We were very excited to partner with U.S. In The World to present a monthly briefing series on public opinion and messaging. We wanted USITW information and perspectives to reach advocates outside of D.C., and conference calls just wouldn't cut it. Staying engaged with a remote presentation without a visual component is challenging, no matter how captivating the material.

So we began our quest to find the ideal webinar solution, and we decided to learn through experience - that is, we would test out a new platform for each briefing, to get a real sense of what works and what doesn't. We were looking for something that could enable us to host monthly webinars with 15 to 20 online participants, and keep them as engaged as the people in the room. Most of the services we tried had both dial-in and Voice over Internet Protocol options (VOIP allows users to communicate via a microphone plugged in to their computer). Unless noted below, they all had the ability to display at least the presenter on a web cam, though we opted out of that feature. And, unless noted, they all gave us the ability to keep track of our remote participants through chat and/or "status" settings - by clicking a button on her screen's display, the user could indicate she had a question without interrupting the presenter.

First, a word about some general lessons learned. Most importantly: we're glad we tested each program during real events. No matter how much you play around with the webinar platform, unless you rehearse it the way it will be presented (with someone acting as the presenter, another as the moderator, and a third as an audience member), it's impossible to get a sense for how things flow. Be sure to take advantage of free trial offers before committing to a service.

Secondly, for our purposes (showing a slide show to people in the room and online attendees simultaneously), we needed the slide show to dominate the screen, and other controls to fade into the background. Many webinar services allow the presenter to upload a document so it runs in the virtual meeting room, rather than in a separate program. In most cases, this feature was crucial to maximizing the size of the slide show and keeping the other controls minimized when they were not needed.

Also, we learned that more functions are not necessarily better. While having a way to interact with online attendees on the screen is important, too many avenues of communication can just be confusing and difficult to manage.

Of course, our experiences with each service are not necessarily representative, and we recommend that you try any service yourself before taking the plunge - but here are our highly subjective impressions of some big- (and little-) name webinar brands. The price information provided is based on the services' web sites, and represents the price plan that best fits our situation; most have several price levels. If you've had experiences with these or other services, please share them in the comments!

Glance
www.glance.net
$9.95 "day pass" - unlimited sessions
$49.95/month for up to 100 participants per session

Glance is a low-key interface for desktop sharing alongside a free conference line. It is billed as simple to use and quick to launch - both of which are true - but it lacks the chat and hand-raising features that we find valuable in webinars. It's something to consider, though, for a lower-tech way to share a presentation with a group on the phone.

Instant Presenter
www.instantpresenter.com
$39/mo "Lite" - 15 attendees
$59/mo "Pro" - 15 attendees, recording hosting
$99/mo "Pro" - 30 attendees

Instant Presenter had the basic features we were looking for, including the ability to upload slides and to chat. I also particularly appreciated its "resizable interface" - you can shrink or expand the various features as you need them. We didn't get the chance to use this platform for one of our meetings, but based on a live demonstration it seems like a solid competitor. There is no phone conference bridge provided (only VOIP), but presenters could easily use their own conference line. The "Lite" plan is a good value at $39 per month for 15 attendees per meeting.

TurboMeeting
www.packetel.com/web-conferencing-turbo-meeting-main.asp
$45/mo for 25 participants; $37/mo with year-long subscription

Looks aren't everything, but this looks distinctly... Windows 3.0. Less superficially, it is lacking the functionality of many of its competitors. There is no way to let the control panel fade into the background - it's just a big window that floats to the right of the screen. The "whiteboard" just opens Paint. Though there is desktop sharing, there is no way to upload a slide show so it is integrated into the platform. Considering what you can get for the same price, you can do better.

GoToWebinar/GoToMeeting
www.gotomeeting.com
$49/month for 15 attendees; $39/month with year subscription
$99/month for 1,000 attendees

We were initially excited for the opportunity to try GoToWebinar. The high price tag ($99/month) could be a deterrent, and the enormous capability (can host 1,000 attendees per meeting over phone or VOIP) is a little more than we'd need, but free trials give even tiny organizations like ours the ability to dream big.

The invitation and greeting processes were easy - you can have participants sign up on the GoToWebinar site, and customize what they see when they join the meeting. But when it came time for the actual meeting, we were disappointed. Our fundamental problem was that the interface was not intuitive, and so we fumbled around every time we tried to change settings. There was altogether too much functionality - trying to wrangle our webinar attendees who were communicating via chat, "asking questions," and raising hands was a lot to juggle, even with a separate moderator. It didn't allow us to fully share administrator capabilities, including seeing the participant list, with another presenter.

