This is Day 26 in the 31 Days to Become a More Efficient Virtual Assistant Series
Previous post: Creating Online Forms with JotForm
There are a number of instances when sharing our screen is the fastest way from Point A to Point B. Over the years I’ve tried a number of different services such as Crossloops, TeamViewer, AnyMeeting, Google Hangouts and Skype’s screen share (which is no longer included with their free plan). I finally settled on Join.me because of its ease of use and reliability with both Mac and Windows.
Here are just three examples of when Join.me is convenient:
- Troubleshooting
- Live training sessions
- Software demos and online presentations
In order to host sessions with Join.me you’ll need to do a one-time download from their site. Once the program is installed you can launch a screen sharing session by going to your installed programs. Launch the program and you will get a nine-digit code. Have the person who is joining you type the nine digit code into the noted space on http://join.me.
One of the best features for those who will be joining your session, in my opinion, is they are not required to register or download anything, which makes it so incredibly easy. All that’s needed is the nine-digit code you’ll provide when you launch the session. (see screenshot above)
Just some of the options included with the free plan:
- Up to 10 participants
- Chat (group or one-on-one)
- Audio is provided through the internet (be sure everyone on the call is using headphones or you’ll likely experience some icky audio feedback)
- Ability to pause
- Participant options include: seeing who is present, giving someone control of your mouse or sharing a file with them
- If you use dual monitors you can chose which to show
Their free plan is sufficient in most instances but with a paid plan, which starts as low as $13.00/month, you will have even more features to choose from including:
- The ability to change presenters
- Having your own customized URL
- Recording (a new feature I have not yet had the chance to play with)
- Up to 250 participants
- A telephone conference line
- Annotation and screenshots
- Scheduled meetings
I’m looking forward to trying the new recording feature for my upcoming Virtual Assistant Business Jumpstart class, though I’ll definitely do a trial run prior to the first session so I can see how the participants can view the recording. I imagine it’s as easy and intuitive as everything else Join.me offers.
I’ve yet to encounter someone who had problems joining a screenshare with Join.me, whereas I’ve run into various challenges with the other programs I mentioned in the opening of this post. Many of the challenges I encountered with the others involved the viewer needing to download something on their end and being unable to fully execute the downloaded file. The “true” test of many products often ends up being in the ease of use, especially when you may be working with people who are not very tech savvy. You can’t go wrong with Join.me!