Curated by: Luigi Canali De Rossi
 


Sunday, April 15, 2007

Web Presentations And Online Slideshow Creation Tools: A Mini-Guide

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Web presentations and online slideshow creation tools are in most cases web-based services which allow you, at minimum, to upload PowerPoint presentations to the Web and make them available for others to see, and at best, to make it possible for you to create new presentations online while using existing content, slides, images and also other media.

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Photo credit: Some cool web presentations from the ongoing SlideShare World's Best Presentation Contest

The last twelve months have really seen an explosion of web services devoted to facilitate the creation and distribution of visual presentations via the web. There is such a great demand for such tools at this point, that I do not expect we will see a slowdown of this marketplace for some time to come.

Many of these tools we list here offer uniquely powerful abilities, you can't even dream about when using your old PowerPoint. These new visual presentation tools really stretch the boundaries of what we have come to expect from traditional presentation tools allowing in more and more cases the easy integration of multimedia elements, sound, and innovative ways of accessing and distributing such content.

In this constantly updated mini-guide you can find a growing list of tools and web services you can use to do all of the above and more without having to spend a dime.

At the end of the guide reviews it you will also find a very useful set of comparative tables allowing you to compare at-a-glance all the different tools listed here.

You are also very welcome to suggest, revise and correct our data, by sending your comments via the dedicated section at the end of this mini-guide.




Scrapblog

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Scrapblog is a service that lets you create multimedia scrapbooks featuring your photos, videos, audio and other elements. You can share your scrapblog online with friends and let others add notes and comments. Once you upload your multimedia files, you can turn them into high-quality photo books and DVDs. Scrapblog is free to use and requires no download.

Link: http://www.scrapblog.com/




PhotoShow

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PhotoShow is a photo sharing service that allows you to upload pictures (even from URLs) and create slideshows. With PhotoShow you can quickly transform your digital photos and video clips into entertainment to enjoy and share on the screen of your choice - whether a PC, a TV or a handheld device. If you buy PhotoShow Deluxe 4 you will also be able to add your own music and many other special effects to your slideshows. Additionally, PhotoShow Deluxe 4 allows you to edit videoclips.
Link: http://beta.photoshow.com/home




Thumbstacks

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Thumbstacks is a web-based service that allows you to create presentations - like slideshows, or outlines - right in your web browser. Create and edit slides online with Word-like rich-text editing controls and with images and drawings from anywhere on the web. When you're done, you can share your presentations with anyone, anywhere, just by sending them a link. Thumbstacks works with all major browsers. Free to use.

Link: http://thumbstacks.com/




Smilebox

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Smilebox is a service that enables you to create photo slideshows, scrapbooks, photobooks, postcards and greeting cards. You can choose from hundreds of multimedia designs and easily customize them with your photos, music, words, and style and then share them via email or print. Free to use.

Link: http://www.smilebox.com




Slideroll

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Slideroll is a photo slideshow maker that you can use to create slide shows with your digital pictures. You can upload your photos to Slideroll and publish slide shows either on Slideroll site or on your own website. You can also make special slideshows to embed on your MySpace pages. Slideroll also has a large selection of music tracks for you to add to your slideshows. Basic members are limited to uploading 100 photos and creating up to 10 slide shows. Slideroll Pro costs $3.75 per month and allows you to upload up to 5000 photos and create unlimited slideshows. Free sign up.

Link: http://www.slideroll.com/




Spresent

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Spresent is a web-based presentations application based on Flash. With Spresent you can create and edit high-quality Flash presentations online. You can send presentations via e-mail or publish them on your web site or blog. The presenter can use advanced vector graphics animation based on Flash player. It is possible to create headlines, lists, charts and tables. Free to use.

Link: https://www.spresent.com/




PresenterNet

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PresenterNet is a Web-based presentation center that permits remote audience members to view your PowerPoint slides remotely during a phone-guided presentation. PresenterNet's supports upload of Microsoft PowerPoint files, JPEG and GIF images, Flash files and provides an automatic built-in online slide library to facilitate archival, re-use and delivery of individual slides across different presentations.

