On December 1, the eleventh episode of The Apprentice aired. Out of a field of 16 candidates, all vying for a dream job with The Trump Organization and a fat six-figure salary, it was down to the final four.

As usual, the contestants were given a task to test their business skills, intelligence and drive. The winners would be lavishly rewarded, while the losers would be sent to Donald Trump's boardroom to face his judgment and now famous tag line of "You're fired!" The task for this episode: create a 60-second promotional video for Microsoft's Live Meeting web conferencing software.

Live Meeting enables you to conduct online meetings by sharing documents and programs in a virtual environment, while communicating with text messaging and audio conferencing. The contestants were broken into two teams and had to show how Live Meeting can help businesses.

Both teams took a similar approach to the assignment. Team Capital Edge chose to focus on a harried business traveler whose life would be made easier by Microsoft Office Live Meeting (watch it). Team Excel did a compare and contrast of two businesspeople struggling to get files, materials, and travel arrangements together for a meeting, and then showed them conducting the same meeting using the Microsoft product (watch it).

The videos were judged by two executives from Microsoft. Team Excel came out the clear winner, if only because their competitor's video was simplistic and confusing. Team Excel was rewarded with a cruise on an elegant yacht, while Team Capital Edge was sent off to the dreaded Boardroom, where both members were fired.

For the contestants, this round of The Apprentice was a battle of creativity and marketing chutzpah. For Microsoft and its Live Meeting web conferencing software, it was an hour in the limelight on one of TV's highest-rated shows.

Since 2003, Microsoft has used Live Meeting web conferences to host "morning-after" discussions with candidates fired from The Apprentice. But last December was the first time Live Meeting had a starring role on the show itself, which served as extended exposure to the business audience the show is popular with and who could benefit from web conferencing.

The media spotlight seems to be par for the course for Live Meeting these days.

In November, Information Week published an article on Procter & Gamble's use of Live Meeting to help their 100,000 world-wide employees maximize communications, create more effective teams, and make faster and better decisions. According to the article, P&G's IT managers like the familiar feel of Microsoft's suite of collaboration tools and the instantaneous nature of the applications. P&G's CIO and global services officer says in the article that he expects "collaboration will increase significantly" using the Microsoft applications.

In a product review posted online at pcmag.com, Live Meeting web conferencing software earned an editor's rating of four out of five, with praise going to Live Meeting's interface and strong administrative tools. Also, a review at Government Computer News (www.gcn.com), gave Live Meeting high marks for performance, ease-of-use, features and value.

Click here if you would like to learn more about Microsoft Live Meeting.

Free Webinars in January

Communicating Across Cultures
January 18, 2006

In a global business marketplace, the lines between nationality, ethnicity, culture and demographics seem to disappear. In reality, those lines don't disappear. A global business world means learning to communicate across cultures. Cross-cultural communication is fast becoming a critical skill whether you are working down the hall or in downtown Beijing.

The day-to-day work place is already a "culture rich" environment and the factors of culture effect how or even if your message is heard, let alone acted on. In this webinar, Peter Berol of Red Stone Management Systems Inc., will introduce 7 concepts that will help you get your message across and help you get the job done.

Click here to learn more

Managing eLearning in the 21st Century
January 25, 2006

Although we are now entering the sixth year of the 21st century, there are many organizations whose mind set still reflects the Industrial Era's paradigms. Ray Kurtzweil, MIT '99 Inventor of the Year, reminds us that "Just as the Industrial Revolution reshaped America at the dawn of the 20th century, the information revolution is reshaping the world at the dawn of the 21st century. The exponential growth of technology in the first two decades of the 20th century matched that of the entire 19th century. The exponential growth of technology in the first 5 years of the 21st century will inevitably, inexorably, match that of the entire 20th century."

By attending this insightful webinar, you should have a fuller understanding of: The history of eLearning and supportive technology; How evolving technology has taken organizations to a new plateau; The importance of a project team for planning, implementation and on-going development of an effective eLearning program; and When to make the decision to outsource your eLearning needs.

Click here to learn more

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Reader's Resource

Guide to Teleconferencing and Distance Learning
By Patrick S. Portway and Dr. Carla Lane

Currently used as a textbook in 16 universities around the world, Guide to Teleconferencing and Distance Learning covers the most significant changes to the International Telecommunication Union's standards in data, video and teleconferencing. Authors Patrick Portway, Professor of Telecommunications in the graduate program of Golden Gate University in San Francisco, and Dr. Carla Lane, executive director of The Education Coalition and assistant processor in the telecommunication program at California State University-Hayward, bring together their combined knowledge of technology and distance learning in this practical guide.

Click here to learn more