Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-20

• RT @ashleyacker: 5 Barriers to Workplace Flexibility: http://short.to/fsg7 [Too bad the same old fears get in the way of all the benefits] #
• RT @KammieK: Awesome list of Virtual Office Tools for all you REMOTE peeps: http://tinyurl.com/n8e8zb [Web tools to run/promote a business] #
• @KammieK Just found you on twitter. Really love your MorningMojo tweets – very inspirational – thanks! in reply to KammieK #
• Moving my websites and blog to a new webhost. Working out the kinks . . . in the words of Captain Kirk – it pays to know how things work! #
• @ashleyacker My pleasure Ashley – Ashame to see the same stumbling blocks still exist. June is going well – already hot here in Florida. in reply to ashleyacker #
• @viralogy really enjoying the great video interviews on your site http://bit.ly/sXH3v How do you record the video for both sides of the chat #
• Fellow entrepreneurs, good video interview with Loic Le Meur – Founder of Seesmic | @Viralogy Blog http://bit.ly/3heiy #
• RT @ashleyacker: 51% of GenX workers say they’d leave their current employer for a chance 2 telework. What r you doing to retain this group? #
• RT @projectshrink: Shared: What Kind of Rock Band is Your Team? http://tinyurl.com/ksxdfu [I love the analogies here – well written!] # Read more

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-15

• @leanneclc being you have been reliving old tv shows check out http://www.retrojunk.com – u can watch old commercials and show promos – fun! in reply to leanneclc #
• RT @ashleyacker: Quiz: Which Person is Working? Can you tell? http://bit.ly/KxJXs – excellent points Ashley makes in this post! #
• @Loriannmac3 My thoughts for finding that type of work would be to search for people conducting teleseminars and contact them. in reply to Loriannmac3 #
• No Such Thing as Failure; Only Feedback http://bit.ly/10tFWc I love the attitude @evelynlim brings to this topic! A gentle reminder. #
• Why telework is tough for small companies http://bit.ly/114OY8. I don’t agree. Sounds like they lacked strategy and proper tools. Thoughts? #
• RT @mrcruce: Virtual teaming / telework WORKS. It just takes work. [There is a shift involved but it improves your team and communication] #
• Can anyone recommend a reliable webhost (especially for wordpress blogs)? 1&1 has been dropping the ball for me lately. Thanks for the help! #
• Great article – how the founder of WordPress works http://bit.ly/qjxm3 Manages employees from home using chat programs they work home too. # Read more

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-07

• RT @motivation: “Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.” – Jimi Hendrix http://tqpage.com/32041
• The Greenist Office? None at all “In a typical work week, occupancy rates of traditional offices are only 30%” http://tinyurl.com/cy45ra
• RT @BalancingProf fed agency says telecommuters should work 3 extra weeks to make up time not sitting in traffic- http://tr.im/m1dr – What??
• Installed Vista SP2 last night – worked without a hitch – whew. Made sure to image my laptop before just in case.
• @tomchartrand Ahhh yes I must say after being a Windows zealot for some time I’m ready to switch myself. My next computer will be a Mac.
• RT @ChrisFerdinandi: get out of the way and let your people be amazing: http://bit.ly/pQPRU – Amen to that Chris!
• @ChrisFerdinandi I only just discovered you on Twitter – Was in Boston last week and we could have met up. What instruments do you play?
• @ChrisFerdinandi Next time in Boston I’ll give you a shout. I play keyboards but these days mostly harmonica and percussion – learning uke!
• Battling It Out During Tough Times: MBAs vs. Entrepreneurs http://bit.ly/A0zh8 Which are you? Interesting perspective – I’m an entrepreneur
• @rtfelton We have sample telework agreements and documents available on our site – http://bit.ly/ARWzb #telework #telecommute
• The Last Days of Cubicle Life http://bit.ly/11ZepI – An interesting look at the future of work and the workplace by Seth Godin.
• RT @ashleyacker: How to combat wasted time at work: http://bit.ly/19wXi8 [Great post about ROWE. Make work about results rather than time!] Read more

Tokbox – A great free tool for video conferencing and video email

Whether you are collaborating with team members across distance or want to stay in touch with family and friends there are times when a phone call or an email just isn’t enough.  You long for face time.  Traveling or bringing everyone together isn’t always an option – so why not consider using video?

Recently I was traveling to Boston for a week to meet with some clients.  The hardest part of the trip was being away from my wife and 2 year old son Spencer.  We decided to make things more bearable we would have a video chat at least once a day using Skype. I also decided to send them frequent video emails using a great service called Tokbox.

Tokbox is a free service that allows you to send up to 10 minute video emails and have video conferencing with up to 20 people.  Both of these are very impressive as most other video email programs allow for only a minute or two and most video chat programs only support one-to-one conversations.

To see a sample of Tokbox in action view this short video I recorded using their service:

TokBox – Free Video Chat and Video Messaging

I haven’t tried their video conferencing services much as I currently use Skype for real time video chats but I will be testing it further in the coming weeks –  especially the multi-person video conferencing. I’ll follow up with another blog post to let you know my thoughts and share some of the other video conferencing services I have found. Read more

The Core Challenges of Managing Virtual Teams

Management at Work » Managing virtual teams.

I came across this article by Karen McHenry; consultant, writer, and professor, which I feel clearly and succinctly describes the core challenges of managing virtual teams – and what new skills are required for managers who are accostomed to leading co-located teams.

Ms. McHenry states:

When organizations elect to create virtual teams, they focus on the potential advantages, such as the diversity of the team, or the potential for “round the clock” productivity with employees working in multiple time zones. However, companies must also be aware of the challenges that accompany virtual teams. For these groups to be successful, managers cannot use the old rules of leadership. New ways of working require different skills.

While I agree with this statement I believe that most of the adjustments required are small changes to team interaction or management style; and many ultimately amount to being more deliberate about process and workflow. Some of them are simply good, fundamental management skills that get overlooked when team members see each other regularly. So I think it’s important to note that while new skills and workstyle changes are required to be successful, distributed teamwork does not require a whole new way of working.

Have a look at McHenry’s article and see if you agree that much of what she suggests would be good practices regardless of the structure of your team or where members are located.

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