Fuze Interview with FreeCallsTo

Posted by Fuze Meeting - Kristen

Our very own Community Manager (me) was recently inerviewed by a website called FreeCallsto.com. The site was created to share all the cheap and sometimes free (! Did you say free !) ways to stay connected with people across the globe. They write about ways to call internationally for free as well as VOIP, web conferencing, internet fax, calling cards, and any other type of product that helps you stay connected worldwide without breaking the bank. Isn’t that nice of them?!?!

The Interview:

I had a great opportunity to do an Interview with Kristen Isaacs, PR/Community Manager for Fuze Box and learn about the exciting web conferencing software the company provides. Check it out:

What exactly is Fuze Meeting?

Fuze Meeting is a browser based web conferencing software. It allows meeting attendees from all over the world to host or attend an online meeting and share/view content and desktops – just like if you were all in a big conference room, but without the hassle (and expense) of travel.

What are the benefits that users will get from your product?

Well, there are the obvious benefits to online meetings – real time communication, fast paced synergy, huge savings and the like. Specifically Fuze Meeting stands out among competitors because

• Fuze Meeting is browser based – meaning attendees don’t have to download a plug-in to attend a meeting – that’s a big hit with training and sales teams.  One click and you’re in!
• It’s really easy to use. There’s no disclaimer ‘well, once you get used to it and know where to click.’ We went through a TON of user testing to make sure the meeting process was intuitive.
• It handles all typs of rich media really well with a focus on high resolution images and videos – this is a favorite feature of creative and healthcare professionals who have to present intricate images/videos with tiny (and important!) detail.  Plus, you can mark up all content.
• We’re cheaper than the big guys. This (of course!) makes us especially popular with small businesses.

Is it mainly for business or for consumer as well?

Anyone who has a need to collaborate online would benefit from web conferencing in general. Currently, most of our customers are businesses or freelancers, but we’re seeing growing numbers among students as well.

What do you see in the future of VOIP?

As a business, we’re betting on VOIP increasing in usage, especially in the business sector.  Currently 5-10% of users Skype on our meetings, and we’re seeing this trend increase. With our upcoming releases, we’re integrating it further into our software and are embedding VOIP into our upcoming iPad app.

Fuze Meeting’s parent company is Fuze Box. What else does Fuze Box do?

Fuze Box is a leading platform provider of visual collaboration applications for consumers and businesses so we’ve designed our products to fall under that umbrella.

Fuze Messenger integrates all your IM accounts them through a single interface on your iPhone or BlackBerry. It’s similar to Meebo, but Fuze Meeting is the only free app that allows you to integrate OCS (Micosoft’s Office Communicator).

Fuze Movie is a real time review and approval collaboration tool for remote film or video professionals.

Tweetshare is the baby of the bunch but one we’re excited about.   It is Fuze Box’s first foray into Twitter APIs. It’s a third party Twitter service that allows Tweeters to immediately publish any type of content to the web, including HD video, presentations, images and start and monitor twitter threads around their content. It also brings Fan Pages to the Twitter community with branded pages.

How to Skype Into a Fuze Meeting

Posted by Fuze Meeting - Kristen

Hi Everyone, we noticed that one of our most highly trafficked blog posts was our single Skype post saying “FYI you can do it now”

And then the light bulb went off.

Skype can be a little tricky to use and there are probably people searching for a how-to lesson.

So – back with another tutorial, here’s our video tutorial on how to use Skype to get into  our web conference.  Even though Fuze meeting looks the same on any computer (because it’s browser based), Skype isn’t and is a little bit different on a Mac vs. on a PC, so we do a little section for each.

So check out our video! (more…)

To Web Conference or to Business Trip? That is the Question.

Posted by Fuze Meeting - Kristen

Little did The Clash realize the implications for business meetings when in 1982 they posed that pivotal question: Should I Stay Or Should I Go-oh?

Being at a company that does online meetings, it’s funny how some people approach me at all my fancy parties and say something like… “well you JUST can’t replace a personal relationship and that’s why virtual meetings
just don’t work.”

