The process of webcasting has come a long way since the first webcasts took place in 1994 and 1995. Back then, specific hardware and software tools did not exist. A webcaster had to be knowledgeable about all facets of the process and many times they often knew more about some things, for instance ISDN lines, than the person installing them. In the early days, webcasting truly was an art that required not only a wide knowledge base but also a love for the medium, as no one was making money on webcasting.
Today, the process is much simpler, with many tools and vendors available to choose from. Business models exist to position webcasters for success. Hardware products, encoding tools and connectivity advances have made the process more reliable and its use in every vertical industry is a testament to its mass-market appeal.
Every webcast that takes place, large or small, includes a team of production people. Over the past ten years, Steve and I have had the privilege and opportunity to work with many very talented webcasters who were responsible for helping to bring this medium to fruition. While we can’t list them all, some of the early webcasters in the industry who deserve credit are Derry Black, Chris Kelly, Jonathan Troen, Ben Dohnson, Eric Magnuson, Ross McFarlane, Christopher Levy, Cory Smith, Pat Greer, Dohn Engel, Marc Scarpa, Jake Solomon, Halley Bock, Martin Tobias, Mike Schrock, Dohn Luini, Zane Vella, Chris Otto, Dan Lieberman, William Mutual, Brad Pumphrey, Michael Ahern and many others.
We would also like to gratefully acknowledge the entire staff at Focal Press, who have been patient and helpful throughout the writing process. In particular, we’d like to thank Doanne Tracy, Angelina Ward, Howard Jones, Rachel Epstein, and Becky Golden-Harrell.
For Steve and I, this book has truly been a work in the making from our first webcasts through the thousands of webcasts we’ve had a hand in. For the past ten years, we’ve both spent countless hours on the road, in airports, in foreign countries and at event locations literally in the middle of nowhere learning, improvising, and improving the process of webcasting. For both of us, this first decade of webcasting has been fueled by a love for what we do. We hope you enjoy webcasting as much as we do.