• What is the difference between web conferencing and webcasting?
• What type of webcasting does ON24 provide?
• So what is a webinar?
• What are the advantages or disadvantages?
• What is the ideal audience size?
• What type of interaction can I have with my audience?
• What about software downloads or hardware installations?

What is the difference between web conferencing and webcasting?
Web conferencing is a live meeting or presentation over the Internet that requires the use of a physical phone line or conference call bridge. Web conferencing is ideal for small, collaborative meetings of up to 20 people or so. This is the type of solution provided by WebEx, iLinc, Microsoft Live Meeting, and other similar service providers.

Webcasting streams the audio and video over the Internet and can also use a phone line or conference call bridge to augment the audio stream, but this isn't necessary. Webcasting provides companies a way to communicate with hundreds and thousands of people via a one-to-many broadcast. ON24 is a webcasting solutions provider and also provides web conferencing services to those who request it.

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What type of webcasting does ON24 provide?
ON24 provides various type of webcasting, including:

• Live audio streaming
• Live video streaming
• On-demand audio streaming
• On-demand video streaming
• Live in-banner video advertising (Bannercast Live)
• On-demand in-banner video advertising (Bannercast On-Demand)
• Rich media webcast
• Live demo webcasts

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So what is a webinar?
Formed by combining the words "web" and "seminar, a webinar is presentation, seminar, lecture, presentation or other educational format transmitted over the Internet.

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What are the advantages or disadvantages?
Though there are several factors to consider when selecting a web conferencing or webcasting service provider, here are three important factors to consider:

• Number of attendees you plan to have
• Type of interaction that you want
• Software downloads/plug-ins or hardware installations

ON24 sponsored an online presentation featuring Ira Weinstein, Industry Analyst, Wainhouse Research, which provides additional insight and analysis about the differences between web conferencing and webcasting.

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What is the ideal audience size?
With a separate audio line, web conferencing can be very interactive with attendees providing input throughout the whole presentation. This is ideal for smaller meetings where collaboration is key but can be limited when looking at audiences of 50 or more as each person has the ability to participate. However, web conferencing solutions are architected more for collaborative events, such as audience-to-audience participation, which you may not want for an event with larger audiences.

Unlike web conferencing, webcasting is optimized for medium to larger audiences, with the ability to scale to hundreds and thousands. For example, if you anticipate 300 people for a webinar, but 1,000 people attend, the technology can scale and perform under these circumstances, while you may be monetarily penalized by a web conferencing provider for this.

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What type of interaction can I have with my audience?
Web conferencing is highly collaborative, with individuals communicating via a phone line or live chat; again, ideal for smaller online meetings when delays and background noise is not an issue.

With larger audiences, webcasting provides a one-to-many communication with audience members. Interaction with the presenter(s) happens via email Q&A, polling, and surveys.

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What about software downloads/plug-ins or hardware installations?
Most web conferencing solutions require a software download or plug-in before entering the event, which creates a barrier for your audience.

In ON24's case, we are an application service provider (ASP), meaning that your events are accessible from any Internet-enabled computer. Your audience can seamlessly view your webcast without worrying about software downloads or plug-ins.

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