<s>
Web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
is	O
used	O
as	O
an	O
umbrella	O
term	O
for	O
various	O
types	O
of	O
online	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
and	O
collaborative	O
services	O
including	O
webinars	B-Protocol
(	O
web	O
seminars	O
)	O
,	O
webcasts	O
,	O
and	O
web	B-Protocol
meetings	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sometimes	O
it	O
may	O
be	O
used	O
also	O
in	O
the	O
more	O
narrow	O
sense	O
of	O
the	O
peer-level	O
web	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
context	O
,	O
in	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
disambiguate	O
it	O
from	O
the	O
other	O
types	O
known	O
as	O
collaborative	O
sessions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
terminology	O
related	O
to	O
these	O
technologies	O
is	O
exact	O
and	O
agreed	O
relying	O
on	O
the	O
standards	O
for	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
but	O
specific	O
organizations	O
practices	O
in	O
usage	O
exist	O
to	O
provide	O
also	O
term	O
usage	O
reference	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
general	O
,	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
is	O
made	O
possible	O
by	O
Internet	B-Protocol
technologies	I-Protocol
,	O
particularly	O
on	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Services	O
may	O
allow	O
real-time	O
point-to-point	B-Architecture
communications	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
multicast	O
communications	O
from	O
one	O
sender	O
to	O
many	O
receivers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
offers	O
data	O
streams	O
of	O
text-based	B-Application
messages	O
,	O
voice	O
and	O
video	B-Application
chat	I-Application
to	O
be	O
shared	O
simultaneously	O
,	O
across	O
geographically	O
dispersed	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Applications	O
for	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
include	O
meetings	O
,	O
training	O
events	O
,	O
lectures	O
,	O
or	O
presentations	O
from	O
a	O
web-connected	O
computer	O
to	O
other	O
web-connected	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
software	O
is	O
invoked	O
by	O
all	O
participants	O
in	O
a	O
web	B-Protocol
meeting	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
may	O
run	O
as	O
a	O
web	O
browser	O
application	O
(	O
often	O
relying	O
on	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
,	O
Java	B-Language
,	O
or	O
WebRTC	B-Protocol
to	O
provide	O
the	O
operational	O
platform	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
technologies	O
require	O
download	O
and	O
installation	O
of	O
software	O
on	O
each	O
participant	O
's	O
computer	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
invoked	O
as	O
a	O
local	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
vendors	O
provide	O
the	O
central	O
connectivity	O
and	O
provisioning	O
of	O
meeting	O
"	O
ports	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
seats	O
"	O
as	O
a	O
hosted	O
web	O
service	O
,	O
while	O
others	O
allow	O
the	O
web	B-Protocol
conference	I-Protocol
host	O
to	O
install	O
and	O
run	O
the	O
software	O
on	O
its	O
own	O
local	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
installation	O
option	O
from	O
certain	O
vendors	O
allows	O
for	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
proprietary	O
computer	B-Architecture
appliance	I-Architecture
that	O
is	O
installed	O
at	O
the	O
hosting	O
company	O
's	O
physical	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
products	O
allow	O
for	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
webcam	B-Protocol
to	O
display	O
participants	O
,	O
while	O
others	O
may	O
require	O
their	O
own	O
proprietary	O
encoding	O
or	O
externally	O
provided	O
encoding	O
of	O
a	O
video	O
feed	O
(	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
from	O
a	O
professional	O
video	O
camera	O
connected	O
via	O
an	O
IEEE	B-Protocol
1394	I-Protocol
interface	I-Protocol
)	O
that	O
is	O
displayed	O
in	O
the	O
session	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Vendor-hosted	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
is	O
