For many years I have been in the business world. Back in the past, when I was a young kid wetter behind the ears than I am now and starting out, we had meetings. Now, years later, we still have meetings, meetings and then more meetings. However, today we do not have to get in a car and drive several hours or travel by jet to have those meetings in other locations as we did in the past.
Today I am only overcome by online meetings. Dan recently emailed and asked, as have others, what online meeting software I recommend. I scratched my head and thought about the many I have used, whether I was the initiator or a participant in the meetings. There have been many. Corporations have the ability to pay for much higher-end software with which to have their meetings. Some charge by the application, the number of users, the length or number of meetings you have, etc. The ones I will mention here also have paid versions. But today I will only cover the ones that came to mind first, have provided good service to me and have great free versions for you. I will also only cover the online versions, i.e., you must use your browser to have a meeting.
Keep in mind that some of them also have apps for PCs, Macs and phones. You can check that on your own. I will also list them in alphabetical order and give my thoughts about each. This is also a very general overview without a lot of detail. Since they are all free and online check them all out if you wish. Then make your own decisions.
First is Facebook Messenger which you gain access to with Facebook.com or directly at Messenger.com. Most of you have Facebook and are already familiar with it. Facebook has limited the number of people on a call to six. However, they say that up to 50 other participants can join in without video once the limit of six is reached. I have only had one-on-ones and it works well. When traveling I usually do this since it is easy to get to and usually works pretty well. Both people talking must have Facebook accounts and be in it to use it. Simple to get to and works well for me.
Next, Google Hangouts located online at Hangouts.Google.com. This is a great app in my opinion. Of course, you must have a Google account to use it, but as you know they are free too. Here is the list of some of the basic features. Voice calls, group conferencing for up to 15 people, instant messaging and it supports any device (that I have found) that has a browser and has screen sharing options. Basically, you start it up, log in and invite people. I have never lost a call and it is always clear if your internet connection is good. You can record the audio and video but sharing those recordings, in my opinion, is a bit complex. It handles calls very well and you can dial and talk to anyone in the US and a few other nearby countries for free.
Next week I will discuss the granddaddy of them all.
