What are webinars and how to participate. Webinars - what they are and why businesses need them. What is needed to organize this event?

In the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, a webinar is a type of web conference, holding online meetings or presentations via the Internet

Let’s explain it more simply: a webinar is an online training session or a corporate online meeting. A lecture on modern technology trends, a master class on origami, or instruction on new equipment for remote workers - all this can be held in the format of an online webinar.

There are always two parties involved in a webinar: the presenter and the audience. Usually the participants can see the presenter, but he cannot see them. This is not surprising: if there are more than five listeners, it is difficult to see each participant. Therefore, to organize a webinar you need a special platform: it is difficult to conduct a lesson for 100 people in a standard messenger with video calls.

How do webinars and webinars work?

Who is the webinar format suitable for?

• For those who plan to conduct paid or free online courses. There are platforms for webinars , which allow you to create beautiful branded event landing pages with an effective registration form and accept payments for courses within the service.
• Companies that provide training to employees from different cities and countries and want to avoid complex logistics and business trips for entire departments.
• For those who often hold internal meetings with remote colleagues and want to find a convenient tool for corporate meetings.

If you would like more information about what a webinar means for your business and what format options are right for you, please submit a request on our

Technology tends to penetrate every home. It’s already a shame not to know what a webinar is and how they go. Our population is somewhat prejudiced towards all new phenomena; we are a conservative society. And, by the way, this is in vain, because modernization always leads to easier life; the need to make colossal efforts to solve everyday problems is lost.

How did you share information before?

Since ancient times, it so happened that specialists in their field gathered and shared information among themselves.

Initially, our ancestors told each other at such meetings:

1. How to arrange housing easier and what can be used in construction.
2. How can cavalry deliver a more effective blow to the enemy's formation?
3. How can you grow a real olive garden?
4. Where better to go next year.
5. What discoveries and conquests can await in distant regions.

Everyone knows roman forums, which brought together honorable citizens from all over the Republic. Over the millennia, many names have been chosen for conventions:

• Symposia.
• Consiliums.
• Conventions.
• Fees.
• Conferences.

But form of conduct did not change - experts from all over the country or even the world came to one city and held fierce debates, face to face.

Disadvantages of conferences and seminars

And haven't we come up with anything better? Suppose some meeting of interest to us is taking place somewhere on the outskirts of Quebec. A visitor from far abroad is always confronted with such problems:

• Fly to another continent.
• Spend money on round trip tickets.
• Acclimatize in a new time zone.
• Experience discomfort from being in an unfamiliar community.

All this is not fatal, but it can negate all the positive aspects of the conference itself. Especially when the visitor is only interested in a few presentations and a small part of the general information. Fly thousands of kilometers for a 20-minute performance?

The idea is interesting, but too expensive by all measures. You can, of course, watch everything in the recording later, but it’s not a fact that it will be made at all. And even if the performance is filmed, there is still no guarantee that such an exclusive will be posted for public viewing.

As a result, you will fall out of the information field for several weeks or even months; for some specialties this is an unaffordable luxury.

How to record a webinar?

It was developed specifically for the needs of such people. webinar technology . The concept combines web and ordinary seminars. This leads us to believe that a webinar is a regular conference held over the Internet.

Basic advantages of this type of seminars:

1. The ability to participate remotely, right from the comfort of your home.
2. Unlimited number of participants.
3. Minimal financial and organizational costs for the event.
4. Minimum barriers to establishing new contacts.
5. The ability to record a video conference and post it publicly, rather than conducting everything online.

Yes, that's exactly it. You can first record the webinar and only then post it somewhere. If you want to spend it with guests, you will have to invite them to your makeshift studio and limit yourself to a few takes.

If you are the only one acting as the main character, you can reshoot it any number of times, bringing the material to perfection.

When recording a webinar, it is better to use with these tips:

• Download or buy video recording software.
• The most convenient way is to capture an area from the screen and then record.
• If you want to show off your face, set up a webcam.
• During the broadcast, turn off the music and any third-party programs and applications.
• Don't lean into adjacent windows, don't try to do several things at once.
• Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the process.

