Web Conference Reflection

I have attended two web conferences since the start of Multimedia and Video Technology. The first conference was on 8/27/10 and the second conference was today at 5:00 p.m. These were not my first experiences with web conferences but my experience with both was similar to previous experiences.
I believe that web conferences are becoming more and more common for three main reasons. First, they offer a way for people at different geographic locations a way to meet and discuss issues that need to be resolved. Second, costs associated with travel are eliminated. Finally, the loss of time due to travel is eliminated allowing people more leisure time. My husband worked from home for two years and carried out 90% of his meetings via web conferences. He had about eight people in his work group from all parts of the world and the only issue that made things difficult was coordinating time zone issues. Based on his positive experiences, I thought that web conferences for this program would be a valuable asset. Unfortunately, my experiences with web conferences have not lived up to my expectations. I think most of the issues I have are based on my learning style and personal preference but other issues are related to technology.
Based on my personal experience, the nuggets of information I glean from each web conference are not worth the frustration. The first issue is getting into the conference. We are told that the room will be available 15 minutes prior to the posted time but that isn't usually the case. At first, I didn't realize that it would be best to log out and try again in a few minutes and as a result, I didn't get in because I was too early for the meeting and by the time I logged out and back in the meeting was full. I have mastered getting into meetings but it is not always a smooth process.
Once the meetings are underway, I often find it difficult to focus. There are so many people and everyone has questions that are often unrelated. As a result, the conversation tends to bounce around so much that I lose my train of thought. In addition, audio is lost frequently; usually right when something important is being said. These drops in audio really frustrate me because it doesn't seem like an effort is made to go back and clarify the audio we missed. I find that reading the typed messages is usually the most helpful to me and where I get the majority of information that I can use.
Compulsory attendance at web conferences is something I'm enduring; not enjoying. I am a strong visual learner with ADHD. I can focus on one thing at a time very well but do not handle input from many directions at once. I also find it difficult to sit still and stare at peoples faces for an extended period of time. The technical issues are annoying but manageable and to be expected. Although I see the value in web conferences as a tool for collaboration, I have difficulty getting much out of them. I think that if I participated in a web conference with a small number of people to discuss a common issue that I might have a better experience.