Webinarmed / BeaconLive Blog
4+ Alternatives to PowerPoint
Posted by BeaconLive, October 19, 2011 10:16 am
4+ Alternatives to PowerPoint Let’s face it: no matter how many offices move over to Mac, Microsoft Office products are superior to all other alternatives in the market. However, occasionally we need to test our loyalties in order to reassure …
Read more »
15 Rules of Presentation Engagement
Posted by BeaconLive, October 12, 2011 11:01 am
Your presentation is not your book, your company or your service. Don’t sell when your audience is already there. They may have already paid to attend, purchased the book or use your service. They are attending your presentation to see …
Read more »
Customer Testimonial : Dee Shephard
Posted by BeaconLive, September 29, 2011 11:04 am
Customer Testimonial : Dee Shepherd, Director to CLE Programs, The Missouri Bar What was your introduction to webinars? The Missouri Bar participated in some free webinars in marketing and meeting management, and saw the potential as a delivery method to provide continuing …
Read more »
A Beacon Book Review : The Whuffie Factor
Posted by BeaconLive, September 13, 2011 1:27 pm
I came upon The Whuffie Factor almost by accident when browsing through the business section of a now defunct Borders store. The title itself nearly turned me off the purchase, (Whuffie? What? What would people think seeing me reading this …
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Customer Testimonial : Mark Alpert
Posted by BeaconLive, September 1, 2011 12:42 pm
What was your introduction to webinars? I had been participating in webinars for years prior to joining Pegasus Communications in 2009. We used webinars internally to train engineers and technicians spread across North America. Over time we expanded our webinars …
Read more »
Cubicle Life: My Cubicle Is Killing Me…Literally.
Posted by BeaconLive, August 22, 2011 7:18 pm
In the working world, there are good days and there are bad days. Some days, you are on top of your work, you are productive, and you genuinely enjoy the work you are doing. Other days, everything may seem to …
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A New BeaconLive is coming
Posted by BeaconLive, August 22, 2011 7:17 pm
With over 20 years of virtual conferencing experience, the BeaconLive team has taken the time to perfect every detail necessary for the flawless delivery of your content. Always ahead of the curve, the Beacon team imagines, invents and implements new …
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Do Your QR Codes have a built in Lifespan?
Posted by BeaconLive, August 17, 2011 7:20 pm
Recently, we created three QR Codes to use for two tradeshows that we would be attending within a two-week span. The first would be placed on a postcard to be mailed to the attendees inviting them to a networking happy …
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Cubicle Life: Turning Your Cubicle into a Hom-icle
Posted by BeaconLive, August 15, 2011 7:21 pm
If you are anything like me, you probably find that it can be work in itself to stay focused while at work. And although you may think that I am speaking about distractions, working in a dull cubicle presents the …
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41 Presentation Tips for your next Webinar
Posted by BeaconLive, August 8, 2011 7:22 pm
We’ve all seen presentations that put tears in our eyes, or just plain put us to sleep. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone could create and deliver an aesthetically pleasing, yet engaging presentation? While we don’t have the time to …
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[post_content] => 4+ Alternatives to PowerPoint
Let’s face it: no matter how many offices move over to Mac, Microsoft Office products are superior to all other alternatives in the market. However, occasionally we need to test our loyalties in order to reassure ourselves that we are using the best possible products for our tasks at hand. Today, I researched and reviewed many alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint, three of which were cloud based Apps. I was a tough one to sell, because even though I’m a Mac, I appreciate the flexibility of MS Office Products. Here’s what I found.
Apple’s iWork – Keynote – create captivating presentations easily
Desktop or Cloud Based?
Desktop. It comes in a suite of Apple’s iWork Package – an alternative to Microsoft Office suite.
Is it free?
No. It costs $79.00 for the iWork suite, and is only compatible with Macs. No trials are available, so you have to buy it and hope for the best.
Is it collaborative?
No. Like PPT, it operates from your desktop.
Is it compatible?
Yes. You can export your presentation as a PPT for those using a PC.
Does it have animation capabilities?
Yes. It has Magic Move, an automatic animation tool.
Is it intuitive?
I would say that it is as intuitive as any other Mac program. However, others might get stuck trying to figure out why the maximize key is on the left side.
Fun features.
Magic Move allows you to create spectacular presentations that don’t look ‘generically PowerPoint’. Also, you can add hyperlinks to the slides, which is a cool feature.
Drawbacks.
It’s only available to Mac users. If you're used to using PPT, you may not see the benefits of switching over to Keynote.
PCMAG.com Review
Apple's productivity suite isn't yet a replacement for Microsoft Office for the Mac, but iWork '09 offers a terrific set of programs for light word processing and medium-to-heavy spreadsheet use. And the stellar Keynote presentation app leaves the competition in the dust.
Prezi.com – The Zooming Presentation Editor
Desktop or Cloud Based?
Cloud Based App
Is it free?
It has a free component, but the two ‘for fee’ options offer more features and cloud-based space. Comparatively, the ‘for fee’ options ($59/159 yr) are relatively reasonable. However, you can certainly have fun with the free option.
Is it collaborative?
Yes. Because the program is online, you can create an account and allow others to work within the file simultaneously.
Is it compatible?
Unfortunately, it’snot. Prezi works on a large space, much like a large whiteboard or large canvas. Its smooth movements don’t allow transfer over to Powerpoint. Prezi would be great for live presentations.
Does it have animation capabilities?
Yes and no. It has vivid movement from one ‘area’ of the workspace to another, but it does not allow for moving parts within the presentation.
Is it intuitive?
They have a great tutorial that walks you through each feature of this new technology. However, it’s not something that can be easily relatable to other products, so it takes time to learn the techniques.
Fun Features.
This is definitely not PowerPoint. It looks like a simpler version of Flash, but with the audience, or presenter, having the capability to advance in the presentation as they want.
