Editing Web conferencing

{{Short description|Online interaction and collaborative}}
[[File:Lee Odden on Twebinar.jpg|thumb|Example of a web conferencing [[computer screen]]]]

'''Web conferencing''' is used as an [[umbrella term]] for various types of online [[conference|conferencing]] and collaborative services including '''webinars''' ('''web seminars'''), [[webcast]]s, and web meetings. Sometimes it may be used also in the more narrow sense of the peer-level web meeting context, in an attempt to disambiguate it from the other types known as collaborative sessions.<ref name="Webinar Or Webcast - What's The Difference?">{{Cite web|url=https://wsuccess.typepad.com/webinarblog/2007/03/webinar_or_webc.html|title=Webinar Or Webcast – What's The Difference?|website=The Webinar Blog|access-date=2020-10-26|archive-date=2019-08-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827101841/https://wsuccess.typepad.com/webinarblog/2007/03/webinar_or_webc.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In general, web conferencing is made possible by [[Internet]] technologies, particularly on [[TCP/IP]] connections. Services may allow [[real-time text|real-time]] [[Point-to-point (telecommunications)|point-to-point]] communications as well as [[multicast]] [[communication]]s from one sender to many receivers. It offers data streams of [[text-based]] messages, voice and [[video chat]] to be shared simultaneously, across geographically dispersed locations. Applications for web conferencing include [[meeting]]s, training events, lectures, or [[presentation]]s from a web-connected [[computer]] to other web-connected computers.

==Installation and operation==
{{unsourced section|date=July 2023}}
Web conferencing software is invoked by all participants in a web meeting. Some technologies include software and functionality that differs for presenters and attendees. Software may run as a web browser application (often relying on [[Adobe Flash]], [[Java (programming language)|Java]], or [[WebRTC]] to provide the operational platform). Other web conferencing technologies require download and installation of software on each participant's computer, which is invoked as a local application. Many web conferencing vendors provide the central connectivity and provisioning of meeting "ports" or "seats" as a hosted [[web service]], while others allow the web conference host to install and run the software on its own local servers. Another installation option from certain vendors allows for use of a proprietary [[computer appliance]] that is installed at the hosting company's physical location.

Depending on the technology being used, participants may speak and listen to audio over standard telephone lines or via computer microphones and speakers. Some products allow for use of a [[webcam]] to display participants, while others may require their own proprietary encoding or externally provided encoding of a video feed (for example, from a professional video camera connected via an [[IEEE 1394]] interface) that is displayed in the session.

Vendor-hosted web conferencing is usually licensed as a service based on one of three pricing models: a fixed cost per user per minute, a monthly or annual flat fee allowing unlimited use with a fixed maximum capacity per session, or a sliding rate fee based on the number of allowed meeting hosts and per-session participants (number of "seats").

Visual materials are typically shown in one of two ways. The web conferencing software may show the whole or part of the presenter's computer screen. Renderable files (in formats such as [[PDF]] or [[Microsoft PowerPoint]]) can be displayed by the presenter uploading them and a computer server converting them into a form convenient for streaming.

==Etymology==
The term "webinar" is a [[portmanteau]] of [[World Wide Web|web]] and [[seminar]], meaning a presentation, lecture, or workshop that is transmitted over the web. The coined term has been attacked for improper construction,<ref name="Editorial Emergency: Webinar">{{Cite web|url=http://www.editorialemergency.com/component/content/article/386|title=Editorial Emergency: Webinar|access-date=2016-12-14|archive-date=2017-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510091552/http://www.editorialemergency.com/component/content/article/386|url-status=dead}}</ref> since "inar" is not a valid [[Root (linguistics)|root]]. Webinar was included on the Lake Superior University 2008 List of Banished Words,<ref name="2008 List of Banished Words">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lssu.edu/banished/archive/2008.php|title=2008 List of Banished Words|access-date=2015-01-14|archive-date=2013-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017001524/http://lssu.edu/banished/archive/2008.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> but was included in the Merriam-Webster dictionary that same year.<ref name="Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Webinar">{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/webinar|title=Definition of WEBINAR|website=www.merriam-webster.com|access-date=2020-10-26|archive-date=2019-09-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915111405/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/webinar|url-status=live}}</ref>

