Large virtual events

[JeffreyScott 135]

@LisaLarter my all day gotowebinar on Monday went flawlessly. Is it possible this platform is better? (or is Zoom flooded with new users?)

[LisaLarter 110]

@JeffreyScott I have been using zoom all week without any issues.  I think both are solid platforms and that the issues may be internet connectivity related.  Depending on the type of internet provider you use, the more people actively using the bandwidth, the slower the performance can be. If anything, some of the challenges may be related to  the number of people working from home than the actual webinar platform itself. 

Someone else wrote about back up systems in another thread, it is important to note that being tethered to a cable will always be better than using a wifi system.  DSL (through phone line) is slower than cable high speed.  Cellular data and satellite are greatly impacted by number of users and satellite often has slower upload speeds than download speeds.  

All that to say, there are many variables outside of the webinar provider than impact the user experience. 

[rayhodge 36]

Would anyone be kind enough to provide some links here to webinars you have completed for me to see how you do this? I had a public speaking event cancel that I want to switch across to an online platform so wanted to see how best to do these. I am still learning how to use skype properly so am starting well behind all of you here. I have only ever watched one webinar in my life - it was all slides, talking and boring. I am also downloading your mov. file Lisa - thank you for providing that. 

[MarkTravis 9]

https://join.me is another good platform. It allows up to 250 participants. There is whiteboard functionality through their iPad/iPhone app, but I haven't used that feature, yet.  With the Pro subscription, you can get your own URL as well. I've got https://join.me/mark-travis/ 

[Alan Weiss 2,108]

If you're talking about presenting something to a group (any of you) and not facilitating a meeting, everyone is using Zoom or similar platforms. If you want to stand out, invest in livestreaming, find a local videographer or go to a studio (exercising social distancing!) and do something that is far superior from a presentation perspective and shows you're unique. You can handle questions in several different, immediate ways, and you can record the entire event.

[Kim Wilkerson 91]

Does Livestream provide interactive interaction with all parties (yeah, I know, that sounds somewhat redundant)?

With Zoom, people can see and engage with each other versus it being a one-way broadcast where the audience can only interact with speaker/facilitator (as with Q&A, polling, etc.). 

Does Livestream have that same interactive feature as Zoom? 

 

[Alan Weiss 2,108]

People can't talk to each other, at least on the system I use, but I believe their questions are visible. However, you can have an open phone line at the same time as the broadcast and/or people sharing emails. I'm not a technical expert (I'm waiting for Praveen to pounce) but Zoom I believe has a superior ability to interact. However, I'm talking about presenting, not facilitating, that's the distinction I noted. With Livestream I can move around, use easels, insert video or slides, use props, etc. I can't do that Zoom.

I've done two hours at a time on livestream and find it energizing. I find sitting in one place for Zoom looking at tiny faces on the screen, as it often hops around unpredictably, to be often enervating. 

[Stephen Wise 5]

2 hours ago, Alan Weiss said:

enervating. 

This made me happy.

[Alan Weiss 2,108]

Why? Just curious. 

[JeffreyScott 135]

@LisaLarter I have heard another client today tell me Zoom was very glitchy; is that a trend or do you think that was just their internet being overloaded?

[Alan Weiss 2,108]

The first time I used my hard-wired car phone to call a client in London, I complained to my wife, sitting next to me, that there was a lot of static. This is in the late 80s. My wife said, "Alan, you're sitting in your car talking to London!!!"

There are going to be glitches with Zoom, Skype, your phone, email, and smoke signals. (I actually learned semaphore in the Boy Scouts, and the instructor at the regional competition was dumbfounded. I had invented a process, of course.) 

Get over it. The power and quality of your message is in direct proportion to the degree to which people will ignore ambient interference. But if you don't have steak and sizzle, the audience soon focuses on the fact that your shirt isn't stylish or you have lipstick on your teeth. 

[LisaLarter 110]

@JeffreyScott I likely spent 20+ hrs a week on zoom. I experienced one poor connection yesterday during a meeting someone else initiated with a free account. 

[Sarah Hathorn 34]

@JeffreyScott I also have been on it around 4 hours a day and I've experienced no poor connections. Today I go live on it with 63 people registered for a call with me and I hope the connection holds. The only thing I've experience in a delay is getting the transcript of my coaching sessions downloaded. 

[Praveen 276]

This afternoon, my 9 year old son saw my wife on a zoom session with her friends, so he snuck her phone and called his friends' mothers, and arranged a zoom playdate with them :-)

[popky 130]

Several friends of mine want to have a Zoom virtual get together on Sunday.

I realized that by then I will have done 14 Zoom calls this week, plus 2 virtual piano lessons (with FaceTime). I need a weekend day off without Zoom!

[Dean Robinson 50]

I've used Zoom for a number of years. It's a great tool at the moment for screen sharing when I'm working with my clients. I'm showing them financial, cashflow and budgeting scenarios very easily - and the quality of the meeting is as good, if not better, than being face-to-face.

[ColleenFrancis 265]

On 3/24/2020 at 9:14 PM, JeffreyScott said:

@LisaLarter I have heard another client today tell me Zoom was very glitchy; is that a trend or do you think that was just their internet being overloaded?

The problem was likely on their end. I've been using it all week for meetings of between 20-360 people with no issues.

[Alan Weiss 2,108]

I've just received word that Zoom is requiring a private password for every meeting starting tomorrow. I just went in and assigned a password for my Sentient training for Monday morning. FYI.

[popky 130]

This is part of their new security fixes.  The other thing that's changed is all of your meeting attendees will be held in a waiting room until you approve them to join the meeting, one by one.

I learned that today when I wondered why no one was in the meeting, but there was a flashing icon on the bottom I'd never seen before.

[Alan Weiss 2,108]

I thought the meeting room was an option. It's automatic?

[popky 130]

The waiting room is now the default so unauthorized people don’t enter the meeting. 
I’m pretty sure you can turn it off. I haven’t tried yet so I’m not sure how. There must be a preferences button somewhere. 

[Shlomo Swidler 76]

Has anyone figured out how to deactivate the password setting? I don't need it for some of my meetings. The control seems to be grayed out, unchangeable.

[Alan Weiss 2,108]

See above, my understanding is that it's now required for security. I posted that Saturday.

[Shlomo Swidler 76]

I understand the reason. Security is a good reason to change the default, but not good enough to remove the ability to choose a different setting. Analogously, I should be able to tell my friend to drop by for a visit, and accept the risk of leaving my back door unlocked in anticipation of their arrival.

Several elderly family members are flummoxed by the extra step, and the single-step link I set up for them on their computer years ago now no longer works.

[Alan Weiss 2,108]

I don't see your point, Shlomo. They are asking for a simple password to protect against hacking. You want to leave your back door unlocked, which is silly, that's your prerogative. But you have no right requiring everyone leave it unlocked, nor do you have the right to be outraged by a robbery due to your own negligence. Zoom is protecting itself from lawsuits and protecting its users by requiring a half-a-second transaction. If I were you, I'd find more important matters to protest, especially during these times.