usually	O
licensed	O
as	O
a	O
service	O
based	O
on	O
one	O
of	O
three	O
pricing	O
models	O
:	O
a	O
fixed	O
cost	O
per	O
user	O
per	O
minute	O
,	O
a	O
monthly	O
or	O
annual	O
flat	O
fee	O
allowing	O
unlimited	O
use	O
with	O
a	O
fixed	O
maximum	O
capacity	O
per	O
session	O
,	O
or	O
a	O
sliding	O
rate	O
fee	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
allowed	O
meeting	O
hosts	O
and	O
per-session	O
participants	O
(	O
number	O
of	O
"	O
seats	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
software	O
may	O
show	O
participants	O
an	O
image	O
of	O
the	O
presenter	O
's	O
computer	B-Device
screen	I-Device
(	O
or	O
desktop	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
method	O
relies	O
on	O
an	O
upload	O
and	O
conversion	O
process	O
(	O
most	O
commonly	O
consisting	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
PowerPoint	I-Application
files	O
,	O
other	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Office	I-Application
electronic	O
documents	O
,	O
or	O
Adobe	B-Application
PDF	I-Application
documents	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
"	O
webinar	B-Protocol
"	O
is	O
a	O
portmanteau	O
of	O
web	O
and	O
seminar	O
,	O
meaning	O
a	O
presentation	O
,	O
lecture	O
,	O
or	O
workshop	O
that	O
is	O
transmitted	O
over	O
the	O
web	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Webinar	B-Protocol
was	O
included	O
on	O
the	O
Lake	O
Superior	O
University	O
2008	O
List	O
of	O
Banished	O
Words	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
Merriam-Webster	O
dictionary	O
that	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Over	O
time	O
,	O
webcast	O
software	O
vendors	O
have	O
added	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
functional	O
capabilities	O
found	O
in	O
webinar	B-Protocol
software	O
,	O
blurring	O
the	O
distinction	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
terms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
typical	O
features	O
of	O
a	O
web	B-Protocol
conference	I-Protocol
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Live	O
or	O
streaming	O
video	O
-	O
where	O
full-motion	O
webcam	B-Protocol
,	O
digital	O
video	O
camera	O
or	O
multi-media	O
files	O
are	O
pushed	O
to	O
the	O
audience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VoIP	B-Application
-	O
Real-time	O
audio	O
communication	O
through	O
the	O
computer	O
via	O
use	O
of	O
headphones	O
and	O
speakers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whiteboarding	B-Protocol
with	O
annotation	O
(	O
allowing	O
the	O
presenter	O
and/or	O
attendees	O
to	O
highlight	O
or	O
mark	O
items	O
on	O
the	O
slide	O
presentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Text	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
-	O
For	O
live	O
question	O
and	O
answer	O
sessions	O
,	O
limited	O
to	O
the	O
people	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
meeting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Text	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
may	O
be	O
public	O
(	O
echoed	O
to	O
all	O
participants	O
)	O
or	O
private	O
(	O
between	O
two	O
participants	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
screen	B-Protocol
sharing	I-Protocol
applications	O
allow	O
for	O
remote	B-Protocol
desktop	I-Protocol
control	I-Protocol
,	O
allowing	O
participants	O
to	O
manipulate	O
the	O
presenters	O
screen	O
,	O
although	O
this	O
is	O
not	O
widely	O
used	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
technologies	O
are	O
not	O
standardized	O
,	O
which	O
has	O
reduced	O
interoperability	O
and	O
transparency	O
and	O
increased	O
platform	O
dependence	O
,	O
security	O
issues	O
,	O
cost	O
and	O
market	O
segmentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2003	O
,	O
the	O
IETF	O
established	O
a	O
working	O
group	O
to	O
establish	O
a	O
standard	O
for	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
,	O
called	O
"	O
Centralized	O
Conferencing	O
(	O
xcon	O
)	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
binary	O
floor	B-Protocol
control	I-Protocol
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
