They’re everywhere and every day – webinars. I should keep track, but I’m guessing that I get invited to or information about upcoming webinars three to five times a day.

I hadn’t been a fan, and I still prefer face-to-face seminars, but it doesn’t matter what I like. It’s clear that webinars are a fact of doing business, and I’ve decided that I should probably add them to my new business.

When I did webinars for Print Buyers International, they were 30 minutes long. I like this length a lot. Sixty minutes is just too long for me to commit to sitting still, watching a slideshow and listening to one or multiple speakers from the confines of my office. Besides, I get distracted. Work calls. Emails beckon. There’s always a project or two in the work.

Most of the webinars I’ve joined this year have involved slideshows. But there was one nifty webinar I attended in March that I much preferred – not only was it just 30 minutes, but it only had a cover slide or two. That’s it! It was designed to be an open discussion for the attendees. They could ask questions “live” and make comments as well, just by using the “Raise your hand” function on the webinar technology.

This meant I could listen and still do other things, which I did. I also took lots of

notes, since this webinar was on marketing in the printing industry (my sweet spot).

That webinar made all the difference. I will model my own on this format and see what the audience thinks: open forum, one topic to chew on, everyone can contribute.

What do you think? Have you attended such a webinar, with no slides to tie you to your monitor? I’m interested in the opinions of attendees like me – how often do you “do” webinars? What’s the perfect length? Do they really grab your full attention?