The term "[[webcast]]" derives from its original similarity to a radio or television broadcast. Early usage referred purely to transmission and consumption of streaming audio and video via the [[World Wide Web]]. Over time, webcast software vendors have added many of the same functional capabilities found in webinar software, blurring the distinction between the two terms. Webcasts are now likely to allow audience response to polls, text communication with presenters or other audience members, and other two-way communications that complement the consumption of the streamed audio/video content.

==Features==
Other typical features of a web conference include:<ref>World Web Event Services Markets – N100-64, Frost and Sullivan, page 10, 2006, "The main features within the web event services market"</ref>

*Slideshow [[presentations]] – where images are presented to the audience and markup tools and a remote mouse pointer are used to engage the audience while the presenter discusses slide content.
*Live or [[Streaming media|streaming]] video – where full-motion webcam, digital video camera or [[multi-media]] files are pushed to the audience.
*[[VoIP]] – Real-time audio communication through the computer via use of headphones and speakers.
* Web tours – where [[URL]]s, data from forms, cookies, scripts and session data can be pushed to other participants enabling them to be pushed through web-based logons, clicks, etc.  This type of feature works well when demonstrating websites where users themselves can also participate.
* Meeting recording – where presentation activity is recorded on the client side or server side for later viewing and/or distribution.
*[[Whiteboarding]] with annotation (allowing the presenter and/or attendees to highlight or mark items on the slide presentation.  Or, simply make notes on a blank whiteboard.)
*[[Text chat]] – For live question and answer sessions, limited to the people connected to the meeting. Text chat may be public (echoed to all participants) or private (between two participants).
*Polls and surveys (allows the presenter to conduct questions with multiple choice answers directed to the audience)
*[[Screen sharing]]/[[desktop sharing]]/[[application sharing]] (where participants can view anything the presenter currently has shown on their screen.  Some screen sharing applications allow for remote desktop control, allowing participants to manipulate the presenters screen, although this is not widely used.)

==Standards==
Web conferencing technologies are not standardized, which has reduced interoperability and transparency and increased platform dependence, security issues, cost and market segmentation. In 2003, the [[IETF]] established a [[working group]] to establish a standard for web conferencing, called "Centralized Conferencing (xcon)".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/xcon-charter.html |title=Centralized Conferencing (xcon) |publisher=Ietf.org |date=2014-07-16 |access-date=2014-07-22 |archive-date=2009-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525072538/http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/xcon-charter.html |url-status=live }}</ref>  The planned deliverables of xcon include:

* A binary [[floor control]] protocol. Binary Floor Control Protocol (BFCP)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ietfreport.isoc.org/rfc/rfc4582.txt |title=Binary Floor Control Protocol |publisher=Internet Society IETF |date=November 2006 |access-date=2008-07-06 |archive-date=2008-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080806153256/http://ietfreport.isoc.org/rfc/rfc4582.txt |url-status=dead }}</ref> published as RFC 4582
* A mechanism for membership and authorization control
* A mechanism to manipulate and describe media "mixing" or "topology" for multiple media types (audio, video, text)
* A mechanism for notification of conference related events/changes (for example a floor change)

===Deployment models===

Web conferencing is available with three models: [[hosting service]], software and appliance.

An appliance, unlike the online hosted solution, is offered as hardware. It is also known as "in-house" or "on-premises" web conferencing. It is used to conduct live meetings, remote training, or presentations via the Internet.

