Web presentations for everyone

And now for a little bit of news about nifty new software.

The software is "Big Blue Button", a web conferencing package.

What is the Big Blue Button?

Big Blue Button (http://code.google.com/p/bigbluebutton/) is a collection of software that lets one host presentations on the web, much like WebEx or GoToMeeting. The presenter can provide audio and video, and even share his desktop. More than that, attendees can ask questions (either in text message or audio) and can chat through IM to the presenter or each other.

Neat feature: real-time translation of instant messages. Big Blue Button uses the Google Translation API and lets people chat across language boundaries. If I set my language to "English" and you set yours to "Spanish", I can type a message in English and you see the translated version. (You can also see my original English version.)

The one feature that is needed: recording. Other products in this arena let one record the meeting for playback later. The folks at Linux-ETC recognize the need and are working on it.

Is Big Blue Button ready for everyone?

The presentation I attended had a few problems, one significant enough to crash the software on the presenters PC. The software is perhaps not quite ready for prime time. Large, respectable, and stodgy corporations will probably choose the safer option of WebEx. But smaller teams (and start-ups) may want to look at Big Blue Button.

How will Big Blue Button change things?

Big Blue Button reduces the cost of on-line presentations, and provides another method for coordinating remote teams. It makes it easier to share knowledge, and the startup investment is small. Therefore, Big Blue Button will make things easier for companies to out-source projects. If you are running your off-shore projects with e-mail, voice-mail, and audio conference calls, you may want to look at Big Blue Button's capabilities.

Developers working at home may want to neaten their office-in-the-home. A disorganized office sounds just as good as a well-organized office, but video changes the game. People get professional head shots for LinkedIn and Facebook to maintain their brand. Two-way web audio/visual connections will create the need for professional-level studios (or something that looks like a professional studio). One will need a proper background, a good microphone and webcam, lighting that is flattering, and a way to block external noise like street traffic. I expect that we will see a small industry of "video consultants" to set up office studios and home studios.