Drawbacks.
This is not a typical presentation platform that creates slides. It’s more of a software that provides the canvas for story telling.
PCMAG.com Review
Presentations like no others: an animated visual feast unlike the usual boring set of bullet points.
Google Docs Presentations
Desktop or Cloud Based?
Cloud based
Is it free?
Free to Google Doc users (essentially everyone)
Is it collaborative?
Yes. Anyone can login to the program (with access) and make adjustments.
Is it compatible?
Yes. You can save your document as a PowerPoint presentation or PDF to be viewable in PPT
Does it have animation capabilities?
No. However, there are several YouTube videos showing how they stretched the program to its limits to create something similar to animation.
Is it intuitive?
Yes. If you already know how to use PowerPoint, then you are all set. There are also a lot of tutorials online for how to use the program.
Fun Features.
Google is a widely accepted platform for working remotely and collaboratively.
Drawbacks.
Unless you spend a lot of time during the design phase, your presentation can lack the sophisticated look of PowerPoint.
About.com Review
All in all, if you want to make a simple presentation on the fly, Google Presentations might work out to be a great tool for you. For transient workers or students, it is a great way to store your work online to be accessed from any location -- as long as there is an internet connection, of course.
SlideRocket.com
Desktop or Cloud Based?
Cloud Based
Is it free?
It has a free option that works perfectly for people who just want to create presentations.
Is it collaborative?
Yes.
Is it compatible?
SlideRocket offers the ability to export presentations as PowerPoint files – assuming you can get the presentation to save.
Does it have animation capabilities?
Yes, in ways that PPT lacks.
Is it intuitive?
Yes. If you’ve used PowerPoint in the past, you just need to put in a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the location of the function features prior to jumping into the creation of your presentation.
Fun Features.
It allows you to save slides to a library, and add tags to categorize them. It has an interactive feature to include Twitter streams and more. This feature may not be useful during regular presentations, but could be fun to use.
Drawbacks.
After three separate attempts at creating slides, I wasn’t able to save them at all. This may just be an issue with the free option. Being browser based, its very slow, likely due to how robust the program is.
PCMAG.com Review
The most elegant and feature-rich cloud-based presentation software we've seen yet.
Conclusion
Will I use any of these alternatives?
I plan to look more into Prezi to use in the future for webettes and interactive presentations, but I don’t think Prezi can ever take the place of designing intuitive slideshows.
While I enjoyed the look and functionality of SlideRocket very much, I don’t think the free option is a contender for taking the place of PowerPoint while it still has so many bugs in it. Hopefully in the future, the site will be cleaned up.
I didn’t like Google Docs Presentation at all. It was boring and lacked any room for creativity. Certainly, Death by PowerPoint was not created in this program.
And finally, even though I am an avid Mac user, I didn’t like the way Keynote worked. However, like many Apple products, I’m sure that will change soon and probably become the leading competitor in presentation design.
In all, I satisfied my need to prove that I am currently using the best presentation program to fit my own needs. Pointing out new features that are not available in PowerPoint certainly got me thinking about all the possibilities that I may be missing. However, I have yet to find one program that can accommodate all of the features seamlessly.
Want more alternatives? Check out these websites that provide more reviews on alternatives to PowerPoint.
http://mashable.com/2008/02/16/forget-powerpoint-online-presentations/
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/219882/powerpoint_alternatives_presentationtool_showdown.html
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html
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- Your presentation is not your book, your company or your service. Don’t sell when your audience is already there. They may have already paid to attend, purchased the book or use your service. They are attending your presentation to see what else you have to offer. Provide them with an experience that they can’t receive elsewhere (like by reading your book or using your service).
- Display your statistics carefully. Always keep in mind; if you are presenting complicated statistics, then you’re already familiar with the study. If you feel it’s important enough to present the content to your audience, then they likely don’t already know the details of the study. Also, save complicated statistics for follow up emails so the audience can look them over and study them as they need to.
- Using a webcam emphasizes the human aspect of your content. When presenting, look into the camera as if you were looking into the audience. This will allow the audience to feel engaged with what you are saying.
- Talk to your audience, not at them. When you read from a script, your voice will sound monotone, without the natural inflections that occur during a conversation. Speaking in a conversational tone allows the audience to participate mentally rather than zoning out.
- Don’t make your audience wait for the promised content. The Webinar Blogger, Ken Molay, has a great blog discussing why you should Just Start Already.
- Don’t use the inverted pyramid style of writing for your presentation. This is designed to provide all the pertinent information up front, with the idea that the audience will drop off before the conclusion. On the flip side, don’t wait to give a grand finale. Dispense your main points throughout the presentation so your audience wont checking their Facebook while you discuss the bulk of your materials.
- Provide a roadmap for your presentation prior to beginning. This allows the audience to grasp your though process and know what to expect ahead of them.
- Provide your audience with worksheets or a copy of the PPT slidedeck prior to the presentation so they can take notes or follow along.
- Provide a Q+A session following your presentation (and be sure to leave time for it). This allows your audience to actually engage with you and their fellow audience members on subjects that may not have been covered or that they need clarification on. Also, keep in mind; you may need to supply your moderator with a question to get the questions rolling.
- Create a #Hashtag for the presentation, and let your audience know about it prior to the event so they can chat with fellow audience members. Allow them to engage with each other, after all, they share of common interest.
- Ask your audience what topics they want you to focus on during the registration process. The tailor your presentation to what they want to learn about.
- Utilize Polling and Survey tools to ask questions to the whole audience, and share the results. Having them preform an action keeps them on the same page as you.
- Use multiple presenters to give the audience a new voce to listen to. Show a video clip or play a sound clip to grasp your audiences sensory. Studies show that a persons attention wanders when your comfortable with the sound. Introducing a new sound will at the least, peek an interest.
