DimDim, the online conferencing tool
December 16, 2009
Traveling more than 60 minutes to a potential client meeting is a real gamble. You don’t know if you’ll be losing in wasted gas or gaining with a new client. I’ve had that experience many of times driving up and down to Indianapolis or Louisville. I’m based in Bloomington, Indiana so I have that option, but I recently wanted to stop the gamble. I started looking through the options of web conferencing tools. There were only two big options about a year ago that most people heard of, Skype and GotoMeeting; but now there is a third, and; in my opinion, an even better option! The web application is called DimDim. I know it’s a very odd name, but it’s a great web application. Each user will need to download a very small program to your computer that is just there to detect compatible video and audio equipment. Once that is all installed the rest of the program is in your browser. It’s really that easy.
Why does this cut down on time? Well, no more commuting and everyone will be on time to a web conference (maybe). Let me explain in a simple ‘Top 5″…
Top 5 reasons I like DimDim:
- It’s easy to understand and clients can understand it easily
- Its Free!
- Basically nothing to install.
- Presenting a PowerPoint, document, or desktop is easy.
- There is Chat, Video, Audio, and Phone conferencing (this means the business partner on the road can call into a private number and enter the conversation.)
Thanks to DimDim I can stop traveling 60+ minutes and stay in the office and get more work done. Try it! It’s FREE! http://dimdim.com
I pushed for the use of DimDim when I worked at Cantaloupe.tv. We didn’t have a conferencing tool at the time and you can’t beat free.
I’ll caution you that as of 6 months ago the service was a little unreliable. You get what you pay for but when it comes to talking to clients and closing business it always hurts to not have something like a conferencing tool work the way it’s supposed to, even if it only happens 10% of the time.
If you want a free backup you might take a look at Zoho Meeting http://meeting.zoho.com/login.do?serviceurl=%2Fhome.do
It’s also free, but it’s a little more difficult for your clients to use.
Hey Brennan,
The Zoho meeting is a great conferencing tool and the Zoho family makes other great products, but I’m looking out for the best web app that is easiest to use and Zoho meeting can’t beat DimDim. I mean its free for up to 20 people and it has easy to use presentation tools. My clients love it and were pretty amazed by it. As far as the reliability is concerned, I’ve yet to see any problems that I wouldn’t expect from a web cam/audio conferencing tool; for example: lag, gitters, and audio cutout. Plus, sharing a web conference is as easy as making it private with username and key, or just sending an email for people to join.
Anyways, it was good to hear from a fellow Hoosier. We should grab coffee or you should head to Bloomington for a Techlunch event!
-Tim