stuck in webinar hell

okay. first of all, i hate the word webinar.

the concept, at first, was pretty cool. it's a step up from the plain old conference call, and granted, it's much better than a videoconference because really, some people you don't want to be stuck looking at for long periods of time. i suppose it's an advancement that we, as humans, must appreciate.

so here i sit, at my desk, in my cube, watching my browser and listening on the phone to the presenter, totally unable to concentrate. i've got my headset on, which most people usually interpret as, "she's going to be on the phone for a while. i'll come back later." unfortunately, most of those people don't work here. the headset apparently implies to some of my co-workers that i am totally interruptible, and by all means, ask me as many questions as you possibly can and speak as loudly as possible so that i can't hear the presentation.

obviously, the other downside to the webinar is that you can minimize your session and do other non-webinar-related things, like check your e-mail, play web sudoku (all stacey's fault, thanks), make a car insurance payment, order a new usb cable for your ipod from amazon, see what's on sale at old navy and update your blog.

the alternative view is this is an opportunity to be highly productive.