Can you give more detail on deciding about live vs. not?
If you don't plan on having any level of interactivity between you and your participants, then pre-record something and post it to a web page. If there is no interactivity then why be live? Also if you have a large number of people you need to reach, then again you might want to consider posting a presentation to a web page (whether it be through slideshare.net or youtube) because trying to manage a conversation through voice or chat is quite a challenge once you get past about 20 people. When I have 20 people that are really active in chat, Kathy is helping me to make sure that all questions/comments are addressed.
Would this be something that would be good to pair with someone else who has done it?
Absolutely. If you are able to work with someone who has had past experience with the web conferencing software, or with someone who has been a presenter in a webinar format before (regardless of the web conferencing software) it will be a great help to you. You will also find it helpful to prepare yourself by participating in other webinars (regardless of the content) to see what strategies worked well and what didn't work well.
Is Dimdim free? What are some of the differences between Dimdim, WebEx, MS Live Meeting...
DimDim is free for up to 20 people. They all have different features, positive attributes, and negative attributes. DimDim is the best free option because you can have 20 people. Most of the other services that have free components tend to only offer the service for 3 people. You really need to visit each of their websites and participate in their demos and trial offers. I have not heard too many positive things about MS Live Meeting and the last time I checked it was Windows only. DimDim is cross platform and relies upon Flash which is pre-installed on about 98% of all computers.
What would be some of the topics that work well on webinar?
Well, its really up to you. You know the content better than anyone and hopefully you will have done your research on the different web conferencing tools so that you find the best tool to deliver your presentation. I think the old story about how "a good salesman can sell flies" applies here. Meaning its not really the content itself, its how you choose to present it.
You said Dimdim was free but then mentioned rates - I'm confused.
DimDim is free for up to 20 people but that free option is only one of their offerings. They have other packages that are fee based.....The upgrades in packages add people to your plan and sometimes make different tools available. I personally think that DimDim is the best deal in town even if you end up going with any of their fee based packages. All of the other mainstream services only have free packages for meetings of 3 people. I'm using the free version today.
For some programs to get competencies, a training must be at least 1.5 hours. Should we avoid webinars to do this?
Certainly its best if you can keep your webinars to 60 minutes, but as I stated earlier its not written in stone, and there are no time police. What I can tell you though is that I've participated in several webinars and after an hour, attention fades and I've seen that happen with my colleagues as well. Additionally, I've also noticed that companies doing webinars on their various products are all one hour sessions and given what I know about sales and psychology, I've got to believe they are on to something. In answer to your question about getting in 1.5 hours I think there are some other things you can do to meet that time requirement that would still allow you to keep the webinar to one hour. For example, maybe you have some type of pre or post activity that would consume 30 minutes. Maybe you could do a setup like the one we did today where we have 60 min for content/participation and then an optional 30 min for questions. If you do end up going with 90 minute webinar then just make sure your participants are aware of the length and that you don't go past that timeframe.
Will your notes be available for this presentation?
Yes, this PowerPoint and the script I'm using will be available. The script is in the PowerPoint, but you should know that is rough.
Is there still space available in other sessions?
I do have a couple of spots left for March 3rd. If you have someone who is interested, send them to the registration page and have them sign-up for the waiting list.