Energy costs. Because of high fuel prices, airline tickets cost more. Also add the cost of lost time, the hassles of going through airport security lines and late arrivals.

All of these situations are making air travel a less attractive choice. The days of flying cross country for a one-hour meeting are disappearing. Increasingly, virtual meetings are replacing travel. Researchers for Hewlett Packard and Cisco Systems, who studied body reactions, say that co-workers in different states and countries experience the same chemical responses to virtual meetings as to face-to-face meetings.

Travel by car for distances of 200 miles is less of a hassle than flying. But it takes more time than conference calls. And it costs more, 58.5 cents a mile.

It’s not just time and money. The frequent-flyer lifestyle can wreak havoc on a person’s health and family life. People who are involved in virtual meetings seem to be pleased with the reduction of air travel.

Here are some web-based options for webinars and online meetings:

GoTo Meeting

Webex

ConferenceCall.com

Skype

Consulting firm BDO Seidman, quoted in Business Week, says it’s not just about travel reduction, it’s also about increasing communication. They say meeting more frequently and in short bursts of time is more productive than flying off to long meetings.

Most companies are considering the green factor in all of their decisions. Flying and driving less will reduce a company’s carbon footprint.

With Dimdim you can share your desktop, show slides, collaborate, chat, talk and broadcast via webcam with no download required for attendees. Dimdim’s mission is to enable web collaboration for everyone.

After 3 rounds of beta testing, Dimdim is less buggy and open for business. Anyone can sign up and hold their own web meetings using Dimdim. Customers who prefer to customize or brand their own web meetings, can purchase Dimdim Pro for only $99 per year. Institutions in need of larger meetings can purchase Dimdim Enterprise for less than half the cost of existing solutions.

Unlike other web conference products, Dimdim does not require users to install software on their computers to attend web meetings. Users can initiate or join meetings with couple of clicks. Basic version of Dimdim is available for free. Dimdim is an open source software, therefore users can extend and improve it freely. It already integrates with CRM and LMS software and can be extended. Dimdim is available in hosted as well as onsite configurations and easily customizable. It is easy to set up….took me 10 minutes or less.

Cons: You may hear some echo during the meeting. Does not let users record their web meetings.