Connect with Web Conferencing

Web conferencing is a very powerful use of the internet and is growing rapidly in popularity. Many platforms are available with many being offered for free.  Today I have been using a feature from Google+ called hangouts. These hangout conferences can be held live with as many as 10 people participating. I found the connecting very easy or use and good quality video and audio using a simple web-cam.

In addition to seeing and hearing from each other users can share their screens to discuss projects or watch videos and get instant feedback and collaboration.  Users from around the world can save time and money and greatly enhance their productivity with web conferencing.

Families spread across the country or the world can easily and affordably visit via the web conferences. Nearly every device is now capable of video web conferencing including smart phones, tablets and notebook computers.

 

Hangouts are a very powerful way to reach large numbers of people as these conferences can be recorded immediately and hosted as a youtube video which is available world-wide! A recent hangout was held with uers here on Earth conferencing with the astronauts on the International Space Station!  Now That's out of this world

 

Users can also conference without video and simply connect like a telephone conference - the connection will show the participant's photo or avatar as a still image.  A Google+ hangout pictured below

Gary Who? Vay-Ner-Chuk

1. Gary Vaynerchuk is an early web video celebrity who's fame arose via his wine business and associated video show, Wine Library TV - He is known by many by his simpler twitter handle @GaryVee, - Gary's energetic and passionate expertise produced compelling video and led to a major growth in viewership.  He quickly leveraged this audience with other social platforms and became a major consultant and speaker in social marketing.

Gary Varnerchuk's Blog - GaryVaynerchuk.com

2. Web 2.0 platforms which Gary uses are,


Tumbler - Mini Blogging  -  his 'main' site: GaryVaynerchuk.com

Facebook - Social Networks

Twitter - Social Streams/micro blogging 

Instagram -Social Pictures

Pinterest - Social Sharing

Linkedin - Business Networking

SocialCam - Video

3. Gary Vaynerchuk has a very large audience:
 
I am somewhat surprised at the numbers of  appearing in the different apps are so much higher in Google+.  Given the age of the platforms I was expecting the larges numbers to appear in Facebook or twitter.  I believe that this show that the more 'serious' business users are the largest following of Gary Vaynerchuk.

Google+     1,721,451     have him in circles
Twitter          971,884      followers
LinkedIn         58,181      followers
Social Cam    994,690     followers
Facebook        97,973      likes


4. Target Audience:

Based on the content of all sites the target audience is that of business people engaging and interested in any aspect of social marketing. This includes all business industries including sports and entertainments, and based on the numbers of channels and platforms involved there a large amount of experimentation included.


5: Effective?

Without question Gary Vee is, to paraphrase his first best selling book, Crushing It! His rise to prominence and business success is the ultimate proof of the commercial power of Web 2.0.  The founding and succes of his new company, VaynerMedia attests to the effectiveness, as does the NY Times best selling books; Crush it, and The Thanks You Economy.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 Gary Vaynerchuk was one of the first video bloggers, launching his WineLibraryTV in early 2006.

WineLibrary TV - Episode 1

https://www.facebook.com/gary

Gary's Facebook Page

 https://plus.google.com/u/0/111310990991240556038/posts

Gary V Google+

Twitter: @Garyvee

https://twitter.com/garyvee

http://www.linkedin.com/in/garyvaynerchuk

http://pinterest.com/garyvee/

https://socialcam.com/users/ufHsMwDJ

Wild About Wikis

What is a Blog?

This is a blog. The term come from the phrase "web log", which refers to an online log of any type of writing of information, thoughts, feelings or general content. It is usually informal and created and maintained by individuals or small groups with a particular focus of interest. Blogging 'platforms' are software installations which make it easy for any user to create, edit and publish a blog. This platform, ( the one you're reading now,) Blogger, is now owned and run by Google.

What is a Wiki?:

A "Wiki" is also a website, run on a publishing platform, similar to a blog, which is generally informational, and can be edited by any user. The best known is the site Wikipedia which has become one of the largest sites in the world. The wiki, unlike the blog, can be edited by any user, not just the original publisher.

Wikis are very easy to create, just like a blog.  They can be very useful in group collaboration but this  can also turn counter-productive as more contributors join in the mix.  The ease of editing the wiki can lead to inaccurate and negative info being posted and derailing the main purpose of the effort.

Wikipedia can be edited by any user instantly, without even registering as a user. Each visitor's IP address is collected with these edits to identify the source. This extreme openness would seem to be asking for trouble, but the stats from Wikipedia report that 82% of edits come from registered users and 18% from unidentified users (IP address only).  Erroneous posts are usually corrected very quickly. 

After some study and research into wikis, including the Wikipedia founder's TED Talk, I have come to a new appreciation of the usefulness and integrity of wikis.  The fact that users can abuse the privilege in publication of wikis does not seem to be as big a problem as I had expected. I base this on the talk referenced here, and after reviewing sever Wikipedia article on topics I am most familiar with. I find the quality and accuracy is very good.  Prior to exploring the topic I had less appreciation for the usefulness of wikis.

Wiki Hosting

It is easy to start your own wiki using sites such as these



 PBWiki.com

wikidot.com

wikihost.org

10 Free Wiki Platforms