How to conduct a webinar?

But it is not necessary to post the finished result of your work; it is much more interesting to hold a conference live. There are a huge number of services that are ready to provide the opportunity to hold conferences in modeonline.

Some services do this absolutely free, others will require a fee.

For the success of the event, you need to familiarize yourself with the rules of each individual service and choose the one that suits best:

Conducting interactive seminars is now even easier; almost all services are intuitive for users. By and large the webinar organizer needs:

1. Set the settings for the new event.
2. Set the maximum number of participants and privacy settings.
3. Press the start button.
4. Hold a conference.
5. Disable it with the same one button.

What is a webinar?

The webinar is conference held via the Internet.

Usually organized by one person or a small group of people, for like-minded people and colleagues. During the seminar, people discuss the issues on the agenda, share information and try to learn something new for themselves.

It is quite possible that in the future all important meetings will be held in this way, in any industry.

There are already positive trends in this regard. And every year the number of webinars is growing rapidly, increasing exponentially.

If you use the Internet every day, sooner or later you will find out what a webinar is and how they work. And if you are interested, maybe you will be lucky enough to take part in one of these events.

Video about the webinar

In this short video, Alexey will tell you what the word “webinar” actually means and will look at all the advantages of this method of communication:

The development of the Internet has provided users with ample opportunities for virtual communication. One form of this type of communication is webinars.

Webinars allow several remote users to communicate simultaneously via the Internet.

Moreover, as a rule, only the webinar presenter speaks, while other participants can communicate via text chat.

The word “webinar” is borrowed from the English language – webinar, which means holding an online meeting via the Internet. Webinars are also called online seminars, web conferences, online meetings, etc.

At the time of the webinar, each of its participants is at their own computer, and the connection between them is maintained via the Internet, and some platform (site) is used to conduct the webinar.

Why are webinars needed?

Using video conferencing, you can undergo training, for example, starting with mastering training programs. You can also go through. The advantage of webinars is that they are easy to conduct regardless of the distance between the teacher and students.

Webinars are also held for meetings of employees of a certain company. This method is the only possible communication option if employees work remotely.

Video conferences are also held in cases where employees work in different cities.

How is the webinar going?

Let's start with what is needed for a webinar? In order to take part in the webinar, you must have (or a device that replaces it), if possible with sound speakers (for volume control) or headphones, and also a good, fast Internet connection.

You usually need to register for a webinar using your email address. The webinar presenter sends the link required to attend the webinar to this e-mail in advance.

The organizers warn potential participants in advance about the time and topic of the webinar on thematic resources. At the agreed time, all participants receive the coordinates of the virtual room (most often this is a link that must be followed) and gather in it.

Usually, after clicking on the specified link, you need to indicate your name in Russian or English. This name will be used when chatting on the webinar, if such chat is available. After this, the user enters the webinar room, where they can listen to the presenter and, if desired, write messages in the chat.

Typically, the webinar is hosted by one person, while other users can ask questions via chat via text messages. The presenter delivers the necessary information using a microphone and webcam.

In some cases, the presenter may demonstrate his computer desktop (when mastering a program, for example). At the same time, the presenter sometimes says that “now I will share my desktop” - this means that he will remove the webinar picture and show some moment directly on his computer.

If during a webinar you lose sound, the image disappears, or a similar problem occurs, the first thing you need to do is update your browser. If this does not help, you can exit the webinar, and then re-enter using the link that the presenter sent you.

What are the benefits of a webinar?

The advent of webinars has made it possible to make a qualitative leap in distance learning. Now you don’t need to travel thousands of kilometers, spending a lot of time and money, to listen to a mentor. Using a web conference, you can study right at home, sitting in your favorite chair and sipping your favorite drink.

If a participant is late for the seminar, he can join it at any moment. In addition, all participants can subsequently save the recording of the webinar to their gadget and review it.