- Ask your audience to create a mental picture, or give them a task that requires thinking outside of memorizing what you are saying.
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Customer Testimonial : Dee Shepherd, Director to CLE Programs,
The Missouri Bar
What was your introduction to webinars?
The Missouri Bar participated in some free webinars in marketing and meeting management, and saw the potential as a delivery method to provide continuing legal education (CLE) content to our members. We particularly liked the format and ease of attendance.
What solution were you seeking when you decided to do your first webinar? We present CLE content with a large number of volunteer speakers who have a minimal amount of time to train on the webinar platform. These speakers also have varying degrees of familiarity with technology, so the system had to be simple to use, but capable of producing the high-quality content our attendees have come to expect.
Why did you choose BeaconLive?
We tried several different web platforms, but found that our attendees and presenters needed access that didn't require downloading and installing software. BeaconLive's one-screen login access eliminated many calls to tech support or the helpdesk. Even the least "techie" of our program attendees can easily access our programs.
What features or services do you like most that BeaconLive offers?
Our event producer has been our most valuable partner. Since each webinar is different - different content and different speakers, we depend upon the guidance and competent assistance our producer provides throughout the entire program. Our producer introduces the program, calms the jitters of nervous presenters, and makes the program run smoothly on time - each and every time. In the rare event of a problem, we have received immediate response and quick resolution. We find that our attendees also enjoy the survey/polling feature, which makes our webinars more audience interactive.
What has your attendee feedback been like?
Those who log into our webinars have been very pleased with the seamless delivery and the ease of access to the programming. Our goal is to present content in a manner that saves the attendee both time and money, while producing quality, cost-efficient CLE programming. With BeaconLive, this has been possible.
What are the most important things that companies should consider when deciding on a webinar vendor?
Flexibility. Our needs are very specific - from content that can easily be accessed, to capturing specific information from each attendee at the point of contact - we value BeaconLive's ability to meet those needs. BeaconLive has also strived to present us with emerging technologies to suit our future needs.
Is there anything you would like to add?
Overall, we have been pleased with the service we've received - and the responsiveness of the BeaconLive team. We have found the platform to be extremely user-friendly, for both our faculty and our members, and it has made producing our webinars surprisingly effortless.
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[post_content] => I came upon
The Whuffie Factor almost by accident when browsing through the business section of a now defunct Borders store. The title itself nearly turned me off the purchase, (
Whuffie? What? What would people think seeing me reading this on the train?!), but hey, it was a book on Social Networking discounted down to $3. I figured if I took one useful fact from this book, I would more than make my money back, so I can manage to read a crazy titled book. Throughout each chapter I quickly realized that I was reading a
Social Marketing Gem. I was learning new marketing ideas that were not only pertinent to my job, but to all the small business owners who regularly ask me for marketing advice (in fact, I Amazon’d the book to two friends who own small businesses with a demanding ‘Must Read’ note).

I feel I must first introduce
Whuffie, to get beyond the blockade that likely stands between a person in need and a person who has major whuffie (
Not that any of you would judge a book by its cover, or title). Whuffie is merely your reputation, your currency and your personal bankability in the business and social media world. A name which takes its roots from science fiction theory (read more about that
here), is a little less silly, as it is to say it (
Hey, Google, Yahoo and Twitter once sounded weird before becoming a part of our everyday vocabulary). We all live on our reputation. When we offer advice at a tradeshow, it is our Whuffie that allows our conversation participant to determine our value and credibility. When we sell a service, its our word that determines our worth.
Besides the extremely useful social marketing tips taken from this book, I also found myself engrossed in the case studies weaved throughout the chapters which describe the challenges that companies faced and how they found solutions by using various social networking tools. The case studies are truly what motivate the reader, and marketer, to search for innovative ways (as well as implementing blaringly obvious ones) to look at their customers and decide how to
engage them rather than speak
at them and hope for the best. It’s a rather obvious technique that we already instinctively know, but many of us ignore, as we continually don’t find our customers accepting our social proposal of engagement.
The Whuffie Factor takes on the subject well, offering varying suggestions to reattempt the conversation.
In this book, you will learn the correct ways of joining the social community that your customers are in, ways to create amazing customer experience (through trial and error examples), and ways to market your product or service in an arena where people seek what you have to say. The whole book is extremely readable – just be prepared with a notepad for taking notes.
While most marketing books are old news by the time they are published,
The Whuffie Factor does an excellent job of staying relevant by offering more than a description of social networking sites, but teaches us how to engage with our customers through a standard social media medium.
The Whuffie Factor was published in 2009 (3 years ago!) in a fast moving industry where if you aren’t the biggest thing, you hardly deem to exist, but still manages to be a reliable source for how to use social media effectively for your business (just ignore the section where they introduce that new micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140
characters- you already know that part). I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in using social media for their business, small or large, but needs to know where to start. This book is also a great read for all the
social media experts out there who assume they know how to engage their customers, because, its can’t hurt to learn a little bit more.

Update: While I did purchase
The Whuffie Factor at Borders, the two copies that I purchased for my small business owner friends were titled
The Power of Social Networking: Using the Whuffie Factor to Build your Business. It seems, I wasn’t the only one potentially scared off by the Whuffie title, as the second editions name was changed.
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What was your introduction to webinars?
I had been participating in webinars for years prior to joining
Pegasus Communications in 2009. We used webinars internally to train engineers and technicians spread across North America. Over time we expanded our webinars to include customers as well. Pegasus is in the business of helping individuals and organizations thrive in an increasingly complex world through the tools and principles of systems thinking and organizational learning. Our resources are used in many different training settings. Conducting our own webinars seemed like a natural extension of our portfolio. It was also clear the trend towards online learning was taking off.
What solution were you seeking when you decided to do your first webinar?
