Online Collaboration Tools

CliqMeet is a new browser-based collaboration, conferencing and webcasting platform supporting up to 250 attendees without requiring any installation and setup and while integrating:

• Whiteboard
• Presentation sharing
• Screen-sharing
• VoIP
• Video-conferencing
• Dial-up conferencing
• Unlimited recordings
• Text chat

The platform works right out of the box, and you can start your first collaboration session in an instant after landing on CliqMeet home page. Just type the name you want to give to your conferencing room and you are in. Signup is not required to run a meeting.

The interface is very simple and straightforward, and requires zero time to be learned. Swipe your mouse to the left side of the screen and you get all the extra controls you may need.

ClicqMeet offers one of the best solutions for running a webinar or an online event with hundreds of people and with zero configuration and running costs. The key advantage is its simplicity, ease of use and intuitive interface. (It works with the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox).

Definitely worth trying.

Free (ad-supported version).

Try it out now: https://www.cliqmeet.com/en-us

Pricing and features: https://www.cliqmeet.com/pricing

Awesometalk is a new free web service which makes it extremely easy to have a one-to-one or multi-party video-conference without the need to install, setup, register or login anything.

You simply head-on to Awesometalk.com and without needing to click anything you are instantly provided with a link that you can share with anyone to meet and videoconference with you.

You share the link and as soon as someone else joins the specified link the videoconference starts automatically. The UI is basically non-existent with the only two things in view being, the video feed of other callers and a button that appears just in-time to end the call.

Supereasy.

Free to use.

Try it out now:  https://www.awesometalk.com/

Added to my collection of Free Best Videoconferencing Tools 2014

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MashMeTV is a real-time collaboration web app which allows you to create one or more persistent collaboration rooms that integrate the following features:
 

• video-conferencing for up to 12 people
• whiteboard
• Google Drive collaboration on docs and presentations
• SlideShare in-sync presentation viewing
• YouTube in-sync video viewing
• Google Maps co-navigation
• co-browsing
• text chat
• room visual personalization
• free storage of 2.5 GB

Rooms can be set to be public or private (with a password that you can share), official meetings can be scheduled and you can invite anyone easily from within MashMeTV.

A good tool for collaborating with your team or for presenting to a few people your ideas or project. Unique in its ability to bring together several "view-together" functions under one roof.

Free to use for up to 24/hr/mo and for a max of 5 people at a time.

Pricing: http://www.mashme.tv/page/pricing 

Find out more: http://www.mashme.tv/ 

Features: http://www.mashme.tv/page/tour 

FAQ: http://www.mashme.tv/page/faq 

(Added to Pinterest collection Top Free 20 Video Conferencing Tools 2013)

Podio offers modular collaborative workspaces that can be customized to your specific needs by adding adn integrating your preferred collaboration apps, available in its dedicated app library.

The latest app addition is a free video and audio app which allows you to videoconference in real-time with any other Podio user (1-to-1).

From SmallBizTrends: "If you’re still searching for the right video conferencing service to interact with your business partners, your customers, and your suppliers, Podio has added a new Podio video conference feature you may want to consider.

Audio and video service was launched this week for Podio at no extra cost for users of the collaboration software whether you have a free or premium account. Anders Pollas, co-founder and product manager at Podio, introduced the new service recently on the official Podio blog.

There are at least 200,000 Podio clients already using the business collaboration platform. With the new video chat app, users will be able to interact with each other using video and audio. But that’s not all.

The workplace management and social site also recently added instant text messaging to go alongside its suite of other business apps already geared for group input and interaction."

Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2013/07/podio-video-conference-app.html

Podio video conferencing features are available to everyone whether you have a free or Pro version of Podio. For now video-conferences support a maximum of two parties only.

Podio is free for up to 5 users.

