We love this business!  There are a lot of things you can do in this world to make a living.  My parents were photographers and naturally, everyone they were in contact with were usually smiling for the camera.  Can you imaging getting paid to have people smile at you?  Fact is, we never see our customers since our conference business is conducted over the phone or Internet.  But we DO hear them!  And when we talk to our customers there is an very common thread that distinguishes them from the pack -- they are all optimistic and enthusiastic.  And that's the nature of conferencing.  Chances are, if you are calling us to find out about our services, you are enthusiastic about starting a new project, or an entrepreneurial endeavor.  You're excited about sharing your ideas with your associates.  When you talk to us and explain why you want to improve your conferencing tools, we'll be able to hear the optimism in your voice and how you're looking forward to being able to get together quickly with your partners and colleagues to discuss the latest news and progress.  Let's face it, if you are looking for a conferencing service, you have something to say.  And that "something" has a lot to do with your success.  We're proud to help you successfully achieve your goals.  Your enthusiasm is contagious!

If you have a webcam, you can use a free service like Yahoo Instant Messenger or other chat programs to actually see who you're talking to on the phone.  You can see them and they can see you.  (Back in the day, a popular program was CUSeeMe -- the CU stood for Cornell University which invented it.)  You can pick up webcams very inexpensively for less than $30 usually.  There's another webcam sharing service, that's free, that you might want to try out.  It's call MeBeam.com.  Just go there, make up a name for a room (like "videoforyouandme123" and away you go.  Everyone you invite just puts that URL address in their browser and they can meet you there instantly and you can see each other.  Granted, this is NOT the kind of service you want to use for a professional application -- we offer the that service for a price -- but for casual everyday use, MeBeam.com is pretty good and you can have a lot of fun with it.  Families would like using it to allow grandma to see the grandkids, or those in the military to see loved ones at home.  All in all, pretty good for free!

If you are conducting conference calls for sales prospects or customers, it's always a good idea to provide the convenience of a toll free number to call.  It's certainly more professional and certainly avoids the awkward situation that would result from forcing someone to pay their own long distance charge to hear what you have to say.  There are a number of 800 toll free conference call options available.  By far, our flat rate plan is the most popular because it has the same business model most people are used to seeing with their cell phone plans.  You pay 4 cents per minute or less, and there is a surcharge for anything above the allotted minutes you choose.  So, for example, you pay $59 per month for 1200 minutes and an extra charge if you use more than 1200 minutes.  There are quite a few increments you can choose and if you find yourself using more than what you bargained for, you can always increase or lower your minutes on a monthly basis.  The "800 Toll Free Supersaver" plan is what you are looking for and you can learn more by clicking on the link above.  (At the moment, our customers are using 877 numbers for toll free phone conference calls.  The 800 numbers were all taken years ago.)

Maybe it's time to call your Congressman!  Conference call users will be seeing a new tax on their bills and, no, we're not happy about it either.  Effective July 1, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is requiring all conference carriers to begin charging 11.4% USF fee (ouch!) for all conference billing.  We were just notified of this ruling and the first filing of the taxes is August 1, 2008.  So, we are forced to include this tax on all July billings.  You do have a right to complain about this by sending correspondence to:  Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC  20554.  This is not only a costly tax for you -- the consumer -- but it's also costly to collect and submit from our point of view.  They say death and taxes are inevitable.  It would be nice to postpone both for a while!

In the conference call world, operator assisted service is considered the Cadillac (or should I say, Lexus) model.  It provides the highest level of control and professionalism available.  The vast majority of investor relations, legal, and corporate presentation conference calls involve one or more trained operators who screen and organize the call.  There are many optional services that are offered, including getting customized participant reports and providing introductions.  The "creme de la creme" service is what we call "operator dial out" which means your associates don't have to call into the conference call -- we call them!  Picture your conference starting like this, when we place your call for you:  "Mr. Smith, this is the operator for the ABC Company conference call you were invited to join.  Mr. Jones and Ms. Brown are standing by for you.  May I patch you into the conference at the present time to get started?"  Needless to say, making that kind of impression could be worth a small fortune, and yet, it only costs a few extra dollars to provide that level of professional service.

"Pay as you go" conference calling is a great option for those who don't need conference services very often.  There are several advantages for the occasional conference user.  First, there are no set up fees or monthly minimums, so quite simply, if you don't use the service, you're not charged for it.  If you only use it once every two or three months, that's ok -- you'll only be billed for what you use.  Second, it still provides you 24/7 access and there are no reservations.  So again, you can use your service anytime you want.  Third, you have your choice of both toll free and non-toll free options on a per minute basis.  You only pay for what you use -- no more, no less.  It's a convenient, inexpensive way to take full advantage of the latest phone conference technology while being in complete control of your budget.  It never hurts to have that call in number and PIN code handy to share with colleagues or prospects when the need arises.  It's better to get your conference account now and have it ready to go at a moment's notice versus scrambling at the last minute to accommodate everyone.  You can get more information by clicking on the Pay As You Go link above.

How about having access to a phone conference bridge and being able to use it as much as you want, anytime you want, for one low flat rate every month?  Not a bad deal, huh?  An amazing 90% of our new customers choose flat rate conferencing because it provides the most convenient and inexpensive way to enjoy the benefits of phone conferencing.  First, you pay one set fee a month and can use it at anytime.  Second, you can talk as much and as long as you want without having to worry about how much time you are using.  And third, there are no long term contracts.  You can use the service on a month to month basis.  Flat rate conferencing has taken the industry by storm and more and more businesses, large and small, are migrating their conference traffic over to the flat rate model.  It's a tremendous way to save money while knowing you can conference anytime and from anywhere.  Flat rate plans are also available for web and video conferencing services as well.  Check it out by clicking on the Flat Rate link above.

At first, holographic meetings and conferences will be pricey because they consume a tremendous amount of bandwidth.  But who knows how the next generation of travel on the superhighway will develop.  For those of us who have been around awhile will attest, it wasn't that along ago that "dial-up" seemed fine.  Somehow, someway, someone will invent a new way to conference and kick start a generation of "conference visits" rather than "conference calls" that will enable you to travel anywhere in the world and have a 3-D presence.  Just like Captain Kirk in StarTrek, you'll be able to press a key on your keyboard and beam yourself anywhere -- maybe not your physical body, but at least an image of yourself.

You can get more information about the fascinating subject of virtual reality and holographic meetings here.

Our young teenage girls never laughed so hard as when they found out we were sending them to Etiquette School.  Whatever they learned didn't seem to have very much of an impact, but in today's business world, etiquette can spell the difference between success and failure.  Conference call etiquette, like anything else, is based on simple common sense, but you might want to remember a few important tips to insure a productive conference call that will leave participants feeling good and that their time spent was worthwhile.

Just because your conference colleagues can't see you, doesn't mean you can get away with anything.  In fact, you need to be ever mindful of intrusions that you don't normally notice.  First and foremost, do NOT use a speakerphone to participate in a conference call.  (If you are just listening, a speakerphone is fine as long as you have it on mute.)  Second, a cell phone with a poor connection can wreak havoc on a conference call and turn into an invitation for folks to just hang up and not dial back in.  Third, be sure to always introduce yourself before speaking so people know who they are listening to.  Fourth, don't multitask and distract the conference call by creating needless commotion with papers, or typing, or heaven forbid -- clipping your nails!  And fifth, if you are presenting, be sure to speak slowly and clearly and repeat numbers so everyone can keep up.

Those are just a few tips that will help make your phone conference call successful.