==History==
Real-time [[text chat]] facilities such as [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]] appeared in the late 1980s.<ref>Byrd, N. (2020). Online Conferences: Some History, Methods, and Benefits. In Right Research: Modelling Sustainable Research Practices in the Anthropocene. Open Book Publishers. https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-q6mq-0004 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630104414/https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/f2978faa-6950-40d0-9738-62ec8e63182c |date=2023-06-30 }}</ref> Web-based chat and [[instant messaging]] software appeared in the mid-1990s. The [[PLATO (computer system)|PLATO computer learning system]] allowed students to collaborate on networked computers to accomplish learning tasks as early as the 1960s, but the early networking was not accomplished via the [[World Wide Web]] and PLATO's collaborative goals were not consistent with the presenter-audience dynamic typical of web conferencing systems.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Computers, Teaching Machines, and Programmed Learning – Computer Teaching Machine Project: PLATO on ILLIAC|journal=Computers and Automation|date=Feb 1962|volume=XI|issue=2|pages=16, 18|url=http://bitsavers.org/magazines/Computers_And_Automation/196202.pdf|access-date=2020-09-05|archive-date=2021-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907000130/http://www.bitsavers.org/magazines/Computers_And_Automation/196202.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> PLATO II, in 1961, featured two users at once.<ref>Two users limit was caused by ILLIAC memory limitation, program could handle more users (pp. 19, 23).
* {{cite journal|title=MISCELLANEOUS: 2. University of Illinois, Plato II, Urbana, Illinois|journal=Digital Computer Newsletter|date=Apr 1962|volume=14|issue=2|pages=18–24|url=http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0694637|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603113857/http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0694637|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 3, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

In 1992, [[InSoft Inc.]] launched Communique, a software-based Unix teleconferencing product for workstations that enabled video/audio/data conferencing. Communique supported as many as 10 users, and included revolutionary features such as application sharing, audio controls, text, graphics, and [[whiteboarding]] which allowed networked users to share and manipulate graphic objects and files using simple paint tools.<ref name=Inc1994>{{cite book|author=IDG Network World Inc|title=Network World|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gRcEAAAAMBAJ|access-date=7 February 2012|date=31 October 1994|publisher=IDG Network World Inc|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gRcEAAAAMBAJ/page/n75 53]–|issn=0887-7661}}</ref><ref name=DACS3>{{cite web|last=Copeland|first=Ron|title=InSoft Ships Internet Apps for Work Groups. (The Interactive Collaborative Environment Internet Multimedia Applications and Tools)|url=http://www.thedacs.com/techs/abstract/20424|date=1996-01-08|publisher=The Data & Analysis Center For Software|access-date=14 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419094929/https://sw.thecsiac.com/techs/abstract/20424%23.UXETIX3LfK4 |archive-date=19 Apr 2013 }}</ref>

