The Web's biggest broadcaster of radio and TV fare, AudioNet enjoys a close relationship with RealNetworks, the makers of RealAudio and RealVideo streaming technologies. AudioNet recently added a Business Services division that specializes in live presentation Webcasts and can support Microsoft's NetMeeting in addition to presentation-graphics slideshows and RealNetworks media. Contigo has paired up with American Teleconferencing Services, Intercall and other major teleconferencing service bureaus to provide conference calls that utilize Itinerary 2.1, Contigo's capable software for conducting live, telephone-based Web presentations. The company also is making its new Internet Conference Center available as a Webcasting platform for companies to brand and incorporate into their own Web sites. High-tech giants Oracle, Digital Equipment and Corel were among the first to sign on.
Prices start at a few thousand dollars.
Its Internet conferencing service, Global Link, offers sophisticated polling and chat capabilities. Now that the Internet has moved into the cubicles of corporate America, these services are fine-tuning their fare to target clients who are less computer savvy. The help you can expect Webcasters provide many of the same services you'd expect if your presentation were to be held at an off-site meeting facility and managed by an event specialist. And in cyberspace, there's no need to fret about the size of the anticipated crowd. If you overestimate, you're embarrassed by the large, empty room and all the leftover croissants.