More info: http://blog.podio.com/2013/07/09/audiovideopodio/

Free sign-up: https://podio.com/signup

Tutorials: https://developers.podio.com/examples

App library: https://company.podio.com/team

Added to section Workgrouping - Team collaboration workspaces

See more online collaboration tools: http://bit.ly/BestCollaborationTools2013

Jamvee is a web-based video-conferencing app capable of interconnecting terminals and telepresence systems from different vendors together with PC, Mac and smartphone-based devices (iOS available, Android coming soon).

"Jamvee supports a wide range of cross-vendor videoconferencing equipment, across multiple standards (e.g. SIP, H.323, and H.320). This includes telepresence systems from Cisco/Tandberg, Polycom, and Lifesize, single-screen equipment, personal video terminals, together with soft-clients running on PCs and mobile devices, and anyone using the free Jamvee application."

Full compatibility list (PDF)

How does it work?

"Just like an audio conference you can access host and participant PINs on the jamvee portal, and send the participant PIN to people you want to meet with. Participants can then use any existing video system or Telepresence room that they have access to, or they simply download the free jamvee™ app from the Apple App Store or the jamvee™ portal.

Everyone taking part in the meeting just dials the same number (or in the case of the jamvee™ app, presses the ‘Join Conference’ button) and enters their PIN to join the meeting - ensuring secure and private meetings both

within your business and across multiple organisations / parties."

Jamvee can manage up to 12 simultaneous video feeds and up to 720p video resolution (more detail).

The pricing model adopted comprises a number of bundle minute packages as well as an unlimited-minute solution. With Jamvee,  the host pays for all the participants to the meeting and needs to calculate ahead of time how many conferencing-minutes he and his participants will consume in total.

More info: https://www.jamvee.com/

Pricing: https://www.jamvee.com/plans

FAQ: https://www.jamvee.com/faq

Web app download: https://www.jamvee.com/freeapp

Ninchat is a web service which offers you the ability to create one or more persistent, online collaboration rooms, where you can text chat and videoconference with up to 12 people concurrently.

Collaborations rooms, or channels, created with Ninchat integrate text, video conferencing and file sharing via Dropbox. These rooms can be set to be "public" or "private" depending on your needs.

The chat history is "infinite" and fully searchable, allowing for effective  asynchronous exchanges, and messages can be exchanged also privately between individual users.

All Ninchat communications are SSL encrypted, there is an open API to extend and customize this service, and the service works across desktop computer and tablets/smartphones (Android only for now).

Basic plan free to use (2 rooms).

Higher pricing plans go from a "Small" 5-room option at $15/mo up to "large" for 30-rooms at $70/mo.

Try it out now: https://ninchat.com/

Android version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ninchat.client.android

*added to my collection: Top 20 Free Videoconferencing Tools 2013

GoToMeeting Free is a new free web-based app (in the form of a Chrome extension for now) which allows you to run video-conferencing meetings for up to three people, without needing to download, install or register anything.

GoToMeeting Free takes advantage of the new WebRTC protocol which allows new browsers to connect directly to each other in a P2P fashion and to be able to carry out audio-video communications without the need for additional software or plugins.

The interface is minimal, offering only a few buttons to mute video or audio and to invite other persons in your video chat.

My comment: Straightforward, easy-to-use, free video-conferencing tool makes it very easy to video chat in small groups without problems.

Free to use.

Try it out now: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gotomeeting-free/beoeakcnmmgbnjcekadpoiepiapcgihl 

https://free.gotomeeting.com/ 

Added to Best Free Videoconferencing Tools 2014 list.

Magnocall is a new free web app which makes it possible to make unlimited one-to-one video calls from your browser without the need to download or install any software or plugin. 

Magnocall provides you with a dedicated and persistent video-call URL, that you can share with anyone, and it works right out of your Chrome browser utilizing WebRTC technology.

If you are looking for an alternative to Skype and to other downloadable-software based solutions to make video calls that anyone at the other end can easily join without needing to install anything, Magnocall is a definitely a good solution.

