Lee Simonson: July 2008 Archives

Recording your conference call is easy and free.  It is very helpful if you know ahead of time how you wan to handle your recordings so we can put you on the most appropriate conference bridge for your needs.  For example, if we assign you account to our Octave bridge, you can have one recording at a time (if you record a second conference, the first one is erased.)  Those recordings are kept on our system for 21 days and, with your passcode, anyone can access those to listen to them.  If your account is assigned to our Multi-Link bridge, you can keep multiple recordings.  But those expire in 21 days.

If you want to keep those recordings permanently and download them for use on your own website, we supply those in .wav or mp3 files via FTP (Internet) or send you a CD in the mail for a nominal fee.  You just call us up, give us your conference recording number and we'll do the rest.

There are two more things you'll want to think about.  If you record your conference calls with our Start Visuals program (our web conference product that  allows you to present PowerPoint presentations or "share" your desktop so everyone can see the spreadsheet or documents you're working on) the downloads are completely free.

Also, if you need to download more than 5 recordings a month for your own use, there is a service called Digital Podium that we offer that enables you to have an unlimited number of conference call recording downloads and you can manage everything online.  It's a very convenient system and comes in quite handy at times.

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!