Fitnesscasting - Podcasting for The Health and Fitness Industry

Filed under:Living With Multimedia — posted on July 20, 2007 @ 11:24 pm

Fitnesscasting is the commercial application of podcasting for
the personal fitness industry. Fitnesscasting is the
distribution and publishing of audio and video feeds, that offer
personal health and fitness training and information delivered
over the Internet, for on demand listening.

This is a new step in the evolution of on-demand health and
fitness information delivery, making it accessible, informative,
useful and appealing. This mix presents the health and fitness
industry with a very unique opportunity to reach its audience
through this new medium. Those individuals, who are already
seeking health and fitness information actively, will use RSS
subscription technology built into each podcast feed, to receive
information immediately as it is updated by each organization.
With one click of a button, a user can subscribe to a feed that
may be interesting, and any related information that is ever
updated to that feed will be automatically processed to their
personal aggregator. An aggregator is able to subscribe to a
feed, check for new content at user-determined intervals, and
retrieve the content.

To take this process one step further, podcasting publishes each
feed with the capability to be transferred to any portable audio
or video device. So with the growth of the ipod and all the
other portable media devices, you have the ability to grab
fitnesscasts and place them on your portable player for
listening or viewing. Most users attach their portable players
to their computers daily or weekly, and once the player is
attached they automatically receive the new Fitnesscast updates.

The flexibility of this medium is what will drive the growth of
Fitnesscasting tremendously over the next few years. There are
numerous formats that can be used in developing a fitnesscast.
Audio and video workouts give the power to the listener or
viewer to receive on-demand health and fitness training. In
addition, podcasts are being placed on portable video devices to
offer exclusive training workouts for those clients who may
travel a lot, or want to workout in the comfort of their home or
on their own schedule.

The best thing about fitnesscasting is that the opportunities
are endless. Here are some examples of how podcasting will
benefit the fitness industry. Most Americans have heard of 6
minute abs or the home jazzercise videos, in fact, these have
sold extremely well in our society. With as busy as people are
in today’s society, some individuals do not have the opportunity
to make it to a gym as much as they would like. However, these
same individuals are not looking to give up their workout
routine, they just need it custom fitted to their likings. With
fitnesscasting, you have the ability to utilize this medium
on-demand at the convenience. In addition, with audio and video
ipods you can take these fitnesscasts with you when traveling.

Another example of its use could be in large scale gyms. All
gyms have trainers who help their patrons’ workout and develop
their bodies, yet, sometimes there are either not enough
trainers or time schedules do not match up. With fitnesscasting,
you have an audio or video of a trainer giving you instruction,
at the touch of your fingers and on your time schedule.

The options are wide open for the development of fitness
programs that are cutting edge, and highly opportunistic in
terms of converting listeners and users into consumers and
revenues.

The popularity of portable on demand information will grow even
greater as wireless internet services continue to flourish
across the country. These portable devices will no longer have
to be connected to the internet; they will receive information
wirelessly as it is updated. In addition, as cell phones and
portable devices continue to merge together, the market grows
larger.

For organizations that have members worldwide, the distribution
of company information is very important, and once again this
offers each institution a method of on-demand delivery which is
convenient to all.

There are numerous uses for Fitnesscasting, and over the next
few years it will explode in popularity. It is beneficial to
organizations as well as the consumer, and it will be seen as a
great tool in any health and fitness organizations’ operations.

Web Conferencing - What is it?

Filed under:Living With Multimedia — posted on July 7, 2007 @ 3:59 am

Web Conferencing is, very simply, a meeting, conference or seminar that is held over the World Wide Web. Web conferencing can refer to audio, video or text-based conversations and are conducted in real-time.

Web conferencing is an incredibly useful resource for anyone who trades within a global market place. It literally allows you to be in two places at once - sitting at home or in your office whilst conducting a meeting with someone one the other side of the world.

In its simplest form web conferencing can take the form of free downloads such as Microsoft NetMeeting or Yahoo Messenger. Subscribers can participate in text-based ‘chats’, inviting others into their conversations and being able to communication in real-time. Add a simple digital camera to this equation and you have the beginnings of an elementary web conferencing application.

