Comments on: Messaging, Collaboration and the Virtual Office

By: Melanie Jones

Melanie Jones — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:53:00 +0000

E-mail is essential, but I get so many every day there’s just no way to open them all. Since I work with various vendors that have given me internal e-mail addresses with their URL attached, I get the spam that’s associated with each address. That equates to about 1,000 spam messages a day. Sometimes, I fear I’ve deleted legitimate messages because they looked like spam and I just didn’t have the time to open them. Didn’t Bill Gates say he was going to eradicate spam?

By: Bill Brookshire

Bill Brookshire — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:58:08 +0000

You know, I was thinking. The whole concept of virtual office technologies is just as needed in your traditional office space. Serviced office providers could offer features like GoToMeeting as part of their package to differentiate themselves in the office rental market. Most executive office suites already offer high-speed Internet access, so e-mail is not the issue. But these conferencing technologies could be a great way to differentiate serviced office developments.

By: Maggie Correta

Maggie Correta — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:40:09 +0000

E-mail definitely is the heart of collaboration. But we’ve come a long way in the virtual office with services like GoToMeeting and WebEx. I haven’t used GoToDo, but it seems to be yet another value-added service for mobile professionals and distributed workforces. The bottom line, though, is this: I could live without WebEx. I don’t think I could do business without e-mail.

By: Elizabeth Sanchez

Elizabeth Sanchez — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:53:22 +0000

We are indeed in the Age of Information overload. A few years ago, they just called it the Information Age. I think any services that can help entrepreneurs better manage this information overload are going to pick up steam. Virtual offices are more challenged on this front, as are distributed workforces, because of the sheer reliance on technology and collaboration tools to do business. I haven’t tried Gootodo. I will check it out. Strange name. I thought it was a type and should have been GotToDo.

By: Mike Sullivan

Mike Sullivan — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:22:59 +0000

One solution that I know is very effective is a simple application created by usability expert and digital guru Mark Hurst. It is called gootodo, and allows users to create a to do list, then (here's the innovative part) allows them to send emails to a future date to address. So no more filing away and forgetting or stopping everything you're doing to address the email, knowing that if you don't you will forget to address it later. Any emails you receive that can be addressed later, you simply specify the date you want to be reminded, and voila... you can keep on working on the task at hand.

By: Rob Zeus

Rob Zeus — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:36:27 +0000

The Radicati Group does great studies around messaging and collaboration. Tying this into virtual offices and what to consider when choosing a virtual office — the technology underpinnings — is vital. All businesses rely on technology, but when messaging and collaboration tools fail in a virtual office we’re back to the telephone. That an be a back breaker when you need to collaborate on a PPT or web development project that demands a higher level of interaction.