Adventures in content
I moderate several webcasts every month. This entails getting on a conference bridge and logging into a web console where I can click through a presentation, chat with other presenters and manage a question queue. I was supervising a video shoot this morning in Boondocky, RI -- so I had to use a "guest office" at the client's headquarters to do the webcast I had scheduled for this afternoon. Usually, this is a simple thing. I open my laptop, switch on my mobile hotspot and I'm in business. Today, however, was a bit different. I had no coverage with Sprint, so I had to use the client's guest wireless connection. But their firewall was blocking certain traffic -- which meant I couldn't access some features of the webcast. During the pre-call, we tried everything. I tried to set up an IM session with another presenter so she could relay questions to me. I tried to log on as an attendee so I could at least see the presentation progress. Nothing worked. While I was struggling to set up a session on AIM, I checked my email from my Droid. That's when I realized I could try accessing the webcast console from its browser. This revelation struck me just seconds before we went live. And it worked. I moderated a full webcast from my phone. I feel like Denzel in Flight. Or like Fleming discovering penicillin. Just thought I would share.