Applications" as Dimdim!
To vote for Dimdim:
- Go to the People's Voice - The Webby Awards site and sign up. (They do this to make sure votes are from people, not scripts, machines, etc.)
- Use this link http://bit.ly/Dimdim4Webby or the button below to go directly to the ballot.
Thank you for your support!
Posted by Kevin Micalizzi on Wed, Apr 22, 2009 @ 11:43 AM
You may not have heard yet. Dimdim is a Webware 100 Finalist!
To help us get the word out, we’re hosting a “retweet” contest on Twitter (until April 30th).
What do I have to do?
To participate, all you need to do is tweet the following:
RT @dimdim: #Dimdim is a Webware 100 finalist! http://bit.ly/Vote_for_Dimdim
What could I win?
- Each day we'll surprise someone who retweets this message that day with a prize.
- Everyone who retweeted this message before April 30th will be in the running to win a Cambridge Soundworks i765.
It's as simple as retweeting this message every day and watching @dimdim on Twitter for updates and winners. These prizes are for helping us spread the message, not for voting (but if you love Dimdim, vote for us!)
Thanks for your support!
-k
Kevin (Twitter: @dimdim)
Don't forget to vote for Dimdim in the Webby Awards too!
Winners
Congratulations to our grand prize winner @RocchiJulia!
Wed., April 22, 2009 - @Rockin_Fluffy, $20 Amazon Gift Certificate
Thur., April 23, 2009 - @MichaelSheeley, ViewSonic 7" Digital Photo Frame
Fri., April 24, 2009 - @arelt, $20 AMC movie card
Sat., April 25, 2009 - @madly59, Space Pen
Sun., April 26, 2009 - @SherylLoch, LogiTech ClearChat Headset
Mon., April 27, 2009 - @RobinHolstein, 1-yr Dimdim Pro (50 person)
Tues., April 28, 2009 - @multitaskingme, G-Technology 80GB USB G-Drive
Wed., April 29, 2009 - @carogonza, black 4GB iPod shuffle
Posted by Kevin Micalizzi on Sat, Apr 11, 2009 @ 05:11 AM
Sramana Mitra continues her work with entrepreneurs in her Strategy Roundtables. Working in collaboration with INSEAD students and graduates, Sramana gives these entrepreneurs guidance in vehicle fuel monitoring, makeup brush cleaning, computer-based simulation solutions and tools, and personalized online career consulting ventures.
[There's a slight echo at the beginning due to one of the speaker's Skype connections, it gets resolved quickly.]