Who hasn't seen the ad on TV that shows a man at a parking lot burning his luggage, then a woman pushing her car into a ditch and a voice that says something like "tired of traveling for meetings?"; " are you sick of paying through the nose for gas and airfare?" . Looking at this commercial is like acting out my fantasies.

Frankly, traveling by air has gotten so expensive and complicated that I think it has become a big chore to go to the airport. The days of the airlines good service and "friendly skies" are long gone. Luckily other technologies are popping up that might make business travel obsolete. Where do you find these technologies? Do you need to hire a specialized techie to set them up or spend oodles of money for the software? The answer is easier than you think: the Internet.

For a minimal monthly rate, and a few clicks of the mouse, you can meet with clients, employees, prospective clients or co-workers any time you want without leaving your office. No need to install expensive software, since everything is done online. The services are so intuitive that you basically don't need any training. In fact, all you need is a computer and an Internet connection and if desired a web cam (many laptops come equipped with a built in web cam but if your computer doesn't have one, you can get it for a few dollars).

For instance several online meeting services cost less than $50 per month Their service allows you to talk into your web cam, share whatever is on your desktop which could be an online presentation, chat online and you can even give control of your desktop to another attendee.

In addition, there are several services out there that offer video conferencing and collaboration over the Internet. Most of these services are geared for small companies, since the number of attendees has a maximum of 15. If meetings need to be larger these same companies offer package upgrades. I have used the free trials myself and found that web conferencing has saved me lots of money as well as headaches at the airport.


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