Dimdim myScreen 6 is here!

We just upgraded all existing accounts to the new Dimdim 6 and will roll this out officially on Tuesday at 8 am ET (so keep it quiet until then)

There are tons of new features including 4-way video chat, secure document sharing, polls, mashups and dozens of other improvements we'll tell you more about next week. 

One of the coolest enhancements is the new myScreen plug-in: you can now share your entire desktop, a region of your screen or just a single application!  We've redesigned the UI for both hosts and attendees to make screen sharing even easier.

I think the best way to celebrate the new myScreen is with this video I just finished last night.  Enjoy!

Upgrading Helps You "Get Yours"

We know you love our free product and that many of you are looking for a good reason to upgrade to our paid offerings (yeah, we know our Free product is so good, why would anyone pay, right?)  Well, in addition to secure meetings, more video feeds, larger rooms and customization (to name a few) now you get an Amazon gift card pre-loaded with 20% of your Dimdim purchase price.  Finally, some cash back to get what you want this summer.  But you have to act fast to "get yours"

Here are the deets:

Buy Dimdim between now and June 30, 2010 and get an Amazon gift card back with 20% of your initial purchase price! For instance, if you buy an annual subscription to Dimdim Pro 100 with the Webinar option for $900 and enter code "getyours" in the coupon box*, we'll email you an Amazon gift certificate for $180!  It's that easy!  So act fast - buy Dimdim today online and use your gift certificate to get what you want!  Or call us at 1-617-418-1092 and a Dimdim team member will be delighted to help.

Get Yours Promo ends on June 30, 2010 - so act fast!

*Offer is available to new monthly or annual subscriptions and upgrades but only via this special coupon offer.  You must enter coupon code "getyours" in checkout to qualify.  We'll send your Amazon gift certificate within 10-14 days to the same email address you used to register Dimdim.

Because of this special money back offer, no refunds are permitted.

Note: When you enter the coupon code or click the link in the email we sent, you'll see a funny discount.    

 

Breaking Up is Never Fun - Online Meeting Audio

Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello  

You're attending a web meeting, you speak confidently into the mic, and you hear your own voice echoing. Or perhaps, you're listening avidly, and all of a sudden, you only hear bits and pieces that make no sense.

Annoying when things like that happen, isn't it? Something similar happened to me the other night, when I was attending a web meeting from home. My colleague and I were just getting into the nitty-gritty of our meeting when all of a sudden I could not hear him clearly - his voice was breaking, echoing and there was feedback. Being the troubleshooter that I am, I found out why this happened, and how I could fix it.

This often happens either when we have too many applications running or something is taking up too much network bandwidth. First thing I did was check if I had any other applications running in the background that might be consuming my bandwidth. Sure enough, there were - I noticed an improvement as soon as I closed them. For instance, I found out I had forgotten to close my browser which had a video running. I also had some applications that were running automatic weekly updates. I decided that I didn't really need the web camera and paused the video, too.

In fact, I went through all the applications running on my system and closed everything I didn't need (Outlook, for instance, uses a lot of memory, though I wasn't using it at the time.). I also realized that if I use speakers, I should disable the hands-free option as it helps eliminate echoes or feedback. The hands-free option should be selected only if you're using a headset.

Next, I went to the Flash settings and enabled the ‘Reduce Echo' option in the microphone tab.

These very simple steps improved the audio quality of my web meeting drastically. So the next time you hear yourself even after you stop speaking, you know what to do!

Shall we Dimdim, then?

Make Easy Money with Dimdim

We just added a new benefit to Dimdim Pro and Dimdim Webinar accounts: free money!

That's right - now simply refer friends and colleagues to try or buy Dimdim and you can earn big money. Like up to $120 per referral!  And there is no limit to the amount of cash you can earn!  And just like everything else about Dimdim we made it super easy. 

Just watch this video for all the details and start earning cash today!

What's more, we automatically put $25 into all Dimdim Pro and Dimdim Webinar accounts and have sent these paying customers an email today detailing their own special referral code with a built-in coupon to promote Dimdim Webinar and help their friends save big. Check your email and spam filter for a message from Dimdim Web Conferencing to get all the details and act fast because that coupon code expires on Dec 15th.

Dimdim Recording Demystified

One the best kept secrets of Dimdim is that recording is available for free for all users, without anything installed on your computer (we do all the magic in our Synchrolive Cloud) and send you a URL to your recording and an embed code.  Often people ask us how to get the best video recording possible with Dimdim.  Here are the secret ingredients:

1. Get Dimdim Pro or Dimdim Webinar.  These products include a mode where you can resize the video up to 4 times larger.  Once you do, the Dimdim video looks like this to your attendees:

 

2. Now if you are not sharing any other resource, just click the record button and we'll record a much higher resolution video file.  After about 5 seconds of the following video you will be able to easily see the difference between normal and hirez video recording:

Finally, here is a Dimdim Knowledgebase article on all the different Dimdim recording modes.  Enjoy!

Learn the secret to a great web meeting

What is the secret to a great web meeting?

Wayne Turmel, the president of www.greatwebmeetings.com, offers his suggestions for a great web meeting.

Any meeting is great if it does three things:

1. Accomplishes what it set out to do
2. Doesn’t take longer than necessary
3. Doesn’t bore everyone to tears
   

First, you have to decide what it is you want the meeting to do and why a web meeting is the best way to accomplish it. Take the time to plan your meeting:

• Who will participate? Do you want everyone to be able to speak at once or do you want them to use the Chat feature to comment and ask questions?  Most importantly… do the people you invited need to be there? Nothing drives an audience crazier than being forced to attend a web meeting they have no opinion about, input into or stake in. 
• What information needs to be shared and how will you share it? (Think collaboration tools, PowerPoint files, application sharing, documents). Pick the best way to make your point quickly.
• How long is your meeting? Anything over 40 minutes and you’re on borrowed time. Remember, two short meetings are much more productive than one long one. If you can share some information or get people thinking about topics before the meeting it can speed things up considerably. Preparation is key.
• Have you told them what to expect? Always let the audience know what the expected outcome is and how long you expect it to take. If they know it will be an hour, and at the end of it you’ll have a decision on the Johnson project, they’re more willing to hang in there than if they have no idea how long the pain will last or what the meeting is about.
• Are you building in chances for people to participate? The more you actively engage them, the longer they’ll stay interested. If it’s a one way data dump, you’ll lose them shortly. Think about asking questions that require written input, you can have them vote agree/disagree with their response buttons, if their microphones are live, let them talk and ask questions as you go instead of holding them til the end. RULE OF THUMB… you should never go more than 3-4 PowerPoint slides without some kind of interaction with your audience, even if it’s just checking in to see who’s still awake.
• Have you practiced? Nothing kills a presentation like lots of ummm, errrs, looking for lost notes or sounding like you’re reading off the page. Practice the important pieces of your presentation, make notes to yourself, and don’t be afraid to move your arms, talk loudly and look up from your script. These things all add colour to your voice. And reading your slides or notes over to yourself is not practicing. Practice out loud… in real time….. a lot.

Wayne Turmel is the president of www.greatwebmeetings.com, a company that specializes in helping people use web-based presentation tools to do more than simply present, but to communicate and connect. He is also the host of the Cranky Middle Manager Show podcast, and doesn’t suffer bad meetings well. He can be reached at +1 630 347-8369 or wturmel@greatwebmeetings.com