Going Virtual: Virtual Meetings and Training

Dimdim is slightly different than the other tools available because it does not require installing software. It is housed completely in the virtual "cloud." The registration page only requires a few pieces of information, including account type, username, email address, and password. You will be sent an email, but confirmation is not required.

Once set up is complete, you can begin organizing meetings. This process only requires you to enter and determine a few key elements of your meeting. These include meeting name, attendees, time, date, and recurrence. During this process, you also have the option to set a few more preferences for the meeting, such as audio and video setup, resources provided to attendees, and, finally, creation of a widget for posting.

Attendees receive a link to join the meeting, which includes all necessary information and the ability to add the meeting to Outlook. From there, the attendee is only a click away from joining the meeting. They do not need to download any applications or prepare their computer.

Dimdim prides itself on being the best of all the web conferencing services by taking the most efficient tools available and combining them with speed and low costs. With no software to install, users can set up a meeting in seconds. Instead of setting up a full meeting, Dimdim also provides a short, permanent URL to each user through the myScreen feature that lets guests view the host’s screen as soon as the hosts opens it up.

When sessions are not occurring, Dimdim provides a profile page that can display future meetings and capture registrations. Similar to some of the more advanced tools, Dimdim has the capability to share and annotate documents as well as collaborate using the whiteboard feature. Each meeting can have several presenters and allow attendees to chat both privately and in a group. Additionally, Dimdim provides free audio conferencing services. Regular long distance rates apply.

For the more advanced Dimdim features, Pro, Webinar, and Enterprise versions include high-quality microphone and webcam sharing. Also included, similar to GoToWebinar, is the ability to customize a meeting with a logo and brand colors, but this does require some programming capabilities. Dimdim also can create a widget to embed in any website to invite people to register, provide countdown timing to a meeting, or show recordings and transcripts. Finally, the tool can also provide analytic reports of when attendees registered and arrived and how many questions they asked. This tool boasts having all the ideal elements combined from various other tools currently available on the market.

Dimdim has many features of the larger tools available for web conferencing at a much lower price. They have a free version for up to 20 participants and $25 for 50 participants. The Dimdim Webinar version is $75 for 100 participants and the tool also offers an Enterprise version, which can be used for up to 1,000 participants.

The other concern that seems to plague many of these tools is the security. The free Dimdim application security level is very low, especially within the text chat windows. The upgraded versions, such as Pro and Enterprise, do provide additional monitoring of the program to ensure a higher level of security, but with any of these tools it is not advised to share any confidential information at anytime.

Some of the Dimdim concerns include poor voice quality, which also impacts the recording quality. Along with the audio, there has been a reported video delay among participants. Additional concerns for some users include the lack of embedded polls or surveys. Dimdim suggests creating external polls in a site such as Micropoll or Surveymonkey and then displaying the direct URL within the Dimdim meeting. Although this does seem to resolve a potential need for some users, another feature that is not available is the raised hand feature that allows the host to control two way communications on a larger conference call.

Finally, the other drawback of Dimdim is the inability to load a meeting in advance with necessary documents for sharing. Although this can be done rather quickly within the tool, the ability to prepare in advance is a nice feature of some of the other tools available. Additionally, once a document is loaded, the viewing screen is sometimes smaller than expected, causing viewing difficulty. As with any of these tools, it is advised to review the various options and match them with your needs.

Access the Dimdim website here to find out more on your own.