Once we agreed to pursue webinars, we wanted to move pretty fast and wanted a turnkey solution. We have limited resources and wanted to focus internally on content. We did not want to spread ourselves too thin by having to develop the expertise in delivering the webinars as well. We knew there were lots of companies out there with much higher competency in this area then us.
Why did you choose BeaconLive?
We evaluated several suppliers and Beacon took a consultative, educational approach right from the start. They appreciated the size of our company and listened to what we wanted to create. They demonstrated a real desire to partner with us and a
commitment to ensure the highest level of quality for our webinar attendees.
What features or services do you like most that BeaconLive offers?
Definitely having a dedicated event producer; we work closely together on all things related to our webinars. Their ability to handle all aspects of the delivery process, having a Beacon representative available to help familiarize a new presenter with the web platform and being online during the live event to handle any technical issues that may arise. We are in the process of launching a service that will allow streaming access to
our entire library of recorded webinars on-demand via Beacon's Media Hub.
What has your attendee feedback been like?
Very positive. We are happy to see so many repeat participants. We conduct a feedback survey after each webinar; the
registration process, log in and the overall quality of the live event consistently receive the highest satisfaction ratings.
What are the most important things that companies should consider when deciding on a webinar vendor?
It's all about the partnership. Working together to deliver great content and a great customer learning experience. If your provider is not willing to listen, understand your needs and be willing to react to them, it will come across that way online. Your customers have high expectations and you have one chance to get it right the first time; if you flop, they won't return.
Is there anything you would like to add?
Webinar technology is moving fast. The ability to convene and interact online has become very sophisticated and new capabilities are being introduced every day. We count on Beacon to remain on the cutting edge of technology. It's the only way we can keep up with the changing needs of our presenters and participants.
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[post_content] =>

In the working world, there are good days and there are bad days. Some days, you are on top of your work, you are productive, and you genuinely enjoy the work you are doing. Other days, everything may seem to be going wrong and you can’t seem to find any joy in your work. You roll out of bed 20 minutes behind your normal morning schedule, you hit an hour of traffic during your commute to work, and your local Starbucks somehow runs out of espresso for your morning latte. At this point, the last place you want to spend the next 8 hours of your day is confined within a 6’x6’ box.

However, what you may not realize is that you are 100% justified in this desire. Though you may begin to protest that you feel as though your cubicle is draining the mere life out of you, there is some grain of truth to your complaints. Sufficient research has been conducted to reveal a correlation between your life span and the effect your cubicle is taking on your livelihood – specifically, sitting is a lot worse for you than you may think. According to
a recent Infographic posted by Mashable.com, sitting at a desk all day can actually increase your risk for cardiovascular diseases and other fatal conditions. With this recent research, it’s no wonder why employees in these positions are pushing to implement standing desks in their workplace. Although standing is not as comfortable than sitting, it may just save your life.
Though you may have already given your cubicle a facelift after reading the first installment in this series, those changes won’t necessarily get you out of your chair and onto your feet. To combat against sitting-related health concerns, here are some tips for those cube dwellers who feel restless and restricted in their small work areas. And even though these suggestions may seem trivial, remember: your life (and productivity) may depend on them!
Even in the most hectic times at work, there is always time to move around. If your body is tired, your mind must be tired too. Staring at a computer screen all day will inevitably cause your mind to run off track and turn your brain to mush. If you’re feeling as though projects and ideas are running together, you owe it to your mind and your body to take a quick break because:
- Sitting all day places immense stress and pressure on your back and joints
- Electrical activity in other muscles shut down completely
- Calorie burning drops to a rate of 1 per minute
While your body’s energy slowly decreases, so can brain activity and alertness. To fight these sitting side effects, you must engage your mind and your body. Get up and stretch. Take a walk to the kitchen for a fresh cup of coffee or a cold beverage. Start a quick conversation with a coworker a few cubicles down from yours. Do whatever you need to do to create an excuse to be active for a few minutes, recharge your batteries, and then get back to work.

Do you have stairs in your building? Although the elevator can seem particularly convenient when you stroll into work 20 minutes late, the small bit of exercise you get from walking up a few flights of stairs can be the boost your body needs to wake up in the morning (and also, to stay awake throughout the day). Now, I am not preaching for everyone to completely denounce the use of elevators. I understand that someone who works on the 60
th floor of the John Hancock Tower is undeniably going to be a little apprehensive to take the stairs every morning. However, if you are someone who works in a small office space with only 5 floors, taking the stairs will give you that extra bit of exercise each day to help combat the effects of a “sitting” job.
If you do work in a fancy, 30+-story office building in the heart of Boston, there are other ways to keep your body active. Remember, emailing is not the only form of communication in the workplace. While it may seem convenient to send a colleague an email about a project you are working on, there may be times where a quick trip down the hall can be a more efficient use of your time and can also be beneficial to your health. If it is a simple question or a quick thought (something that doesn’t need to be recorded into an email for future recollection), take a walk and ask that person verbally. The trip will exercise your body and stimulate your muscles, and the human interaction will awaken your mind and increase alertness. Once you return to your desk, you can approach your work again with a refreshed body and mind.

You would never think that your body and muscle movement play such an important role in workplace productivity. Engaging your whole body will effectively engage your mind, allowing you to stay invested in your work and generate better quality thoughts throughout the day. Also remember that cubicle décor can also affect your work ethic in a positive way – check out the first blog in this series, “Turning Your Cubicle Into A Home-icle,” and send us your before-and-after photos. Check up on our Twitter page to see other readers’ ideas as well as the improvements the BeaconLive team has made to their cubes (coming soon!).
[post_title] => Cubicle Life: My Cubicle Is Killing Me…Literally.
