Definition of Conferencing

"Conferencing" is the holding of or participating in a meeting, generally for business purposes or in a formal capacity to educate, sell, or produce some action from the participants. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines conferencing as "the holding of conferences especially by means of an electronic communications system." When people get together for social reasons, it is a "party," "get-together," or "socializing." Presently, conferencing is often done through computer or telecommunications technology. Businesses and groups often find it cost effective and convenient to meet online or place a conference call to two or more participants to conference.

History of the Term

The term "conferencing" first appeared in the English language in 1865. The noun form of "conference" appeared in 1527. It is believed to come from medieval Latin "conferential" meaning "to bring together."

First Times

It would be difficult to date the first time humans ever met for economic, safety, or nonsocial reasons. The first conference call would be difficult to confirm. In a way, the famous command from Alexander Graham Bell to Mr. Watson in 1876 could be considered the first telephone conferencing.

Computer Conferencing

The early computer programmers of the 1960s started to design programs to support talking and human interaction. The early "chat" programs could transmit messages between two users at a time. After some time, broadcasts to more than one user (after the sender was identified) were possible. In the 1970s came a program called "Talk," a utility supported by Unix computers. Participants had to be logged in directly to the same computer. The technology was moving ahead to achieve more realistic conferencing with multiple people that could be held in real time. CompuServe CB is reported to be the first public, commercial multi-user chat program. It went live on February 21, 1980, and boasted over one million subscribers by 1988.

Late 1980s

By the late 1980s, text chat facilities such as IRC (Internet Relay Chat) began to appear. In the 1990s came web-based chat and instant messaging software. By the 1990s, video and audio technology had reached a point where conferencing among multiple users was possible. Virtually overnight came supporting software such as Adobe, Webex, LotusLive, and Hewlett-Packard.

Conferencing Today

The term "webinar," meaning an online conference, was registered in 1998 to Eric R. Korb (Serial Number 75478683, USPTO). Today there are multiple options for conferencing, including VOIP, web conferencing, video conferencing, conference calls, and the traditional face-to-face meetings.