Oh. Hey there, slippery slope. You’re lookin’ slick today!

Hold up. We’re the first to admit that sometimes a plane flight and a one-on-one meeting is just what the doctor ordered. However, we also recognize that there are quite a few people who are hopping on planes without really evaluating if it’s necessary for each particular meeting considering the cost and the consequences for the environment. I know…if it’s what you’ve “always done” it’s going to be a stretch to believe all this new(ish) technology can really cut the mustard.

So, before you cash in all your Starwood points or write off web conferencing completely, here’s a quick little guide to help decide when to stay and when to go-oh.

See, we get it. And way back in the research phase, we learned that even when budgets were tiny, one HUGE reason people still decide to travel is because sometimes seeing it on screen is just not clear, just not sharp and just not good enough.

Well, like a good neighbor, state fa I mean, Fuze Meeting alleviates some of that stress by offering digital collaboration in high resolution – you know, just to show off how hard you really did work on it.

What other kinds of meetings do you meet online for? What kinds of meetings do you always have in person?

New Fuze Meeting Feature:
Meeting Recording and Playback

Posted by Fuze Meeting - Kristen

Now that we’ve released a boatload of new functionalities, one of the most popular and most requested features is meeting recording and playback.

That’s right! Now you can preserve that huge productive meeting where you made the sale of your lifetime for-ev-er! You can share your high res pictures and video, record them in high res and watch them in high res to boot!

Now…HOW you ask? Well, don’t worry – we’ve got your back there, too! Check out our 2 video tutorials – one on meeting recording and one on recording playback. Just a reminder, recording is available only on the Premium and Pro accounts. (If you can’t live without recording, feel free to upgrade your account by clicking on ‘My Accounts’ in the upper right hand corner of the screen once you’re logged in.)

Part 1: Recording a Meeting

Part 2: Recording Playback

Was that helpful? What else would you like to see tutorials on? What could we do better?

What in the World Is Coworking?

Posted by Fuze Meeting - Kristen

Just the other day, I was doing my due diligence on the webbernets trying to find out some juicy tidbits about alternate working situations. And since you happen to be on a web conferencing blog, chances are you’re on the lookout for more tips and tidbits that could make your situation more efficient. Well,  I ‘discovered’ (similarly to how Columbus ‘discovered’ America) this brilliant alternative to from home not from home!

It’s called coworking! And from what I gather…

Coworking is a way of working where you independently work alongside other workers, though the work you’re doing is totally separate. Think of it as a well-lit and nicely temperature-ed café where you can go to work comfortably all day without enduring the angry glares of the barista trying to Jedi Mind Trick you into buying more coffee or get off his ‘free’ WiFi. There’s only so much caffeine one person can take, doncha know.

No, it’s not free, but it seems reasonably priced. These coworking spaces are all over the place and a quick Google revealed five locations within walking distance of my current office and a whole bunch more in the area.

What’s more – these places seem really COOL. Quite a few of them offer free drop-in options to check them out. You can use meeting rooms, supplies and whatnot as part of the service. I had a big old #FAIL that one day I had to work from home, and if I had to work from home on a regular basis, I would totally consider signing up for something like this.

So… whether it’s coworking, meeting online, figuring out a way to pre-occupy the kids or putting an accountability system in place (Thanks Heather and Yasou for the tips  !!!) – we realize that knowing your options is the first step.

Have you ever tried coworking? How did it work?

6/17/10 Update: Seth Godin recently did a post on coworking. Check it out > Goodbye To The Office

Oui Oui, Fuze Meeting!

Posted by Fuze Meeting - Kristen

Why the sudden international flair?

Well HERE’s why. Last week in a previous post, we whetted your appetite for ALL the features in our new release, and we’ll spend the next couple of weeks unpacking all the details for you.

We’re global, baby!

*ring ring* Hello Fuze, Is that you there with new dial in numbers in Mexico, UK, France, Brazil, Netherlands, Spain? Si, yes, oui, sim, ja and si again!

