Either by accident or some inscrutable will of the cosmos, three different parties in the last month or so have come knocking for insight into web meeting tools. Since we run regular webinars, we traffic this space a bit -- and while I'd hardly characterize any of us here as experts in the field of online meeting software, it's not inconceivable that the evaluation of tools we've had to do might be useful to others.

If you're looking for web meeting/screencasting/live presentation software that's more affordable than the name-brands like WebEx, there are some pretty good options available, with an open source project in the pipes. DemocracyInAction uses ASAP by Convoq, which costs $500 a year but has unlimited meetings, and very rarely have poor feedback on it from clients: meeting participants just need a recent version of Flash. A few months ago, we re-upped for a second year.

There's a very similar tool at the same price (Java-dependent, rather than Flash) at Glance.net, and others that are worth looking into especially if you're just looking for a one-off or won't need the thing regularly for the entire twelve months.

A grid of what I came up with as our best options for mixing affordability and usability can be found here. (.pdf) It makes no pretensions to completeness or certitude, but it might be a starting point. There are many, many more players in the web meeting arena -- it's pretty well commoditized -- and a more extensive report by Robin Good can be had for two bills (probably well worth it if your organization is large enough or there's a lot riding on your presentations) here.

Had a good/bad experience with any of these, or something not listed? Please do drop it in the comments.