Several point-to-point and private-network video conferencing products were introduced in the 1990s,<ref name="Nefsis: Video Conferencing History">{{cite web |url=http://www.nefsis.com/best-video-conferencing-software/video-conferencing-history.html |title= Video Conferencing History |website=Nefsis |access-date=2015-01-19 |archive-date=2010-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728031523/http://www.nefsis.com/Best-Video-Conferencing-Software/video-conferencing-history.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> such as [[CU-SeeMe]], which was used to link selected schools around the United States of America in real-time collaborative communications as part of the Global Schoolhouse project from [[Global SchoolNet]].<ref name="Global SchoolNet History">{{Cite web|url=http://www.globalschoolnet.org/gsnabout/history/|title= GSN's History|website=Global SchoolNet |access-date=2015-01-19|archive-date=2015-01-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119075448/http://www.globalschoolnet.org/gsnabout/history/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Video: Global Schoolhouse in use - 1993">{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6uQuj6W3E4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/M6uQuj6W3E4| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|author=Global SchoolNet |title=It's Not About the Technology |website=YouTube }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In May 1995, [[PictureTel]] announced LiveShare Plus<ref name="PICTURETEL INTRODUCES LIVESHARE PLUS; DATA CONFERENCING SOFTWARE FOR COLLABORATIVE COMPUTING">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/PICTURETEL+INTRODUCES+LIVESHARE+PLUS%3B+DATA+CONFERENCING+SOFTWARE+FOR...-a016903099|title=PICTURETEL INTRODUCES LIVESHARE PLUS; DATA CONFERENCING SOFTWARE FOR COLLABORATIVE COMPUTING|access-date=2015-01-19|archive-date=2016-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012054032/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/PICTURETEL+INTRODUCES+LIVESHARE+PLUS%3b+DATA+CONFERENCING+SOFTWARE+FOR...-a016903099|url-status=dead}}</ref> as a general-use data collaboration product for Windows-based personal computers. The software allowed application sharing, user-granted control of a remote PC, shared whiteboard markup, file transfer, and text messaging. List price was given as $249 per computer. PictureTel referenced an agreement with Microsoft in its announcement press release, and a May 26, 1995 memo from [[Bill Gates]] to Microsoft executive staff and direct reports said "Our PictureTel screen sharing client allowing Window sharing should work easily across the Internet."<ref name="Letters of Note: The Internet Tidal Wave">{{Cite web|url=https://lettersofnote.com/2011/07/22/the-internet-tidal-wave/|title=The Internet Tidal Wave|date=July 22, 2011|website=Letters of Note|access-date=October 26, 2020|archive-date=October 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030002852/https://lettersofnote.com/2011/07/22/the-internet-tidal-wave/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 1996, [[Microsoft]] announced [[NetMeeting]] as an included component in Internet Explorer 3.0.<ref name="Microsoft NetMeeting Conferencing Software Provides Easy Voice, Data Internet Communications; Available on the Web Now">{{Cite web|url=https://news.microsoft.com/1996/05/29/microsoft-netmeeting-conferencing-software-provides-easy-voice-data-internet-communications-available-on-the-web-now/|title=Microsoft NetMeeting Conferencing Software Provides Easy Voice, Data Internet Communications; Available on the Web Now|date=May 29, 1996|website=Stories|access-date=October 26, 2020|archive-date=April 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412020642/https://news.microsoft.com/1996/05/29/microsoft-netmeeting-conferencing-software-provides-easy-voice-data-internet-communications-available-on-the-web-now/|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time, Microsoft called NetMeeting "the Internet's first real-time communications client that includes support for international conferencing standards and provides true multiuser application-sharing and data-conferencing capabilities."

In 1996, [[PlaceWare]] was founded as a spinoff from [[Xerox PARC]]. In November of that year, PlaceWare Auditorium was described in a public talk at [[Stanford University]] as allowing "one or more people to give an interactive, online, multimedia presentation via the Web to hundreds or thousands of simultaneous attendees; the presentation can include slides (made in PowerPoint or any GIF-image editor), live annotation on the slide images, real-time polls of the audience, live audio from the presenter and those asking questions, private text and audio conversations in the auditorium's "rows", and other features."<ref name="The PlaceWare Platform: Web-based Collaborative Apps Made Simple">{{cite web |url=https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee380/9798fall/lect08.html |title=The PlaceWare Platform: Web-based Collaborative Apps Made Simple |access-date=2015-01-14 |archive-date=2014-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109053357/http://web.stanford.edu/class/ee380/9798fall/lect08.html |url-status=live }}</ref> PlaceWare Auditorium was formally announced in March 1997 at a price of $150 per simultaneous user.<ref name="InfoWorld: March 31, 1997">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JDoEAAAAMBAJ&q=placeware+auditorium+release&pg=PA10|title=InfoWorld: March 31, 1997|date=31 March 1997|access-date=21 October 2020|archive-date=3 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503143143/https://books.google.com/books?id=JDoEAAAAMBAJ&q=placeware+auditorium+release&pg=PA10|url-status=live}}</ref>