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With over 20 years of virtual conferencing experience, the BeaconLive team has taken the time to perfect every detail necessary for the flawless delivery of your content. Always ahead of the curve, the Beacon team imagines, invents and implements new ways to streamline the delivery process. In the next chapter of BeaconLive, we are concentrating our efforts on building original services into BeaconLiveWEB for the Continuing Education Industries to
test and verify their content delivery to their audience.
Behind the closed doors of BeaconLive, the engineers work hard to develop original services to suit our customer and industry needs. While they stick to the developing chamber, we’d like to give you a quick glimpse at what goes on in
front of those closed doors. Better than most, we know that webinars are a modern technology that many of our customers couldn’t imagine not having at their fingertips. To coincide with the contemporary technology that BeaconLive provides, we recognize that our appearance needs to step into the twenty-teens. While our customers might remain loyal to our extensive portfolio of services regardless of the aestheticism of our website, we realize that our old branding might not accurately represent our position as a leader in content delivery and may not grab the full attention of both current and prospective clients. A new look and feel is necessary. However, the reason for the rebranding is not only to compete with the larger webinar vendors for the consideration of future prospects, but also to convert Beaconlive.com into an online events resource center for anyone interested in hosting webinars, webcasts or discovering tips and trends in promoting their online events.
For the last six months, the whole Beacon Team has provided feedback on how they believe BeaconLive should be represented. Modern and clean to match our streamlined web room. Simplistic and intuitive for those who visit us from their smartphones. Trendy and informative for those looking for a place to find marketing tips. We provided all of these synonyms and ideas to our web designers and held our breath while they worked their magic with our important content. Thousands of emails, logo revisions, and page edits later, we all finally agreed on a look that would represent BeaconLive’s future, while holding onto an image that brought us to where we currently stand in the industry. We’re all
very excited to launch the new BeaconLive.com, but we have a few more minor tweaks, tests and tweets to complete before the new branding goes live.
While most of the content on our site will be immediately available on the new BeaconLive.com, we ask for your patience while we continue to edit and tweak the new site to perfection over the next few weeks. Please check back often to find the new gems that we will be launching along with the newly branded site.
Follow along with as we launch the new BeaconLive Brand. Follow us on
Twitter or watch for our hashtag
#BeaconReloaded to continually find more new stuff with BeaconLive.
[post_title] => A New BeaconLive is coming
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Recently, we created three QR Codes to use for two tradeshows that we would be attending within a two-week span. The first would be placed on a postcard to be mailed to the attendees inviting them to a networking happy hour. The second code would placed on signage in the booth that, when scanned, would direct the attendee to a landing page that collected their info to be entered into a raffle. The last code would go into an email newsletter to direct the scanner to a different raffle for a different conference.
Here’s what we learned…
1. Its easy to get those things mixed up! Make sure each landing page is different for each QR Code. Even if YOU take the time to read the title of the page, the person scanning may not, resulting in them not entering their name the second time.
2. Sure, we’re marketing enthusiasts, and we like to stay on top of the latest trends. When we first saw QR codes, we quickly downloaded the app and scanned everything in sight, making mental lists of every possible location to place a code. But again, we’re marketers and that’s our job. At the first conference we attended with our QR codes, we were surrounded by extremely intelligent people, but they spend more time concentrating on their own professional content than what’s new in the marketing industry. Many of them didn’t know what a QR code was, didn’t have the Reader App, or didn’t even have a smart phone to scan the code. Luckily, we came prepared with our own smart phones-each of the marketing team members scanned and scanned away at the same QR code, and passed our phones over to the attendee to submit their contact info (the attendees ate up this new trend, and thanked us for teaching them to use it). This quick fix allotted us more time with the conference attendee, and also placed us as marketing
experts in their minds because we taught them something new, useful and intriguing. Now, each time they see the code on their credit card bill, at the grocery store or in the newspaper, they will think of us as the ones who introduced the trend in their minds.
3. Once that raffle was over, the QR code (and its signage) was ready to be buried in a marketing cemetery. It doesn’t matter that the cost to design and print the signage was significant for an eight-hour event, the destination of the QR code was branded with the raffle information for that particular conference. Although successful in its prime, that QR code has since been buried 6 feet under. In the future, we might use a generic URL, allowing us to change the landing page content, and repurposing the QR code (and signage).
4. We directed each landing page submission for the raffle and happy hour event to our emails, and quickly developed a spreadsheet with the information. However, it quickly became noticeable that these submissions could be mixed up when simultaneously used. (Luckily for us, we had yet to send the email with the third code for the upcoming event, and waited until the current event was over. Too many similar campaigns could cause overload). A happy little accident that we fell upon, without having to face the possible consequences. We learned, while QR codes are a great way to get peoples attention, we should prepare for all possible results.
5. QR codes are a great way to cut down on printing costs. At one conference, an attendee grabbed one of each of our flyers and mentioned that she would scan them and email them to her coworkers. A bell went off in our heads, why not place a QR code on the flyers, and allow the customers to scan them rather than carrying around paperwork. But then what do they do with them? Read the content over their phones? QR codes are made for quickly accessing information while on the move, not for carrying around a lot of content. We suggest placing the QR codes on the marketing flyers, and directing the scanner to a landing pace where they can select which flyers they would like to have emailed to them. This way, they will have the marketing information when they return to their desks, rather than stuck on their phones.
6. We included a QR code for the raffle in our newsletter to the conference attendees, allowing them the opportunity to scan early and enter multiple times. In addition to the code, we provided a link to where the email recipient could download the link to the QR reader application. Of the 64% open rate, 30% of the newsletter recipients clicked on the link to get the app. When using a QR code, get familiar with the best reader apps for smart phones to inform your scanner of which App to download.