Link: http://www.presenternet.com




Slidestory

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Slidestory lets you share pictures that you can narrate with your voice. Each photo in a slideshow comes with the option to add a voice narrated mp3 audio file, optional tags, and text captions. To use the application you need to sign up, download the free Windows Publisher (not the same thing as Microsoft's publishing application) client program and attach a microphone to your computer.

Link: http://www.slidestory.com




Zoho Show

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Zoho Show is an online tool to create, edit, publish, and show presentations. You can import Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt, .pps) or OpenOffice Presentation (.sxi). Zoho Show allows you to edit presentations on-the-fly using a simple WYSIWYG editor. You can also choose publicly shared images from your Flickr account into your presentation. Zoho Show enables to perform remote presentations with complete control for the presenter. The presenter can see the participants in the presentation. Zoho Show is completely web-based, so you don't need to download or install anything. All you need is a browser (either Firefox or Internet Explorer) and internet connection.

Link: http://zohoshow.com/




vMix

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PJ180 is vMix new slideshow creator, enabling everyone to create great photo and image slideshows fully online and with from any computer type. Users can create truly effective image slideshows with titles, transition and effects, without needing to download or install any software on their computer, and vMix SlideShows provides also a license-free music library that users can tap into at no extra cost.

Link: http://www.vmix.com/




Empressr

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Empressr is an Ajax/Flash-based web application that lets you create, share and access presentations online. Empressr enables you to incorporate rich media features, like streaming video and animation, to create and share the most dynamic presentations possible. At the moment you can create and save up to five presentations. Currently, it is not possible to download/export/view presentations in any other application. Empressr is free to use.

Link: http://www.empressr.com




Tabblo

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Tabblo is a service that lets you upload your photos and create albums that you can share with other people. The site provides you with many templates, among which you can chose the one that suits you better. You can add captions, titles and full paragraphs thanks to a fully integrated text editor. Pictures can be resized as you please and it is possible to decide who can download them and who can't. Free to use.

Link: http://www.tabblo.com/




Speechi

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Speechi is a tool that allows you to convert your PowerPoint presentations into Flash files (with no audio) and showcase them online. Moreover, thanks to the other three paid plans provided by Speechi, you can also record live lectures, add voice narration to your presentations and use the Speechi integrated whiteboard option within PowerPoint. Free sign up.

Link: http://www.speechi.net/us/




Teamslide

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Teamslide is a web application to actively present PowerPoint-type slides to one or more viewers over the web. It is live: you upload your presentation and control the show from your own browser while teamslide keeps the slides in sync across all participant's web browsers. Sales, marketing, advertising, finance and training professionals optimize their travel expenses and prioritize their leads.

Link: http://www.teamslide.com




WebEx Presentation Studio

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WebEx Presentation Studio allows anyone to instantly create rich multimedia presentations with easy-to-use authoring and narration tools. With this tool anyone can create and deliver high-impact multimedia content for on-demand presentations over the Web. Built-in authoring tools allow you to instantly create dynamic multimedia presentations by integrating PowerPoint slides, video, audio, images and text.

Link: http://www.webex.com/solutions/web-presentation-svc.html




InstantPresenter

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InstantPresenter is an online live presentation system that provides an effective way to upload and deliver live PowerPoint presentations on the Web. The new service also integrates an audio-video stream going from the presenter to all participants. InstantPresenter is fully cross-platform and can be used easily with both PCs and Macs. Text chat and an interactive group whiteboard are well integrated. InstantPresenter pricing makes this system accessible to professionals and SOHO users of all kinds. A free try-out is immediately accessibile.

Link: http://www.instantpresenter.com




OnlinePRESENTER

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OnlinePRESENTER provides a cost effective way to present your PowerPoint over the web to anyone, anywhere in the world. It is ideal for a wide range of applications, such as meetings, remote product and service demonstrations, training and distance learning, to name just a few. OnlinePRESENTER is not usage based. You pay one low annual fee for as many presentations as you'd like to give.

Link: http://www.presentationpro.com/




authorSTREAM

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authorSTREAM is an online service that allows users to upload and share PowerPoint files. You can Upload your presentation and share the link with your friends; embed in your blog, discover presentations on just any topic or post a comment. authorSTREAM currently supports PowerPoint files (PPT & PPS format) only.