Unveiled in 1996 by [[InSoft Inc.]], CoolTalk was a multimedia software tool that let PC users view data displayed on a shared whiteboard, exchange real-time messages via a chat tool or speak with each other via a TCP/IP voice connection. The product worked with Microsoft Sound System-compatible audio boards and was available in a 14.4-kbit/s version or 28.8-kbit/s version. CoolTalk was later packaged with popular Web browsers of the time.<ref name=DACS1>{{cite web|last=Sliwa|first=Carol|title=INSOFT UNVEILS TOOLS FOR 'NET. (COOLTALK MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE)|url=http://www.thedacs.com/techs/abstract/19928|work=1996-01-15|publisher=Data & Analysis Center for Software|access-date=13 February 2012}}</ref> CoolTalk 14.4 and 28.8 sold for $49.95 and $69.95, respectively, in 1996.<ref name=DACS3 /><ref name="Jiang">{{cite web |last1=Jiang |first1=Daniel |title=CoolTalk: More Than an Internet Telephone |url=http://besser.tsoa.nyu.edu/impact/f96/Reviews/djiang/ |website=Berkeley School of Information |publisher=UC Regents |access-date=20 December 2018 |archive-date=20 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120121102/http://besser.tsoa.nyu.edu/impact/f96/Reviews/djiang/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In February 1998, [[Starlight Networks]]<ref name="Starlight Networks">{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/1998/05/13/feat.html|title=Online broadcasting|website=Forbes|access-date=2017-09-18|archive-date=2016-08-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827162439/http://www.forbes.com/1998/05/13/feat.html|url-status=live}}</ref> released StarLive! (the exclamation point being part of the product name).<ref name="Starlight Networks Introduces StarLive! -- Intranet Streaming Media Application for Enterprise Communications">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Starlight+Networks+Introduces+StarLive!+--+Intranet+Streaming+Media...-a020303788|title=Starlight Networks Introduces StarLive! – Intranet Streaming Media Application for Enterprise Communications|access-date=2015-01-14|archive-date=2018-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118210706/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Starlight+Networks+Introduces+StarLive!+--+Intranet+Streaming+Media...-a020303788|url-status=dead}}</ref> The press release said "customers can access familiar Web browser interfaces to view live and pre-recorded corporate presentations, along with synchronized slides. End users can communicate directly with the presenter using real-time chat technology and other Web-based collaboration tools."

In June 1998, PlaceWare 2.0 Conference Center was released, allowing up to 1000 live attendees in a meeting session.<ref name="PlaceWare 2.0 Conference Center Keeps Remote Employees, Partners and Customers Up-To-Date With 'Live' Web-Based Presentations">{{Cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/placeware-20-conference-center-keeps-remote-employees-partners-and-customers-up-to-date-with-live-web-based-presentations-78024532.html|title=PlaceWare 2.0 Conference Center Keeps Remote Employees, Partners and Customers Up-To-Date With 'Live' Web-Based Presentations|access-date=2015-01-14|archive-date=2015-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114231917/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/placeware-20-conference-center-keeps-remote-employees-partners-and-customers-up-to-date-with-live-web-based-presentations-78024532.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 1999, ActiveTouch announced WebEx Meeting Center and the webex.com website. In July 1999 WebEx Meeting Center was formally released<ref name="ActiveTouch Launches WebEx Meeting Center: The First Application Service for Web-Based Multimedia Collaborative Meetings">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ActiveTouch+Launches+WebEx+Meeting+Center%3A+The+First+Application...-a055122546|title=ActiveTouch Launches WebEx Meeting Center: The First Application Service for Web-Based Multimedia Collaborative Meetings|access-date=2015-01-14|archive-date=2015-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114222105/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ActiveTouch+Launches+WebEx+Meeting+Center%3A+The+First+Application...-a055122546|url-status=live}}</ref> with a 1000-person meeting capacity demonstrated.<ref name="ActiveTouch, the Creator of WebEx, Hosts World's Largest Interactive Web Meeting">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ActiveTouch%2C+the+Creator+of+WebEx%2C+Hosts+World%27s+Largest+Interactive...-a055135261|title=ActiveTouch, the Creator of WebEx, Hosts World's Largest Interactive Web Meeting|access-date=2023-06-30|archive-date=2018-11-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120045834/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/ActiveTouch%2c+the+Creator+of+WebEx%2c+Hosts+World%27s+Largest+Interactive...-a055135261|url-status=live}}</ref> In September of the same year, ActiveTouch changed its company name to [[WebEx]].