7. QR overload IS possible. I recently wrote a blog suggesting ways to use QR codes in your own marketing efforts, but just because there is a way to utilize them, doesn’t mean you should. While at the conference, I suggested to a Mobile App exhibitor to place a QR code on his shirt for the next tradeshow he attends (without a booth). A mobile App company is the perfect example of who could get away with the QR code on their shirts, and gain a lot of attention without appearing gimmicky . However, I wouldn’t recommend printing QR shirts for all companies. Keep in mind who your audience is. If your customers already require a (smart) mobile phone for your product or service, this could be a great way for them access your website. If a cellphone has little to nothing to do with what your company provides, a QR code on a shirt (or in your ads) likely wouldn’t be as effective.
8. While having a smart phone is crucial to scanning a QR code, there are other requirements to consider as well. Be sure that you will have internet access and cell service where you will be placing your code. Try testing the code with blackberry, android and Iphones. Un-scanable codes could mean a missed marketing opportunity.
While each of the QR codes were scanned or clicked a combined total of 300 times, we found different results for each placement of the code. The code on the postcard inviting the attendees to a happy hour received the fewest scans. This, we believe was likely because the audience it was sent to knew little about QR codes, and lacked the code reader on their phone. We also found that the potential scanners were apprehensive about providing their email addresses to potential spammers. However, we found that the attendees who DID scan the code to be very enthusiastic about us using QR codes in our marketing (and for the happy hour).
The second code that was placed next to our booth at the conference, and gained a lot of scans/entries into our raffle, but was greatly successful due to the persuasion of our marketing staff influencing the attendee to scan. This was useful because in the small area, if two people were surrounding the easel with the code, it drew attention of the other attendees. In the end, this was the most successful QR code that we used because it came with a person to introduce the code to the scanner while describe the benefits. We found that the attendee essentially needed their hand held for their first scan.
The final QR code was used in the newsletter to an upcoming conference allowing the attendee to scan early to enter the raffle. We included a link for the attendee to download the QR reader on their smart phone, but didn’t see a large number of them returning to scan the code after clicking the QR reader link. While we had a lot of entries into our raffle, we only had two people at the conference mention that they read the previous email containing the code. Perhaps, placing a QR code in an email newsletter is an extra (unnecessary) step when clicking a link would do the same thing.
So, while we’re all getting comfortable with this latest marketing trend, we should keep in mind that not all possible locations to place a QR code are good locations. Be smart with where and how you use your codes. Always consider the possibilities of people not having a smart phone, or how you will track multiple campaigns. Also, unless you want to spend a lot of money on signage, consider the ways to repurpose your landing page in order to reuse the same code. Best of Luck in the QR world!!

Scan me! You don’t know what you’re missing..
How are you using QR Codes in your marketing efforts?
[post_title] => Do Your QR Codes have a built in Lifespan?
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If you are anything like me, you probably find that it can be work in itself to stay focused while at work. And although you may think that I am speaking about distractions, working in a dull cubicle presents the opposite problem: a lack of visual stimulation. Frequent office cubicle dwellers can agree that the plain, uninviting walls that surround them every day do not aid in keeping you alert and engaged in your work. Although those 5-Hour Energy commercials are insufferably annoying, there does come that point in the day where your eyes become heavy and you struggle to keep your head from nodding back. While your only hope at this point may be an espresso shot (or ten) from your local coffee shop, creating a livelier work environment might just be the cure for that inevitable midday slump.
Cubicles are not the most attractive workstations, but still 70% of all office employees work within the confines of an office cubicle. As an intern who has held two job positions in the last 12 months, I can assure you that this statistic is accurate, if not understated. They are utilized because they are cheap, economical, and standardized to fit any office space effectively. Therefore, they tend to be very dull, plain, and boring. Often, they stay this way because their dwellers are either not interested in sprucing them up or do not have the time to put forth the effort. Cubicles are the way of the business world, and only a generous promotion will free you from their relentless grasp. Ok, maybe it’s not that extreme. Odds are, though, that you will experience “cube life” at some point in your career and it can be very beneficial to give your workspace a personality. Once you have given your cube a facelift, it becomes a place where you can bear to spend 8+ hours of your day.
Here are a few ways to conquer cubicle humdrummery and create a work environment that promotes productivity and focus. If you do it right, you may even look forward to sitting in your cube each day!

One of the easiest ways to introduce some vitality to your cube would be to bring pictures of family and friends to spread around your desk and walls. For one, it is a refreshing image for your eyes to glance at throughout the day – seeing the smiling faces of your loved ones can serve as an instant pick-me-up during rough workdays. Also, these pictures can offer you an opportunity to speak more personally with your coworkers about the people who matter to you. And don’t forget: pets are family too!
Another way to introduce color into your cube is posters. Dedicate a section of your cube for posters of your favorite bands, actors/actresses, movies, shows and hobbies. Your eyes will engage in the various images and colors plastered across this “inspiration wall” and will keep you alert and attentive in your work. And again, showcasing your interests with posters will show your coworkers the type of person you are and what you invest your time in outside of work. Remember, though, to keep them safe for work!
There are some decorative items that can also serve a function. For instance, corkboards make great additions to any cube. You can pin up important tasks and responsibilities to be completed through the week, but you can also get a little more creative with them as well. Funny and colorful pushpins can really brighten up your workspace and make for a more comfortable, relaxing work setting. You can also use them to hang other visuals, such as postcards and small trinkets that tell stories about the life you lead outside of your work environment. Other utilitarian decorations could include whiteboards, amusing calendars and colorful office supplies like sticky notes and pens.
Lastly, there is one final category of decorations that will help you stay alert and productive throughout your stay in an office cubicle: desk gadgets. Though some individuals may suffer from a severe lack of organization (don’t worry, that will be discussed in detail in blogs to come), adding fun toys to your cubicle’s desk is not a step in the wrong direction. Whether it is a pet rock, a miniature waterfall or aquarium, a desk plant, a themed clock, or even your favorite bobble head, desk accessories will round out your cube’s personality and aid in distracting your mind the necessary amount throughout your workweek.