By the way, a favorite question at all webinars is the question of whether participants will be sent a recording of the webinar.

It happens that you are lucky, and at the webinar.

Attending seminars is beneficial due to the ease of organization. After all, you don’t need to rent an expensive office in a location convenient for all participants. In addition, there is no need to spend money on renting expensive equipment.

Disadvantages of webinars

Unfortunately, many webinars are conducted for the sole purpose of selling a course, training or other service. For this reason, it often happens that the topic of a free webinar sounds very tempting: how to set up advertising on social networks for free, how to learn to sew in 5 days, how to learn English from scratch in 21 days, how to lose weight in a month, etc.

But in fact, at such webinars they talk around and around for 1.5-2.5 hours, and at the end, when everyone is waiting for something relevant to be said, the presenter begins to sell his course, training, program and etc.

Autowebinars

There are also auto-webinars, when you can choose a convenient day and time for webinars from the proposed list, and then listen to the recorded webinar. At the same time, the presenter uses various “cunning” techniques to ensure that those present at the webinar have a strong feeling that this is a live webinar.

For example, the presenter asks users to write down what cities they are from. Or give pluses that they understood some point, etc. But often it is at such receptions that one can understand that in fact the presenter is not on the air.

In addition, in fact, users will not hear a real answer to their questions asked in the chat, because they are simply listening to the recorded auto-webinar, without the presence of the presenter.

Of course, there are also good, useful auto webinars, but unfortunately there are not many of them.

I ask you to make one click to vote for one option below. Thank you!

Over time, the Internet appeared in almost every apartment. Now everyone can register anywhere and take an active life on social networks. In this article we will look at a useful and very common event called a webinar. Let's talk about what it is, how to sign up for it and how it goes.

Webinar(English "web" + "seminar") - a video seminar taking place on the Internet in real time (online)

The purpose of the webinar is primarily to gain new knowledge. This is not a conference, but a seminar. If everyone actively participates at the conference, then here you can only take part in the form of questions.

How the webinar works

Typically, webinars are held using specialized websites. To attend, you must register in advance. Some time before the start, an email will be sent to you with a link to the event.

Usually the speaker talks about something through a webcam (sometimes we don’t even see him). Most often there is some kind of presentation that appears on your screen.

While watching the webinar live, each viewer can leave their comments in the form of a chat. The presenter, as a rule, after the report or right during it, looks at the chat and tries to answer questions. The result is actually live communication, just like in a real seminar (lecture).

Benefits of a webinar

Webinars have enormous advantages compared to live communication, since they save time on being present in a real room. For residents of the outskirts and villages, this is practically the only way to improve their knowledge in some area. Usually, not everyone has such an opportunity to go to cities.

Another advantage is that you can watch it at home and anywhere in the world.

The number of participants is usually not limited and there can be hundreds or even thousands of them. If the webinar is paid, then this reduces the overall costs, which means we get information cheaply.

Typically, webinar recordings are made publicly available and can be listened to again. For example, on Youtube.

Webinar topics

The topics of webinars vary. For example, SEO website promotion, discussion of new algorithms in search engines, training seminars on Forex, motivation, communication, etc. There are a great variety of topics.

You can most often register for a webinar for free. This is done by sending an application, or without registering at all. The main thing is to know the time.

Hello dear readers of the site! I suggest starting from afar. Ancient Greece had a fairly highly developed civilization, science and art were widespread.

In the breaks between almost continuous internecine wars, the ancient Greeks loved to communicate and discuss various burning topics with the whole community.

This is how a phenomenon called Seminarium, which translated from ancient times means “nursery or greenhouse.”

At the turn of the 18th/19th centuries, seminars gained widespread popularity in universities as a participatory and democratic way of learning.

During the seminar, students and teachers discussed the topic being studied. Reports were made, abstracts were presented and lectures were given.

After that, everyone could ask any questions and express their opinions, offer ideas for the practical application of the knowledge being studied.