The feature about which we were most excited was the integrated audio - especially since some of our participants were using VOIP. Whether they dial in or use VOIP, the moderator can mute and unmute them with just a click, and the whole thing is recorded. Unfortunately, this was a little buggy - for example, no one could hear me until I put myself on mute. Overall, I'm not sure if the increased functionality is worth the trouble.

While we didn't use GoToMeeting, which accommodates 15 attendees, it seems as though the platform is a bit more manageable - I didn't see that pesky "ask a question" feature - but lacks the intuitive interface we saw with other providers. We also did not fine a good way to put the presentation in the foreground and minimize (but still keep tabs on) the webinar controls. I assume the platform would present most of the same snags we hit with GoToWebinar.

Webex
www.webex.com
$69/mo, $59/mo with prepaid year for 25 participants
Also has a 33 cents/minute/participant rate

ReadyTalk
www.readytalk.com
$49/month; $39/month with prepaid year for 15 attendees
15 cents/minute for additional attendees
Also available at 20 cents/minute as needed. Audio not included.

WebEx and ReadyTalk are probably the best-known and most popular services out there. They each feature a simple, user-friendly interface with a chat box and status settings for participants. You can upload files to share and annotate whatever is on the screen for everyone to see.

The main difference between the two is the way they handle audio. WebEx comes with integrated dial-in and VOIP audio, which you can record and play back. In ReadyTalk, the audio is not included, and there is no VOIP option; you can use and record ReadyTalk  audio conferencing for an additional fee. If you don't need to record the session, however, it's feasible to use a free outside conference line.

ReadyTalk and WebEx both do a good job of fading in to the background during a presentation. The presenter can make the PowerPoint (or whatever she is sharing) full screen, and notices will pop up when an attendee enters or leaves, or types in a question. WebEx also boasts a display with floating windows that each presenter and participant can easily customize and adjust as necessary during the presentation.

DimDim
www.dimdim.com
Free for up to 20 participants
$9.99/mo., $8.25/mo with annual subscription "Pro" version for 20 participants
$25/mo, $19/mo with annual subscription "Pro" version for up to 50 participants

While money isn't everything, it's hard to ignore a price tag that says "free." DimDim comes with a platform we found to be simple, attractive, and user-friendly. It does a good job overall of balancing ease and function -- and the free version can accommodate up to 20 participants. With a pro upgrade, you can host 20, 50, or 100 attendees - and the enterprise version takes you up to 1000. Pro and enterprise meetings are hosted on a different server, which allows a faster connection.

When you schedule a webinar, DimDim gives you the HTML code to create a widget for your site, which is a visually appealing way to collect registrations. The platform does not require special software, just a flash plug-in.

Our experience wasn't completely smooth: instructions for the use of participant codes were unclear, and we confused at least one attendee. Additionally, we had trouble dialing in to the conference call, while our participants were left alone on the line. When we finally connected, we realized that the DimDim conference bridge does not have fairly standard conference call controls, like allowing the presenter to mute participants.

But the free factor earned it a second chance, and the next meeting proceeded without a hiccup, though we used our own conference line (through freeconferencecall.com) for its added functionality. When you do this, DimDim allows you to type in your own number and access code, which then appears on the widget or invitation, as well as the conference screen, so the attendees can always find it.

The document sharing worked quite well, and comes with options for the presenter to annotate whatever is on the screen. During the presentation, attendees are allowed to chat privately or publicly, as well as answer polls or indicate they have a question. We set our PowerPoint to full screen so we could simultaneously show it on a projection screen to in-person attendees. In full screen mode, you can choose whether or not to display the chat.

In the end, we decided to stick with DimDim and our free conference line. Our decision was partially influenced by the infrequency with which we host webinars. If we needed to present more frequently, we would want a service where the participant controls could fade more completely into the background. If we decided to record our webinars, we would likely switch to a service with integrated audio. WebEx, though one of our priciest options, would best accommodate these two needs.

For more information about conducting a successful webinar, check out these excellent articles from TechSoup: 10 Steps for Planning a Successful Webinar and Tips for Conducting a Successful Webinar.