In April 1999, Vstream introduced the Netcall product for web conferencing as "a fee-based Internet software utility that lets you send business presentations and other graphic information via e-mail to a Vstream server. Vstream converts the content, again using streaming technology, and makes the presentation available for viewing by up to 1,200 people at a time."<ref name="The New York Times: June 3, 1999 - Turn Up the Volume for E-Mail">{{Cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/06/circuits/articles/03beep.html|title=Turn Up the Volume for E-Mail|website=archive.nytimes.com|access-date=2020-10-26|archive-date=2020-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030083203/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/06/circuits/articles/03beep.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Vstream changed the company name to Evoke Communications in 2000, with a further change to [[Raindance Communications]] in 2002. In February 2006, Raindance was acquired by the InterCall division of [[West Corporation]].

In December 2003, [[Citrix Systems]] acquired Expertcity, giving it the [[GoToMyPC]] and [[GoToAssist]] products.<ref name="CRN - December 19, 2003: Citrix Acquires Expertcity">{{Cite web|url=https://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/18831216/citrix-acquires-expertcity.htm|title=Citrix Acquires Expertcity|first=Steven|last=Burke|date=December 19, 2003|website=CRN|access-date=October 26, 2020|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101165424/https://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/18831216/citrix-acquires-expertcity.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The acquired company was renamed as the [[Citrix Online]] division of Citrix Systems. In July 2004, Citrix Online released [[GoToMeeting]] as its first generic web conferencing product.<ref name="Citrix GoToMeeting Corporate Cuts Unpredictable and Expensive Online Meeting Fees for Businesses">{{Cite web|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040624005036/en/Citrix-GoToMeeting-Corporate-Cuts-Unpredictable-and-Expensive-Online-Meeting-Fees-for-Businesses|title=Citrix GoToMeeting Corporate Cuts Unpredictable and Expensive Online Meeting Fees for Businesses|date=June 24, 2004|website=www.businesswire.com|access-date=October 26, 2020|archive-date=October 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030112823/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040624005036/en/Citrix-GoToMeeting-Corporate-Cuts-Unpredictable-and-Expensive-Online-Meeting-Fees-for-Businesses|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2006, GoToWebinar was added, allowing additional registration and reporting functionality along with larger capacity in sessions.<ref name="New Citrix GoToWebinar: The First Do-It-Yourself Affordable Way for Anyone to Conduct Online Events">{{Cite web|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20060615005236/en/New-Citrix-GoToWebinar-The-First-Do-It-Yourself-Affordable-Way-for-Anyone-to-Conduct-Online-Events|title=New Citrix GoToWebinar: The First Do-It-Yourself Affordable Way for Anyone to Conduct Online Events|date=June 15, 2006|website=www.businesswire.com|access-date=October 26, 2020|archive-date=October 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030042838/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20060615005236/en/New-Citrix-GoToWebinar-The-First-Do-It-Yourself-Affordable-Way-for-Anyone-to-Conduct-Online-Events|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2003, [[Macromedia]] acquired Presedia, including the Breeze Presentation product.<ref name="Macromedia Breeze Product Line Delivers Rapid Presentation and Training Solutions for the Enterprise">{{Cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/macromedia-breeze-product-line-delivers-rapid-presentation-and-training-solutions-for-the-enterprise-74459427.html|title=Macromedia Breeze Product Line Delivers Rapid Presentation and Training Solutions for the Enterprise|access-date=2015-01-14|archive-date=2015-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114231920/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/macromedia-breeze-product-line-delivers-rapid-presentation-and-training-solutions-for-the-enterprise-74459427.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Breeze Live was added with the 4.0 release of Macromedia Breeze to support web conferencing.<ref name="Macromedia Breeze 4.0 Release Notes">{{Cite web|url=https://www.adobe.com/support/documentation/en/breeze/4/releasenotes.html|title=Macromedia Breeze 4.0 Release Notes|access-date=2015-01-14|archive-date=2015-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114212626/https://www.adobe.com/support/documentation/en/breeze/4/releasenotes.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2005, [[Adobe Systems]] announced acquisition of Macromedia (completed in December 2005) and changed the Breeze product name to [[Adobe Connect]].<ref name="Adobe Completes Acquisition of Macromedia">{{Cite web|url=https://news.adobe.com/news/default.aspx|title=Adobe – News|website=news.adobe.com|access-date=2020-10-26|archive-date=2007-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418180906/http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200704/041607AMP.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