What this means:

Before this update, if you had a meeting in a country outside of the US, the audio conferencing portion of the meeting was still being routed through phone numbers in the US…so you would have to pay international phone rates even if you and all your attendees were scattered around Brazil (or…anywhere else). No More! Now…we have local numbers in-country, so having meetings all over the globe just got cheaper.

I will take my meeting online, s’il vous plaît!

And while we’re at it, we’ve also added some international flav-ah to the meeting experience.  You can sign-up for Fuze Meeting through a French site and hold a meeting with a French interface. I’m guessing because this blog is in English, you may not be choosing French, but feel free to call Pierre and Chloé and let them know the good news!

Voulez-vous avoir une conférence en ligne avec moi? Ce soir?

Stay tuned for MORE languages coming our way. Next on deck: Spanish!

We’ve Launched New Features, and Oh Man, They are SLICK

Posted by Fuze Meeting - Kristen

I’m warning you now… Fuze Meeting doesn’t take any responsibility if you faint with excitement, but…it’s official…we’ve launched a clutch of new features, and MAN they are SLICK.  Please hold while I show you a dangerously sexy screen shot of our new interface.

*waves smelling salts*

Do you FEEL THE LOVE? Because…heck, we love you. Why else would we have gone to all this trouble release all these fancy new bells and whistles.

“What, PRAY TELL, WHAT is going on with all these new features,” you pant in eager anticipation.

Well, in short:

• We’ve released 2 additional packages to add on to the basic service that carry some added functionality. You can check them out on our pricing page.
  • Basic – what you’re used to
  • Pro (Basic + recording and playback, up to 45 attendees and 10 GB of storage)
  • Premium (Basic + recording and playback, unlimited storage and all the attendees we can muster up – 55 and climbing)
• We’ve released meeting recording and playback. (Check out that red dot in the top right corner). As in, record your meeting and save it for later. (Or just rewatch to hear the soothing sound of your own voice and behold the adroit swishing of your mouse cursor.)
• We’re international, baby. Call in from Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Netherlands, and Spain. AND you can attend your meeting in French if you prefer.
• Life got a little easier for you – we updated our contacts features.
• Boom. Search your uploads and downloads.

(Read all about it in our Press Release)

We really packed a ton of cool stuff in the latest update , and we realize we just gave you tons to pour over, and we realize that you probably just fainted and may be completely out of it. We promise to unpack these one by one and provide training vids on the new features over the next few weeks. So…keep on checking back for news and updates!

Lessons from Eyjafjallajökull

Posted by Fuze Meeting - Kristen

Yes that’s right everybody. Your favorite Iclandic volcano and mine has been doing quite a number on the air space around Europe and has stranded quite a few would-be meeting attendees on the other side of this big blue ball of dense space dust (or on my side for that matter).

So what does this mean? Since you’re on the Fuze Meeting blog, I’m going to let you guess… But OK FINE, I’ll just tell you. If by chance you happened to be stranded, enjoy your few extra days of vaycay, but take advantage of this moment to learn about web conferencing!

If you haven’t been doing online meetings yet, THE TIME IS NOW.

Q: What have you got to lose?

A: Literally…nothing. I mean…do you really have another choice anyway?

So, *hint hint wink wink* sign up for our 30 day free trial (or just get free unlimited meetings for 3 attendees by fanning us on Facebook) and (for heaven’s sake!) use this opportunity to learn something new about whatever unexpected culture you’ve just found yourself amidst.

Take that, Eyjafjallajökull! You and your ridiculous spelling won’t keep us from being productive with our co-workers.

Telecommuting Hits Home

Posted by Fuze Meeting - Kristen

Crews work to return connectivity to surrounding buildings while Fuze Box employees telecommute for a day.

No thanks to a big ol’fire in a manhole at 7^th and Mission, the entire Fuze Meeting office had no network connectivity Monday morning and after about 30 minutes (don’t worry…our web conferencing software was still up and running), we all just called it quits and headed home with our laptops and mobile phones in tow, ready for a day of wildly productive telecommuting.