Link: http://www.authorstream.com/




Slide

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Slide is a service that allows you to upload your personal images and create dynamic slideshows that can be embedded on any website. Users can choose among a series of available themes and styles. Slide also provides a desktop program that indexes photos on the user's hard drive, automatically groups them into channels, and plays them back via an always-on ticker interface.

Link: http://www.slide.com/




FilmLoop

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FilmLoop is a site that enables you to upload your images and create slideshows. You can also add click actions to allow images to click through to audio, video and web sites. Once you have created your "loops" (this is how slideshows are called) you can share them via email, so that anyone will be able to watch them with no need to download anything. Viewers can comment on your slideshows and also collaborate on the same "loop".

Link: http://filmloop.com/




BubbleShare

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BubbleShare is a photo-sharing service incorporating web-based tools for captioning and easy sharing sets of images to be shared as photo albums and slideshows online. The free service requires no downloads or registration and is easy to use from the moment you access the BubbleShare homepage. Images are stored for free for 365 days and then the account can be renewed for free.

Link: http://www.bubbleshare.com/




SplashCast

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SplashCast is a service that enables anyone to create streaming media 'channels' that combine video, music, photos, narration, text and RSS feeds. These user-generated channels can be played and easily syndicated on any web site, blog, or social network page. When channel owners modify their channel, their content is automatically updated across all the web pages 'tuned' to that channel.

Link: http://splashcastmedia.com




Vuvox

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Vuvox is an useful tool for those looking to remix their online video and photo collections into rich interactive multimedia presentations. In the space of a few short minutes you can search for, import, arrange and customize your photos and videos into stylish designer presentations. Vuvox allows you to publish your creations on your own website, blog or MySpace page.

Link: http://www.vuvox.com




Zentation

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Zentation is a simple online application for the synchronization and sharing of your Slideshare-hosted PowerPoint decks and your Google Video-hosted content. You simply need to enter the URLs of your Slideshare presentation and Google video, identify points in the video to synchronize with the presentation and send out email invitations so that your friends can view your video-presentation mash-up. Free to use.

Link: http://www.zentation.com




Web Presentation Tools And Online Slideshow Creators: Comparison Chart




 
 
 
Readers' Comments    
2009-08-11 10:33:41

Tracy DiMarino

Another resource is my client, KinetiCast. KinetiCast (www.kineticast.com) is an online presentation tool for sales and marketing professionals. It empowers users to create, email and track engaging online presentations that can help to better qualify prospects, shorten sales cycles and close more deals.

Using KinetiCast, online presentations can feature PowerPoint slides, images, personalized video, links and downloadable files, and then be emailed via a link to contacts, ensuring deliverability and eliminating the need to download large file attachments.

Advanced analytic features then allow users to track who opened the presentation, how many times it was viewed, how long it was viewed and whether it was forwarded. This helps gauge interest levels and prioritize follow-up communications.



2008-12-29 16:52:05

Bill Hopps

This is a very comprehensive list!
It will be interesting to see which company's gain traction in the marketplace. We produce live and on-demand webinars and my gut says that video formats are going to win for sharing, particularly if the mp4 format becomes a defacto standard. Now how you author these videos is an open question, and there is room for many different solutions to address different style productions.
Thanks for posting.
Bill



2008-04-11 11:06:33

S. Tromp

Viewbook wasn't on the list but to my opinion should have been. It's easy, fast AND it looks great.



2007-07-09 16:56:43

trecks

Very interesting !
I didn't know there were so many sites like this.
Another one you can also check is comboost ( http://www.comboost.com ). It's a bit like bubbleshare. You can use it to embed flat screen slideshows in a blog or a site.
Congrats.



2007-04-16 05:59:53

Jagdeep Singh Pannu

Hi Livia, Robin,

Great infomation; thanks for this guide.

As we can see, there is a lot going on in the presentation world and this guide is very enlightening with the service descriptions and comparisons.

It puts to rest a lot of confusion and provides a clear view of what is useful to who.



 
posted by on Sunday, April 15 2007, updated on Tuesday, May 5 2015


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