is	O
available	O
with	O
three	O
models	O
:	O
hosting	O
service	O
,	O
software	O
and	O
appliance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
in-house	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
on-premises	O
"	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Real-time	O
text	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
facilities	O
such	O
as	O
IRC	B-Protocol
appeared	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Web-based	O
chat	B-Protocol
and	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
software	O
appeared	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PLATO	B-Operating_System
computer	I-Operating_System
learning	I-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
allowed	O
students	O
to	O
collaborate	O
on	O
networked	O
computers	O
to	O
accomplish	O
learning	O
tasks	O
as	O
early	O
as	O
the	O
1960s	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
early	O
networking	O
was	O
not	O
accomplished	O
via	O
the	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
and	O
PLATO	B-Operating_System
's	O
collaborative	O
goals	O
were	O
not	O
consistent	O
with	O
the	O
presenter-audience	O
dynamic	O
typical	O
of	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PLATO	B-Operating_System
II	I-Operating_System
,	O
in	O
1961	O
,	O
featured	O
two	O
users	O
at	O
once	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1992	O
,	O
InSoft	B-Protocol
Inc	I-Protocol
.	I-Protocol
launched	O
Communique	O
,	O
a	O
software-based	O
Unix	O
teleconferencing	O
product	O
for	O
workstations	O
that	O
enabled	O
video/audio/data	O
conferencing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Communique	O
supported	O
as	O
many	O
as	O
10	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
included	O
revolutionary	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
application	B-Protocol
sharing	I-Protocol
,	O
audio	O
controls	O
,	O
text	O
,	O
graphics	O
,	O
and	O
whiteboarding	B-Protocol
which	O
allowed	O
networked	O
users	O
to	O
share	O
and	O
manipulate	O
graphic	O
objects	O
and	O
files	O
using	O
simple	O
paint	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
point-to-point	B-Architecture
and	O
private-network	O
video	B-Application
conferencing	I-Application
products	O
were	O
introduced	O
in	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
CU-SeeMe	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
link	O
selected	O
schools	O
around	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
of	O
America	O
in	O
real-time	O
collaborative	O
communications	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Global	O
Schoolhouse	O
project	O
from	O
Global	O
SchoolNet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
1995	O
,	O
PictureTel	B-Application
announced	O
LiveShare	O
Plus	O
as	O
a	O
general-use	O
data	O
collaboration	O
product	O
for	O
Windows-based	O
personal	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
allowed	O
application	B-Protocol
sharing	I-Protocol
,	O
user-granted	O
control	O
of	O
a	O
remote	O
PC	O
,	O
shared	O
whiteboard	O
markup	O
,	O
file	O
transfer	O
,	O
and	O
text	O
messaging	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PictureTel	B-Application
referenced	O
an	O
agreement	O
with	O
Microsoft	O
in	O
its	O
announcement	O
press	O
release	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
May	O
26	O
,	O
1995	O
memo	O
from	O
Bill	O
Gates	O
to	O
Microsoft	O
executive	O
staff	O
and	O
direct	O
reports	O
said	O
"	O
Our	O
PictureTel	B-Application
screen	B-Protocol
sharing	I-Protocol
client	O
allowing	O
Window	O
sharing	O
should	O
work	O
easily	O
across	O
the	O
Internet.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
1996	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
announced	O
NetMeeting	B-Protocol
as	O
an	O
included	O
component	O
in	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
3.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
called	O
NetMeeting	B-Protocol
"	O
the	O
Internet	O
's	O
first	O
real-time	O
communications	O
client	O
that	O
includes	O
support	O
for	O
international	O
conferencing	O