You work remotely-ers. You work from home-ers. You on-the-go-work-outta-your-hotel-ers. It’s not all a walk in the park!

Which leaves me to the real point of this blog – a plea for advice for our community that works remotely. A request for help and any tips that could make ‘working remotely’ productive and not painful.

Real life testimonial:

After immediately changing out of my work clothes and into my civvies (1 point telecommuting), I sat down, popped open the laptop and NOPE. It took me less than 5 minutes to realize this is not happening. Not at my house. There was way too much to get distracted by, including but not limited to quite a few DVR’ed episodes of 24. So off to the coffee shop.

After one quick little “working from home today” Facebook status update, all of a sudden, my friends are all up in my bid-nezz like I somehow snaked a day off? “Oh great, I’ve been meaning to catch up with you. Let’s get coffee!” Hel-LO, I’m WORKING!

“OK. OK. This is all part of the gig,” I remind myself in a soothing zen voice. But…at this point I’ve been camped out at a coffee shop for 3 hours and honestly couldn’t stomach one more banana nut muffin and the guy behind the counter is giving me the stink eye, so I pack up and head out. Goodbye 30 minutes of productivity.

Where am I supposed to go now? Another coffee shop, of course! And on to coffee number 3 for the day. By 4 PM with caffeine buzzing through my veins, I canceled my evening plans because I realized I was already shooting way under target and could count on a whole evening working. Goodbye work/life balance.

The conclusion: Hats off to all of you who manage to do this effectively, because I can tell it’s the sort of thing that would take a lot of practice to be good at.  Thank goodness I have my web conferencing software all picked out and ready to go, but let’s face it; online meetings are just going to scratch the surface.

So the question is: How do you do it? What tips/tricks/software do you use to make working from home more efficient? And hopefully my next telecommuting blog post will have incorporated all your fun little tips.

Increase Web Meeting Payattentionability!

Posted by Fuze Meeting - Kristen

By now you’ve heard our 5 Tips on Hosting a Better Online Meetings (and then 5 more), but did you know that a few adjustments to your PowerPoint file can make it more online meeting friendly?

Let’s face it – any meeting can challenge even the most professional attention span, and when you host a meeting online, you lose the ability to dish out the stink eye if someone’s not giving you the affirmative “I’m with you” head nod.  Hence, here are quatro tips for sprucing up your presentation to enrapture even the most scatterbrained attendee.

1. Withhold each bullet point until you’re ready to talk about it. If you send out a PDF before a meeting, people are going to look at the whole thing and ask you about items on page 13 before you’re done with page 6. Hence, your decision to use web conferencing in the first place. Well, you can practice the same general idea in your virtual meeting as well. Keep their attention right where you want it by only serving up what you’re ready to talk about.
2. Flash bright lights in their faces AKA use slide transitions. You know it’s true! Flashing lights in someone’s face is a good way to get them to look at you. Even the simplest transition option changes the light levels coming from the screen, and could be just the trick to pull wandering eyes back on your presentation.
3. Change it up. As visually compelling as 38 slides of text in a uniform font size is, it’s not compelling at all. So change it up! Make titles bigger than the rest of the text or do some classy mixing of serif and sans serif. Throw in a color or use images (Note: be careful when using images and colors. Pink copy with a picture of a unicorn sitting on a rainbow will not inspire confidence.) Use graphs at any opportunity. It may seem unnecessary, but giving your attendees something different to look at throughout your meeting will keep their eyes on the screen.
4. Snip Snip. If ever there was a time to keep that presentation slim and sexy….the time is NOW. I repeat. The. Time. Is. Now. I mean, you should be keeping them to about 10 slides anyway but really…if you can slim it down, your attendees will appreciate it.

Had enough yet? No? Here’s a link to a pretty well known post from back in aught five on keeping VC presos to 10 slides. For something to be relevant on the interwebs for a whopping 5 years means it must be pretty legit.

See you in a few.