WebCasting:
What It Is and Why You Should Have It
Webcasting
is one of the hottest Web technologies available today. It represents a whole
new way of reaching your customers, and if used effectively, can make a dramatic
difference in your company's bottom line. Webcasting offers the benefits to
content producers like you to increase the accessibility to your content.
Think of the space you could save by having your content available online or via
intranet. Think of the money you would save if you made your content available
in the field to your representatives on demand. Think of the power behind having
your catalogs placed on line with actual video top support the product line.
Imagine the possibilities of your message using video.
Webcasting refers to audio or video that is delivered, or "streamed," over the Internet to your computer desktop in real time. In other words, you're hearing the sounds or watching the moving pictures as they are being transmitted to you.
This is a big improvement
over the days when, in order to watch a video clip, you first had to download
the entire file to your computer's hard drive - a time-consuming process that
also required a lot of hard drive space to store the file.
HOW IS WEBCASTING DONE?
The basic process goes like this:
1. The content (video or
audio) is encoded. This includes compressing the media file to reduce its size,
enabling it to travel faster and more freely over a network.
2. The encoded material is
sent out over the Internet to a proprietary media server. From there, the file
is either archived (stored) on the server until users access it, or it is
streamed immediately to the user - which is what happens during a live Webcast.
NEW YORK-based MYOFFICES,
has developed relationships with companies that have been delivering audio and
video streams for the past five years. Other providers of webcasting include
Yahoo! Broadcast (formerly Broadcast.com), RealNetworks (makers of the
RealPlayer), Akamai and iBeam.
WHY SHOULD I OFFER webcasting?
In a nutshell, putting webcasting on your Web site makes it a lot more exciting.
That means more eyeballs hitting your site. And that means more advertising
opportunities.
Moreover, webcasting is a
natural for television stations. It allows you to extend the life of your
programming and reach new viewers. Research shows that Americans are spending
more time online and less time watching TV. By webcasting your programming live
or making it available on demand, you build new audiences for your advertising.
webcasting
providers like MYOFFICES
will take your content from various sources - Beta-SP, DVD, S-VHS, satellite,
etc. - encode it, deliver it over their distributed network, and even report
back to you with valuable user data.
Wireless is the Wave of the
future
No matter where you turn
these days, it is hard to escape mentions of wireless data and handheld devices,
such as the Palm Pilot. And with good reason. American business -- not just
high-tech companies -- are rushing to move their content and applications from
desktop PCs to gee-whiz gizmos that are increasingly mobile, versatile and
powerful.
Today only 7.4 million
people in the United States use wireless devices to access the Internet,
according to International Data Corp. But by 2003, some 61 million people will
access the Internet via wireless devices.
While the number of future
users may be overly optimistic, I agree with the basic premise that information
users (addicts, especially) will become less dependent on the desktop computer
and more dependent on mobile computing devices.
What will the Internet
access device of 2003 look like? Probably part cell phone, part Palm Pilot and
part MP3 player.
So what does all this talk
of wireless devices have to do with TV? More than you think!
TVonthego.com
At their core most local TV
stations are local content creators and distributors. It is in the stations'
best interest to make that content available on whatever devices best serve
their customers. While stations are focused on delivering content over the air
and to Web browsers, they also need to have an eye on wireless and handheld
devices.
At MyOffices, we began
working toward a "mobile edition" of the Web site more than a year
ago. We seek to become one of the first online TV stations in the country to
offer news and sports stories, along with traffic and weather information, to
wireless users.
While handheld devices only
account for a small fraction of the pages downloaded weekly from MyOffices,
downloads of Palm content have grown from about 6,000 pages a week a year ago to
28,000 in may 2000
While only three percent of
Internet users now access the Web by cell phone, that number is expected to grow
to 78 percent within the next year, according to Cap Gemini Associates. If your
station isn’t exploring wireless delivery of content, you should be partnering
with companies who are.
For more information, visit
www.myoffices.com
Our focus is turning
E-Commerce Browsers Into E-Commerce Buyers
Television is the
greatest media tool of all time. We have a simple mission bring the television
to the consumer. Webcasting is the first step in delivery of content to
uncharted territory. Everybody wants a piece of the pie, and e-commerce provides
a seemingly easy opportunity for businesses to reach a global audience to
increase their market share.
But simply adding a Web
site to an existing business is not enough to attract customers who will make
online purchases. With customer conversion rates a dismal 1.5 percent, and
abandoned online shopping carts as high as 88 percent, it is clear that shopping
online is not the easy, convenient experience companies hoped it would be
(Resource Marketing, Inc. 2000). According to a fall 1999 study by Boston
Consulting Group, "28% of all attempted online purchases failed, and four
out of five consumers who have purchased online experienced at least one failed
purchase attempt. Adding webcasting content increases the visibility of your
commercial.
The market
is growing steadily
every day
With 240% projected growth over the next three years, companies who invest their energy into better functionality of their e-commerce sites will be the leaders of the pack (Boston Consulting Group, 1999). We believe the market has reverted back to its 1999 state before the dot com euphoria.
Surveys have shown that
first-time shopping experiences on a Web site are a strong determining factor
for future purchases. "On average, shoppers with satisfying first-time
experiences completed 12 transactions per year and spent $500. Users who had
dissatisfying first-times averaged four purchases per year and spent $140"
(Boston Consulting Group, 2000). In addition, 80% of Internet users have more
than a year of surfing experience, and they are no longer tolerant of sites that
do not function up to par. It is therefore vital that businesses investigate and
understand what it takes to build and maintain a successful e-commerce venture.
Recent surveys as well as
academic studies have found that successful e-commerce sites take usability into
consideration when designing their interface.