As practice has shown, this, as they would say today, “interactive” method of teaching turned out to be very effective.

Students' personal participation in the discussion created personal interest, which led to a deeper penetration into the topic being studied than what happened during traditional lectures, in which students remained just passive listeners.

Centuries passed, the Internet appeared and someone smart thought that it was convenient to conduct seminars online.

What is a webinar and why is it needed?

A webinar is a seminar implemented using the Internet.

• Webinar participants can stay where they are and participate in the discussion using their computers, webcams, and microphones.
• Using a special software platform or online service, a video conference is organized with the participation of everyone interested or invited.
• If at an offline seminar information is presented using a diascope, video projector and tape recorder, and written with chalk on a blackboard, then during a web conference participants can easily broadcast media content, any files, digital presentations directly from their personal computer.

In simple words, a webinar is an online seminar.

How is a webinar different from a seminar?

As you already understand, a seminar and a webinar differ in means of implementation and location.

• A web conference is held on the Internet, and a seminar is held in university classrooms or conference rooms of hotels, public or government organizations.
• To participate in the seminar, invitees must arrive at the meeting place in person, “in their physical body.”
• To participate in a webinar, all you need to do is receive an invitation, turn on your computer equipped with a webcam, microphone and speakers. Or use a smartphone or tablet, laptop, which already has multimedia built in.

We can say that a webinar is a digital analogue of a traditional seminar.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of a classic seminar is the possibility of live communication, including individual, personal communications between participants during breaks, at a buffet or banquet.

It is in the process of personal contacts that friendships and mutually beneficial connections are established, partners for business or scientific activities are found, and negotiations take place on promising joint projects and start-ups.

During the webinar, participants can also communicate privately via parallel communication channels. But this is not at all the same as having a heart-to-heart conversation over a cocktail or a glass of good wine.

As you know, sharing drinks and eating delicious food promotes trust and the emergence of loyal relationships.

On the other hand, a critical disadvantage of a seminar is the high overhead costs of organizing and conducting it.

• Rental of premises. Often, due to cost savings, organizers are forced to invite a very disappointing number of participants to the seminar.
• The participants themselves have to spend money on transportation, accommodation and food. Especially if those invited need to come from other cities or states.
• Organizing a web conference has very minimal costs compared to a seminar. Participants are not limited in any way by distance. No costs for hotel rooms, train or air tickets.

In fact, the only drawback of the webinar is the lack of “tactile” contact. Still, live communication cannot be compared in emotional richness and intellectual involvement with communication on a computer screen.

What do you need to host a webinar?

At the intellectual level, to conduct a webinar you need:

• choose a topic,
• identify speakers and participants,
• prepare the necessary materials and content.

In technical terms, to conduct a webinar, you need to choose a software platform.

In principle, you can use free instant messengers like Skype or Google Hangouts, which have functionality for holding mass online conferences.

However, it is more expedient and convenient to use specialized online platforms for conducting online seminars.

Online platforms for organizing Webinar

The World Wide Web offers a wide selection of services for conducting webinars, both completely free and commercial.

It is clear that paid platforms have more advanced and expanded functionality. To organize small web conferences without any special technical bells and whistles, free services are quite sufficient.

Domestic service. Audio conferences and video using Flash technology. Text chat. Recording function with conversion to MP4 1080p format.

Support for presentations and demonstration of MS Word documents and Excel tables. Supports all popular mobile operating systems.

Multifunctional platform for conducting webinars, online conferences, meetings. Integration with Microsoft Office and popular Internet instant messengers.

Support for smartphones running Android, iOS, Nokia, BlackBerry. Conference communication using VoIP technology.

Webinar FM

A universal platform for organizing and conducting webinars and video conferences.

Support for desktop and mobile operating systems. Computer desktop demonstration function.

In conclusion, we can say that there are so many platforms for hosting webinars that organizers will have a problem choosing the best portal.

That's all, have you already tried to launch your own web conference, what services do you use?