I have tried to participate in a couple and I find them pointless. I see no use for them when it comes to actually making money. I see it as another way that people have found that they can get in my face while taking away from productive getting work done time.
And why is it that the people on these things seem to be the bottom of the bucket employees from whatever company it is that is hosting these things. Webinar to me is fancy techno-speak for what is basically an infomercial.
Is it just me?
I don't know what you've been using them for or what companies, but the ones I have are always helpful. But they are also work related.
I use MadCap Flare at work as my publishing/content creation software as a Techincal Writer. The company frequently has certified experts, help staff, and consultants that will do 45-55 minute webinars that usually cover 1-2 topics in depth to help you get more usability and productivity from the product.
Like any other meeting. Some are good and informative and many are a waste of time.
At least with a webinar you did not have to drive or fly just to find out it is a waste of time.
And the company I'm talking about records them and makes them available at a later date so you can see what was discussed and what questions were asked if you aren't able to catch it live.
Just like anything else, some people/companies know how to use technology to their advantage, others don't.
We host two a week at in my new position. What you say is true to an extent, it basically is a remote sales pitch if you're talking to a prospective client, but we also use it to bring in users which are having issues or would like to learn a process and demo how to do it.
How to use our product more effectively like z31maniac mentioned.
I find them mind numbingly boring usually. Doesn't mean I don't learn something, but listening to canned messages with graphics is hard for me.
A LOT depends on the presentation skills of the person hosting the webinar. If they just read you the notes shown on the graphics they can be pretty terrible, but I've watched some that were pretty good. I need to get so many hours of continuing education credits for my professional engineering license each year and have used a few of them for that, it can be a convenient and economical way to go.
The few that I've done have pretty much been infomercials. That said, I get a lot of spam mail at work for webinars and there have been more than a few that looked to be beneficial. Trouble is finding the time to do them and convincing the company that it's money well spent. But that's another topic brewing for the minor rant thread 
I've made a bunch of them. They are intended to be viewed by our sales folks. Generally speaking, they aren't that exciting, but they serve a purpose.
z31maniac wrote:
I don't know what you've been using them for or what companies, but the ones I have are always helpful. But they are also work related.
I use MadCap Flare at work as my publishing/content creation software as a Techincal Writer. The company frequently has certified experts, help staff, and consultants that will do 45-55 minute webinars that usually cover 1-2 topics in depth to help you get more usability and productivity from the product.
I've had similar experiences with other computer software - CAD, Rendering, etc.
Agreed, you need a good presenter(s).
Yes, a webinar that is basically someone reading a powerpoint deck sucks.
RossD
UltimaDork
11/8/16 8:07 p.m.
The only webinars I would watch would be ones that give me continuing education hours.
So you are "watching" them like a TV show? We have to share info across 50+ locations so we use them to interact rather than be talked to. As with many things you get out what you put in or said more clearly you get out what the leader/presenter has put in and really even then it is only useful if it affects you.
As others said above.. I've done some webinars (we make CAM software), and they're pretty well received. My webinars are generally about something specific (creating more efficient multiaxis toolpaths, for example), and then some Q&A/general discussion so it'll be interactive.
My wife is in Marketing and she is in charge of putting them on at her company. That means she has to get engineers to plan and produce a presentation.
Sure, the subjects are going to be dry, they are made by engineers for engineers and I am sure they have to meet a minimum standard of boring to be able to quality for the free PDH credits.