Visual stimulation is the key to success for any cubicle inhabitant. Although their walls are high in an attempt to stifled all outside distractions so that you can remain focused on your work, these distractions can actually be beneficial to your focus and productivity. Sitting at a desk for hours at a time, no matter how many espresso shots you’ve had, can make your body complacent and will often make you feel drowsy. Therefore, you will be doing yourself a great service by incorporating brightly colored posters, pictures and gadgets within your cube space. They will serve as that afternoon energy boost to keep you comfortable, relaxed and willing to do the day’s work. Like I’ve said, cubicles are not the most attractive workstations. However, that is not to say that they
can’t be – experiment with it, and you will find that cube life ain’t all that bad.

BeaconLive challenges you to show us what you can do. Take some pictures of your cubicle as it is today, then give it a makeover – send your before-and-after pictures to
patrick@beaconlive.com and we may showcase your photos on our Twitter or Webinarmed blog! Feel free to incorporate your own ideas and designs as well.
[post_title] => Cubicle Life: Turning Your Cubicle into a Hom-icle
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[post_content] => We’ve all seen presentations that put tears in our eyes, or just plain put us to sleep. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone could create and deliver an aesthetically pleasing, yet engaging presentation? While we don’t have the time to teach each presenter the techniques that Steve Jobs or Barak Obama employ as expert speakers, we can provide you with a few techniques to prepare, design and deliver your presentation – and hopefully not put your audience to sleep. As a bonus, we’ll also give you a few
reminders of what kills a presentation (absolute snoozers and confusers).
Preparation
- Know who your audience is, and talk to them using their language. Exclude tech/industry talk and use laymen’s terms.
- Practice makes perfect. Over rehearsing makes it boring. Find a happy medium for you.
- Don’t read from your power points or ‘script’ your presentation. Your audience members can read faster than you can talk, so if you place all of your presentation in the power points, what’s the point in having you there?
- Ask yourself why your audience needs to know what you’re presenting. Likely, if they are watching you present, then they believe you have information they want to know. Use their (and your) time wisely.
- Start with the end in mind. Outlining your content before writing a script helps you edit information and keep within the boundaries of your presentation.
- Make sure the structure of your content delivery makes sense. Do the subjects flow nicely into each other? Creating an outline for this helps.
- Arrive early for the presentation. Get comfortable with your surroundings, whether it be in a boardroom or a webroom.
- Practice your intro and closing. A strong first impression and closing remark are what the attendees will remember most.
- Run through your presentation with a timer to make sure you are staying within the allotted time.
Design
- Use 4 bullets with 6 words each, or 6 bullets with 4 words each. Use key words for the power points. Too much information is not engaging.
- Use Photos. A picture says 1000 words, and it breaks up mundane bulleted power points.
- Stay within a single design theme. Don’t use 100 colors and fonts.
- Keep it simple.
- Consider making your presentation available for the audience, so they can focus on what you are saying rather than writing down notes.
- Use simple charts.
- Use audio/visual to break up talking and power points
- Create a slide template for your presentation
- Font size must be large enough to be easily read. Size 28 to 34 with a bold font is recommended.
- Don’t use a standard PowerPoint template
- Here are some great presentations on designing effective and Killer Presentations.
Delivery
- Engage your audience. Ask them questions. Take polls (whether by asking them to raise their hands or through a webinar).
- Don’t put too much info into the presentation. You can offer links or emails of where they can seek further information.
- Change your slides often. I recommend once per minute to keep the audiences attention.
- Prepare questions for the end of the presentation incase your audience doesn’t have any.
- Don’t be too salesy, we see enough commercials to know when to tune out a sales-pitch. Teach your audience something.
- The presentation is about your audience, not you. Provide the information that you told them you would inform them of.
- Speak at a conversational pace. Too slow will bore the audience, too fast will lose the audience
- Tell a story with your content. This allows your audience to easily follow along with you.
- Be confident. You know your subject matter, that’s why you are presenting it to someone else.
- If this is a live seminar, move around. Walk as your talking. This not only shows that you are laidback, but that you are confident in your knowledge of the presentation. It also allows you to engage with your audience.
- Try to deliver your presentation with passion and enthusiasm. It will help the audience to feel enthusiastic about the content as well.
- SMILE! Even if you are delivering a webinar, your audience can hear your smile.
Presentation Killers (the snoozers and confusers)
- Complicated presentations. Are you trying to provide your audience with ALL of your expert knowledge in a short amount of time? Why not narrow down that topic to just share the highlights.
- Photoshop is fun, but just because you have it, doesn’t mean you should go crazy with fancy backgrounds. The presentation is not about aesthetics, but about the your content. Delivery it cleanly and smartly.
- Does your audience need glasses? Regardless of if you are presenting to a room of people, or in a webinar web-room, you should stick to font between no less than 30pt .
- You have an audience, now sell sell sell! Wait, don’t!! We’ve all been trained to ignore commercials and advertisements since we were 5-years old. Find a unique was to sell you product or service during your presentation.
- Animation is neat, but you’re not showing a cartoon. Stick to the content, and let the audience seek their entertainment later.
What tips do you have when preparing, designing or delivering a presentation?
Want more info? Here are some great blogs I found on the subject.
[post_title] => 41 Presentation Tips for your next Webinar
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4+ Alternatives to PowerPoint
Let’s face it: no matter how many offices move over to Mac, Microsoft Office products are superior to all other alternatives in the market. However, occasionally we need to test our loyalties in order to reassure ourselves that we are using the best possible products for our tasks at hand. Today, I researched and reviewed many alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint, three of which were cloud based Apps. I was a tough one to sell, because even though I’m a Mac, I appreciate the flexibility of MS Office Products. Here’s what I found.
