A webinar is an online meeting that combines some kind of educational presentation or training on the Internet. It is a one-way presentation of the instructor or speaker to the participants, who usually sign up for and pay for the webinar. There may be a question and answer session at the end.
Webinars are very popular due to the fact they are inexpensive and easy to produce and can attract a large number of participants. The main advantage is that no one has to travel to get to a webinar or make any special arrangements or preparations. However, besides its advantages, there can be unexpected disadvantage and problems with running or viewing a webinar.
Here are several advantages and disadvantages of webinars, including:
Advantages:
- Webinars are online, so are easy and convenient to both presenters and participants, as no one has to travel to get to the meeting.
- No type of special equipment is needed, the presenter just broadcasts with a webcam to the participants. Can be set up with very little notice.
- Less cost because it is based on the number of people who sign up.
- Any invitations and registration forms are simple for participants to fill-in online. No need to use the mail so these are less likely to be late or non-existent.
- It is possible for an unlimited amount of audience to attend since it is online.
- It can be recorded so that other people can view in if they can’t attend the webinar.
Disadvantages:
- Internet speed must be adequate to allow participants to view the presentation without distortion or lag time.
- Audio may be limited to the presenter doing a voiceover and participants can’t interact directly.
- If audio is allowed, participants or presenters may have to pay for phone charges.
- No communication is possible through body language if no video feed is available.
- A webinar may not work with all kinds of Internet browsers.
- May not work on Mac computers or mobile devices. This is critical these days as mobile devices such as tablets, smart phones, etc. are very popular and used widely.
- Other types of technical problems could also occur with the result being the anger and frustration of paying participants, i.e. business firewalls, slow Internet speeds, system configurations incompatible, etc.
- Audience environment may be subject to interruptions or disruptions such as side conversations, having to do other work at the same time, etc.
All in all, a webinar offers great opportunities for both participants and presenters, but if you are going to fun one or watch one, you should be aware of the possible pitfalls along with the advantages of this type of online training and plan accordingly.
