Web conferencing collaboration tool is a type of application used to hold group meetings or live presentations over the Internet. During its early years, web conferencing collaboration used only to refer exclusively to online discussions hosted in a web-based server where communication is facilitated via posted text messages on message board. Later, the term evolved into something that defines live and synchronous meetings that occur in real-time.
Web conferencing collaboration in the sense that is understood today means an application tool that lets each participant sit at his or her own computer which is connected with other participant's computer via the Internet. There are several features associated with web conferencing collaboration but perhaps the most basic is screen sharing. In screen sharing, web conferencing collaboration participants can see whatever is on the presenter's screen. This provides for that virtual atmosphere of being in a real, face-to-face meeting even as you sit there at your desk.
Web conferencing collaboration is usually accompanied by voice or audio in order to facilitate communication between participants. This is accomplished either by a traditional telephone conference wherein an analog network line is dispatched or a VoIP (Voice over IP) network which allows participants to communicate via the Internet or any IP network. In some cases, text chat is used in place of voice and sometimes both. Other web conferencing collaboration software allows video feeds so participants can see each other through their computer screen while the presentation is made.
Here are other features of a typical web conferencing collaboration application:
* Slide presentations that are often created through PowerPoint
* Application sharing in which participants can cooperatively manipulate a program on the presenter's computer
* Web co-browsing
* Annotation which allows the presenter to highlight or mark items on the display
* Text messaging or instant messaging
* File sharing
* Polls and surveys
Web conferencing collaboration is continuously improving so there might still be more features added to this list as time goes. For instance, the ongoing trend for web conferencing collaboration tools these days is incorporating VoIP as well as live videos via web cams to virtual meetings.
Often, web conferencing collaboration is sold as a service that is hosted on a web server which in turn is controlled by the vendor. The vendor may charge either on a usage basis (cost per user per minute) or for a fixed fee (cost per "seat"). The term "seat" is used to refer to the capacity of a particular web conferencing collaboration tool to make room for a certain number of participants.