Free to use.

Try it out now: https://magnocall.com/ 

FAQ: https://magnocall.com/faq.html 

★ Added to Best Free Videoconferencing Tools 2014 collection. 

Sqwiggle is a new real-time collaboration platform which allows you to meet persistently and videoconference easily with your distributed team, as well as to have a group messaging stream that keeps you updated on everything happening.

Sqwiggle has been designed to be a persistent real-time collaboration tool, meaning, that it is ideally used to bring closer, as if they were side-by-side, teammates that work at different locations by remaining always-on and by making extremely easy to switch on the the audio-video communication.

This is why you can turn on Sqwiggle at 9am and switch it off when you go away, as it makes so easy for you to activate a video conversation with anyone of your teammates, while working at a distance.

My comment: I always thought that a persistent always-on collaboration space is the perfect way to work side-by-side when you have a distributed team, and so I wrote back in 2004 a short article entitled: Working side by side. It was 2004. Maybe I was a bit too ahead of my time. Sqwiggle may be much more in sync with the times than I was, and I would certainly recommend it to any team wanting to feel as if they were working at the same table.

N.B.: Sqwiggle comes both as a Mac app and a web-based service. 

Pricing info: https://www.sqwiggle.com/pricing ($9/user/month)

More info: https://www.sqwiggle.com/ 

Help: https://www.sqwiggle.com/help

TrueConf is a new free videoconferencing web app which provides three-way video conferences for OS X, Windows and iOS users.

TrueConf also integrates other additonal collaboration features, including:

• video recording
• whiteboard
• file transfer.

Paid plans integrate access to multipoint video conferences with up to 120 users and additional features like:

• remote desktop control 
• screen sharing
• presentation support. 

The UI mimicks the Windows 8 tiled interface and video windows support 1080p resolutions and a 16:9 aspect ratio across all video modes.  

More info: http://trueconf.com

Features: http://trueconf.com/videoconferencing-features/

Pricing: http://trueconf.com/purchase/

Download (Win, OSX, iOS, Android): http://trueconf.com/downloads/

Biscotti is a multiparty HD videoconferencing system made up of a high-definition webcam to be placed over your HD large screen TV monitor and a conferencing service which allows you to call up to 25 other parties simultaneously.

The Biscotti base camera unit costs only $149, and for a limited time the multi-party video-conferencing service is completely free. (Here the alternative hardware options: http://www.biscotti.com/compare# ) Later on, after the launch phase, the videoconferencing service will cost $9.95/month.

The Biscotti video-conferencing system also hooks up to Google Talk allowing direct video calls to people on mobile phones too.

"Big screen, multiparty video conferencing no longer requires complex and expensive infrastructure investment. It's now as simple as purchasing a Biscotti camera and selecting your service plan."

(Source: TelepresenceOptions)

Features: http://www.biscotti.com/features#

Find out more: http://www.biscotti.com/services/conference#

Pricing: http://www.biscotti.com/compare#

Camera info: http://www.biscotti.com/biscotti#

If you are looking for web-based or downloadable video-conferencing alternatives that allow you to have a multi-party conversation with integrated audio and video and text chat, here are 20+ free tools abd services that you can use right now.

This Pinterest board-list, which I have personally curated over the last two years, includes a direct link to each tool/service and info about how many other people you can videoconference with, without having to go for a paid account.

The tools included are:

1. Mebeam
2. Flashmeeting
3. Goober
4. Livecage
5. Xycast
6. Zoom.us
7. Faceflow
8. Qnext
9. Meetings.io
10. Pligus
11. Vidyoway
12. Spreecast
13. Meet.fm
14. Camdip
15. Hall
16. Rabbit
17. Tinychat
18. Sifonr
19. Vsee
20. Live Minutes

Free videoconferencing tools list: http://pinterest.com/robingood/top-20-free-video-conferencing-tools-2013/