standards	O
and	O
provides	O
true	O
multiuser	O
application-sharing	O
and	O
data-conferencing	O
capabilities.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
of	O
that	O
year	O
,	O
PlaceWare	O
Auditorium	O
was	O
described	O
in	O
a	O
public	O
talk	O
at	O
Stanford	O
University	O
as	O
allowing	O
"	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
people	O
to	O
give	O
an	O
interactive	O
,	O
online	O
,	O
multimedia	O
presentation	O
via	O
the	O
Web	O
to	O
hundreds	O
or	O
thousands	O
of	O
simultaneous	O
attendees	O
;	O
the	O
presentation	O
can	O
include	O
slides	O
(	O
made	O
in	O
PowerPoint	B-Application
or	O
any	O
GIF-image	O
editor	O
)	O
,	O
live	O
annotation	O
on	O
the	O
slide	O
images	O
,	O
real-time	O
polls	O
of	O
the	O
audience	O
,	O
live	O
audio	O
from	O
the	O
presenter	O
and	O
those	O
asking	O
questions	O
,	O
private	O
text	O
and	O
audio	O
conversations	O
in	O
the	O
auditorium	O
's	O
"	O
rows	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
features.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Unveiled	O
in	O
1996	O
by	O
InSoft	O
Inc.	O
,	O
CoolTalk	O
was	O
a	O
multimedia	O
software	O
tool	O
that	O
let	O
PC	O
users	O
view	O
data	O
displayed	O
on	O
a	O
shared	O
whiteboard	O
,	O
exchange	O
real-time	O
messages	O
via	O
a	O
chat	B-Protocol
tool	O
or	O
speak	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
via	O
a	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
voice	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
End	O
users	O
can	O
communicate	O
directly	O
with	O
the	O
presenter	O
using	O
real-time	O
chat	B-Protocol
technology	O
and	O
other	O
Web-based	O
collaboration	O
tools.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
1999	O
,	O
Vstream	O
introduced	O
the	O
Netcall	O
product	O
for	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
as	O
"	O
a	O
fee-based	O
Internet	O
software	O
utility	O
that	O
lets	O
you	O
send	O
business	O
presentations	O
and	O
other	O
graphic	O
information	O
via	O
e-mail	O
to	O
a	O
Vstream	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2003	O
,	O
Citrix	B-Application
Systems	I-Application
acquired	O
Expertcity	B-Operating_System
,	O
giving	O
it	O
the	O
GoToMyPC	B-Protocol
and	O
GoToAssist	B-Protocol
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
acquired	O
company	O
was	O
renamed	O
as	O
the	O
Citrix	B-Operating_System
Online	I-Operating_System
division	O
of	O
Citrix	B-Application
Systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2004	O
,	O
Citrix	B-Operating_System
Online	I-Operating_System
released	O
GoToMeeting	B-Protocol
as	O
its	O
first	O
generic	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2006	O
,	O
GoToWebinar	B-Protocol
was	O
added	O
,	O
allowing	O
additional	O
registration	O
and	O
reporting	O
functionality	O
along	O
with	O
larger	O
capacity	O
in	O
sessions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Breeze	O
Live	O
was	O
added	O
with	O
the	O
4.0	O
release	O
of	O
Macromedia	B-Protocol
Breeze	I-Protocol
to	O
support	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2005	O
,	O
Adobe	O
Systems	O
announced	O
acquisition	O
of	O
Macromedia	O
(	O
completed	O
in	O
December	O
2005	O
)	O
and	O
changed	O
the	O
Breeze	O
product	O
name	O
to	O
Adobe	B-Protocol
Connect	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
trademark	O
for	O
the	O
term	O
WEBinar	B-Protocol
(	O
first	O
three	O
letters	O
capitalized	O
)	O
was	O
registered	O
in	O
1998	O
by	O
Eric	O
R	O
.	O
Korb	O
(	O
Serial	O
Number	O
75478683	O
,	O
USPTO	O
)	O
and	O
was	O
reassigned	O
to	O
InterCall	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Learn.com	O
filed	O
a	O
claim	O
for	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
webinar	B-Protocol
"	O
without	O
regard	O
to	O
font	O
or	O
style	O
in	O
2006	O
(	O
Serial	O
Number	O
78952304	O
,	O
USPTO	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
COVID-19	O
pandemic	O
,	O
webinars	B-Protocol
became	O
the	O
norm	O
of	O
teaching	O
and	O
instruction	O
in	O
numerous	O
schools	O
,	O
universities	O
and	O
workplaces	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