A [[trademark]] for the term ''WEBinar'' (first three letters capitalized) was registered in 1998 by Eric R. Korb (Serial Number 75478683, USPTO) and was reassigned to InterCall.<ref name="wbAssign">{{cite web |url=http://assignments.uspto.gov/assignments/q?db=tm&sno=75478683 |title=Trademark Assignment for Webinar |date=February 6, 2003 |access-date=2008-06-29 |publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office |archive-date=2015-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114212917/http://assignments.uspto.gov/assignments/q?db=tm&sno=75478683 |url-status=live }}</ref> The trademark registration was cancelled in 2007. Learn.com filed a claim for the term "webinar" without regard to font or style in 2006 (Serial Number 78952304, USPTO). That trademark claim was abandoned in 2007<ref name="Trademark Status for Webinar">{{cite web |url=http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=78952304&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch |title=Trademark Status for Webinar |date=July 10, 2007 |publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office |access-date=January 14, 2015 |archive-date=April 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404082200/http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=78952304&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch |url-status=live }}</ref> and no subsequent filing has been made.

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], webinars became the norm of teaching and instruction in numerous schools, universities and workplaces around the world. This new form of transferring knowledge challenged institutions and instructors, and it fostered new practices of teaching.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.21083/partnership.v16i1.6392| issn = 1911-9593| volume = 16| issue = 1| pages = 1–11| last = Martinolli| first = Pascal| title = Library Instruction in Pandemic Times: Early Morning Webinars| journal = Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research| accessdate = 2021-05-21| date = 2021-05-20| url = https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/view/6392| doi-access = free| archive-date = 2021-05-21| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210521165937/https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/view/6392| url-status = live| hdl = 1866/24056| hdl-access = free}}</ref> At the same time this new form of teaching also demonstrated the advantages of moving these events online, as virtual conferences were found to be more inclusive, more affordable, less time-consuming and more accessible worldwide, especially for early-career researchers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sarabipour|first=Sarvenaz|date=2020-11-04|title=Virtual conferences raise standards for accessibility and interactions|journal=eLife|volume=9|pages=e62668|doi=10.7554/eLife.62668|pmid=33143847|issn=2050-084X|pmc=7641586|doi-access=free }}</ref> Providing a great opportunity to identify best practices for designing intentionally inclusive online events, so the positive advantages of these can continue when in-person conferences resume.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Levitis|first1=Elizabeth|last2=van Praag|first2=Cassandra D Gould|last3=Gau|first3=Rémi|last4=Heunis|first4=Stephan|last5=DuPre|first5=Elizabeth|last6=Kiar|first6=Gregory|last7=Bottenhorn|first7=Katherine L|last8=Glatard|first8=Tristan|last9=Nikolaidis|first9=Aki|last10=Whitaker|first10=Kirstie Jane|last11=Mancini|first11=Matteo|date=August 2021|title=Centering inclusivity in the design of online conferences—An OHBM–Open Science perspective|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giab051|journal=GigaScience|volume=10|issue=8|doi=10.1093/gigascience/giab051|issn=2047-217X|pmc=8377301|pmid=34414422|access-date=2021-09-09|archive-date=2023-06-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630105109/https://academic.oup.com/gigascience/article/10/8/giab051/6355274|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Comparison of web conferencing software]]
* [[Collaborative software]]
* [[Electronic meeting system]]
* [[Hybrid event]]
* [[Videoconferencing]]
* [[Web television]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Computer-mediated communication}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Web conferencing| ]]
[[Category:Teleconferencing]]
[[Category:Educational technology]]