IBM Lotus Sametime 8 Essentials: A User's Guide

Mastering Online Enterprise Communication with this collaborative software

Key Features

Collaborate securely with your colleagues and teammates both inside and outside your organization by using Sametime features such as instant messaging and online meetings
Make your instant messaging communication more interesting with the inclusion of graphics, images, and emoticons to convey more information in fewer words
Communicate with other instant messaging services and users, such as AOL Instant Messaging, Yahoo Instant Messaging, and Google Talk and know how someone's online status can help you communicate faster and more efficiently
Discover how the Sametime Meeting Center can maximize the productivity of teams in your organization with the use of online meetings, training session playback, seamless voice/video integration, and screen sharing
See how Sametime works in common, every-day, real-world situations with tips, resources, and detailed screenshots

Book DescriptionIBM Lotus Sametime software allows you to collaborate and communicate with others in real time. By using Sametime, you can communicate with your peers and teammates with the Sametime Connect client, embedded Sametime integration with Lotus Notes or Microsoft Outlook e-mail, or on mobile devices like a Blackberry. You will be able to connect to your colleagues via text, voice, video, or by setting up an online meeting with colleagues in several sites or countries getting the information you need to do your job and make better and faster decisions.This user guide enables you, no matter what your skill level, to develop and increase your knowledge of Sametime and how to use each feature from start to finish. It shows how you can effectively collaborate with your colleagues and teammates both in your organization and outside your organization by using the features of Sametime. It's practical, and most of all, fun!This book takes you from the basics of Sametime through to the most advanced features with a focus on real work-related situations along with plenty of screen prints to guide you. You'll learn everything from how to conduct a quick chat to conducting an online meeting. Or perhaps you want to learn how to take advantage of Sametime's telephony features or set up an online poll? The book starts by teaching you how to install Sametime and set up a contact list of people with whom you interact. Next, you learn how the chat feature of Sametime works, from using basic text to sharing screen-capture images. You learn how to use Sametime both within an organization and with other external instant messaging services like AOL, Yahoo, and Google. However, Sametime isn't restricted to just the Sametime client. You learn how to use Sametime from a web browser as well as from a mobile device. Meeting rooms with screen sharing, whiteboarding, audio, and video features are covered, as well as how Sametime integrates into an organization's phone system so that you can have a single place to go for all your communication and collaboration needs. Learn how Sametime advanced features like persistent chats and broadcast communities can help your project teams stay organized. And finally learn about Sametime 8.5 and 8.5.1.What you will learn

Configure Sametime preferences for the Lotus Notes client and Lotus iNotes web client to customize your Sametime experience to your way of working
Explore how you can better access the skills of individuals in your organization using Sametime Advanced features like skill-tap, instant polls, frequently asked question lists, and broadcast communities
Customize your Sametime instant messaging with emoticons, text styles, auto spell-check, graphics, attachments, and hyperlinks to help make your everyday business communication more fun and effective
Discover tips for adding voice and video to enhance your online chat and meeting experiences
Use chat histories, text styles, file uploads, and emoticons to communicate more information in less time
Connect to other Sametime users outside your organization and other instant messaging systems, using a single chat client to manage all your interactions
Create and manage online meeting rooms to bring together everyone you need for a specific meeting
Share information as if you were sitting next to the other person using voice and video in your chats and meeting rooms
Communicate wherever you happen to be using Sametime Mobile on mobile devices like Blackberries and Windows Mobile
Participate in ongoing group chats on a particular topic, storing the information for quick reference
Manage your incoming and outgoing phone calls, which saves money and gathers all your communications into a single interface
Learn how Sametime 8.5 and 8.5.1 will take your Sametime experience to new levels of seamless collaboration with browser-only clients for instant messaging and online meetings, along with support for new client platforms like the iPhone and iPad

Who this book is forIf you want to learn how to use IBM Lotus Sametime, then this book is for you. No matter if you're new to Sametime or want to become a Sametime power user, this book contains something for you. The focus is on using Sametime as a user and does not include information about development or administration of a Sametime environment; but any user of Sametime in an organization will be able to take this book, sit down at their computer, and learn how to use each feature of Sametime from start to finish.