At the other end of the scale, the most sophisticated applications allow seminars and presentations to be made to hundreds of delegates at the same time. Meetings can be fully interactive, allowing question and answer sessions, the sharing of files and documents and slide show presentations to be broadcast.

What Can I Do With Web Conferencing?

How you choose to use web conferencing will very much depend upon your line of work. A webinar (an online seminar) is less interactive than a web meeting, but is a very effective means of presenting sales pitches, performance reviews and delivering staff training.

A web meeting on the other hand, can be fully interactive not only in terms of audio and video but also by allowing the sharing of documents and files and viewing them online.

What is Online Collaboration?

Online collaboration is an excellent resource for project management, especially when team members are located in different geographical locations. Online collaboration provides an advanced level of document management and file sharing. Documents and files can be viewed, modified and updated online and in real time.

What Are The Benefits Of Web Conferencing?

The main benefits of web conferencing are to be found in terms of time and money savings. The need for travel is greatly reduced, and therefore so are the associated costs of travel - tickets, accommodation, subsistence, to name but a few. Employees spend less time waiting for flights, travel or just generally being away from their desk and therefore have more time to spend productively.

Enhanced communication is another benefit of web conferencing. Where colleagues could perhaps only meet face to face a few times a year, for example, web conferencing allows them to meet on a daily basis, if required. With people talking more, work gets done more efficiently and more accurately.

How Much Does It Cost?

The cost of web conferencing depends on how sophisticated an application you need. Low-level, one-to-one systems can be set up these days for virtually nothing. The most advanced systems, unsurprisingly, can run into thousands of dollars. Careful research, however, and thoughtful analysis of what you need from a web conferencing system can allow you to budget accordingly and match a system to your needs. The chances are, if you are spending money on travel then you will recoup the cost of your web conferencing software over time.

Diane Parker is a web content writer who specializes in internet related topics. Her conferencing articles include: web conferencing software, choosing a web conferencing tool and internet conferencing.

The Amazing Applications of Web Conference Calls

Filed under:Living With Multimedia — posted on June 30, 2007 @ 10:40 am

Conferencing in its very basic form might be two people talking over the phone while browsing through a web site and making comments about the content.

Web conferencing started initially as an audio conferencing calls and it is still largely Used today mainly for presentation calls where the host is guiding a group of listeners, illustrating to them some concepts and from time to time answers questions or asking for comments.

This call can be recorded and later on either distributed to a larger group of potential customers or be put on a web site where other customers can download the audio file to their computer and listen to the whole thing at their convenient time.

With the introduction of the broadband, conferencing emerged into live Video conferencing where participants can actually see each other in addition to be able to hearing each other.

Then it developed into multi layering of information where conferencing participants can talk, see and even share and exchange presentations as well as drawing and sketch a concept on a tablet board (it’s called Whiteboard) while making comments on it.

In Addition web conferencing can conduct poles and votes among the participants same as they would during a board meetings.

This technology is a real alternative to face-to-face meetings. This level of conferencing is not without problems, it must be meticulously planed ahead of time,
positioning the web cams at appropriate well lighted spots, same for the microphones, the participants must exhibit high self discipline and concentration.

It can be implemented locally as well as internationally by medium to large companies. A well planed and coordinated web conference call can save a bundle of time, money and hassle.

One field where this conferencing application really revolutionized the whole process is the engineering and architectural planning. This has became part of e-construction methodology.

The planner is transferring his drawings CAD files to the next level or levels like the electrical engineer or the air-conditioner planner, they can all design and add their drawings over the original raster background (that is because it works in layers).

Then they can coordinate a web conference call and discuss potential conflicts and problems in their separate planning to the general construction plan, this can boost
and speed up the whole planning and design processes and help meet deadlines on time.

Another application can be Coach hiring managers on corporate process, screen candidates and avoid the significant costs associated with flying unsuitable candidates out for interviews.

Training sessions with selected employees around the globe is another time and money big saver. This e-Teacher technology is going to have a tremendous impact in the future on the education system as a whole from high school to the universities.

Amit Laufer - EzineArticles Expert Author

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Amit Laufer is a writer and Internet Marketer.
MBA - International Trade & Finance.
Bsc. Computers and Information Systems.

Owner Editor of: Web Conference Call

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