Apple’s iWork – Keynote – create captivating presentations easily
Desktop or Cloud Based?
Desktop. It comes in a suite of Apple’s iWork Package – an alternative to Microsoft Office suite.
Is it free?
No. It costs $79.00 for the iWork suite, and is only compatible with Macs. No trials are available, so you have to buy it and hope for the best.
Is it collaborative?
No. Like PPT, it operates from your desktop.
Is it compatible?
Yes. You can export your presentation as a PPT for those using a PC.
Does it have animation capabilities?
Yes. It has Magic Move, an automatic animation tool.
Is it intuitive?
I would say that it is as intuitive as any other Mac program. However, others might get stuck trying to figure out why the maximize key is on the left side.
Fun features.
Magic Move allows you to create spectacular presentations that don’t look ‘generically PowerPoint’. Also, you can add hyperlinks to the slides, which is a cool feature.
Drawbacks.
It’s only available to Mac users. If you're used to using PPT, you may not see the benefits of switching over to Keynote.
PCMAG.com Review
Apple's productivity suite isn't yet a replacement for Microsoft Office for the Mac, but iWork '09 offers a terrific set of programs for light word processing and medium-to-heavy spreadsheet use. And the stellar Keynote presentation app leaves the competition in the dust.
Prezi.com – The Zooming Presentation Editor
Desktop or Cloud Based?
Cloud Based App
Is it free?
It has a free component, but the two ‘for fee’ options offer more features and cloud-based space. Comparatively, the ‘for fee’ options ($59/159 yr) are relatively reasonable. However, you can certainly have fun with the free option.
Is it collaborative?
Yes. Because the program is online, you can create an account and allow others to work within the file simultaneously.
Is it compatible?
Unfortunately, it’snot. Prezi works on a large space, much like a large whiteboard or large canvas. Its smooth movements don’t allow transfer over to Powerpoint. Prezi would be great for live presentations.
Does it have animation capabilities?
Yes and no. It has vivid movement from one ‘area’ of the workspace to another, but it does not allow for moving parts within the presentation.
Is it intuitive?
They have a great tutorial that walks you through each feature of this new technology. However, it’s not something that can be easily relatable to other products, so it takes time to learn the techniques.
Fun Features.
This is definitely not PowerPoint. It looks like a simpler version of Flash, but with the audience, or presenter, having the capability to advance in the presentation as they want.
Drawbacks.
This is not a typical presentation platform that creates slides. It’s more of a software that provides the canvas for story telling.
PCMAG.com Review
Presentations like no others: an animated visual feast unlike the usual boring set of bullet points.
Google Docs Presentations
Desktop or Cloud Based?
Cloud based
Is it free?
Free to Google Doc users (essentially everyone)
Is it collaborative?
Yes. Anyone can login to the program (with access) and make adjustments.
Is it compatible?
Yes. You can save your document as a PowerPoint presentation or PDF to be viewable in PPT
Does it have animation capabilities?
No. However, there are several YouTube videos showing how they stretched the program to its limits to create something similar to animation.
Is it intuitive?
Yes. If you already know how to use PowerPoint, then you are all set. There are also a lot of tutorials online for how to use the program.
Fun Features.
Google is a widely accepted platform for working remotely and collaboratively.
Drawbacks.
Unless you spend a lot of time during the design phase, your presentation can lack the sophisticated look of PowerPoint.
About.com Review
All in all, if you want to make a simple presentation on the fly, Google Presentations might work out to be a great tool for you. For transient workers or students, it is a great way to store your work online to be accessed from any location -- as long as there is an internet connection, of course.
SlideRocket.com
Desktop or Cloud Based?
Cloud Based
Is it free?
It has a free option that works perfectly for people who just want to create presentations.
Is it collaborative?
Yes.
Is it compatible?
SlideRocket offers the ability to export presentations as PowerPoint files – assuming you can get the presentation to save.
Does it have animation capabilities?
Yes, in ways that PPT lacks.
Is it intuitive?
Yes. If you’ve used PowerPoint in the past, you just need to put in a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the location of the function features prior to jumping into the creation of your presentation.
Fun Features.
It allows you to save slides to a library, and add tags to categorize them. It has an interactive feature to include Twitter streams and more. This feature may not be useful during regular presentations, but could be fun to use.
Drawbacks.
After three separate attempts at creating slides, I wasn’t able to save them at all. This may just be an issue with the free option. Being browser based, its very slow, likely due to how robust the program is.
PCMAG.com Review
The most elegant and feature-rich cloud-based presentation software we've seen yet.
Conclusion
Will I use any of these alternatives?
I plan to look more into Prezi to use in the future for webettes and interactive presentations, but I don’t think Prezi can ever take the place of designing intuitive slideshows.
While I enjoyed the look and functionality of SlideRocket very much, I don’t think the free option is a contender for taking the place of PowerPoint while it still has so many bugs in it. Hopefully in the future, the site will be cleaned up.
I didn’t like Google Docs Presentation at all. It was boring and lacked any room for creativity. Certainly, Death by PowerPoint was not created in this program.
And finally, even though I am an avid Mac user, I didn’t like the way Keynote worked. However, like many Apple products, I’m sure that will change soon and probably become the leading competitor in presentation design.
In all, I satisfied my need to prove that I am currently using the best presentation program to fit
my own needs. Pointing out new features that are not available in PowerPoint certainly got me thinking about all the possibilities that I may be missing. However, I have yet to find one program that can accommodate all of the features seamlessly.
Want more alternatives? Check out these websites that provide more reviews on alternatives to PowerPoint.
http://mashable.com/2008/02/16/forget-powerpoint-online-presentations/
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/219882/powerpoint_alternatives_presentationtool_showdown.html
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html
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