| Author | Message | ||
     Dave |
When I was the executive editor for a business travel magazine, I'd frequently be assigning or writing stories or editorials about videoconferencing and how it would never replace the tactile assurance of a face-to-face meeting. Naturally, our advertising base of hotels and airlines liked that point of view. However, in light of recent events, fewer businesses are flying employees to meetings and conventions. The world has changed, and business will change with it; part of that change will entail finding new ways to communicate and meet with satellite offices, key clients, and vendors. Noted futurist and aritificial intelligence expert Ray Kurzweil says in today's New York Times, "we already see a dramatic movement away from meetings and conferences in the real world to those in the virtual world, inlcuding Web-based meetings." The advantages of virtual communications are evident for any type of organization -- large or small, corporations or non-profits -- and include:
I am available on a consulting basis to help organizations create virtual communities. I can provide assistance with strategy, software selection, security issues, hosting, training and facilitating communications. I have done similar projects for government agencies and hospitals (not to mention Maplewoodonline). Initial consultation is free. Please call me at 973.378.9135 or e-mail: ross26@speakeasy.org. Dave Ross (Hey! First plug ever in 4 years! :-) | ||
| Edmay |
Dave That was a great message! I plan to read it over again later and respond in detail. But basically I think you hit the nail on the head. | ||
| Lisat |
Hi Dave, You may want to speak to someone at American Express. Their offices are spread all over at this point: Short Hills, Jersey City, Manhattan. They may need help in this regard. | ||
| Edmay |
Dave You definitely hit the nail on the head. My trade association has been doing conference phone calls so all 20 districts can converse together about a given agenda. They are considering teleconferencing for those calls, so we can see each other. They also present live seminars over the internet that allow for "face to face" discussions and Q and A. I think even small businesses can get into the act. Basically: why travel? I am no expert but do see the wisdom in what you are saying. And I think people are more comfortable with the technologies involved, just like email and cell phones have become a way of life. I think of my home office as a "communications center". I like commuting to the basement. I hope my response represents a true understanding of what you were saying. Ed May | ||
| Dave |
Lisat, got a contact there? ?:-) Ed, yes, you got it! However, the advantages of virtual communities (VCs) extend beyond teleconferencing and saving travel budget bucks (though that's good!). VCs ampify knowledge, create a searchable pool of information and, most importantly, connect people over extended periods of time and from different locations. Sales forces from different regions can share strategies, R&D can work with marketing, and customer service reps can communicate directly with customers (among many possibilities). And management can watch it all. Outside of the biz world, there are many applications of VCs for schools, membership organizations and government agencies. Getting upper management to buy into the idea of instituting a VC is the hurdle, but it's set lower these days. | ||
| Lisat |
Hi Dave, I'll have to think about the contacts that may still be there. I'm expecting to be laid off (or more accurately I'm expecting that all my clients there will have been laid off so there goes my 10 year freelance writing career since I've had only one client during that time and they kept me busy full-time). Email me off-line at killerillos@aol.com and I may have a group that you can approach about it. By the way, did you see the news tonight. They reported video conferencing is up 70% in the past 2 weeks. | ||
| Jgberkeley |
Dave, Perhaps you know of them, perhaps you do not. Our company has been using Web based virtual meetings for some time now. I host one every Thursday with 30 people attending, from Peterborough England, NYC, North Jersey, Chicago, Atlanta, San Dimas and San Francisco CA, as well as several folks on the road in hotels, wherever at the time. Live audio, everyone goes to a single Web site and logs into the meeting, to see the computer screens. I can demo new software, show documents, create documents, browse web sites, and grant anyone I wish the ability to control the screen. I can record anything I wish for play back later. We have cut our travel budget by over 85% using this tool. 28 cents per minute per connection. Look at www.webex.com or www.placeware.com or www.globalcrossings.com If you want a demo beyond any the sites will give you let me know, I'll schedule a meeting with you and show you some stuff. Oh, you can not do Pub stuff over this thing. | ||
| Dave |
George, I'm somewhat familiar with those ASPs and a few others (btw, if anyone's looking, the correct URL for Global Crossing is globalcrossing.com - no 's' at the end). What do you feel are differences between conferencing or synchronous communications vs. something like this message board? Videoconferencing is a redundant form of communications (I think Neal Stephenson wrote that in Cryptonomicon), but it's a good way to arrive at consensus quickly. Virtual communities (message boards) provide for ongoing, more in-depth treatment of issues and can result in better outcomes in prolem-solving activities. I use a set-up similar to this message board (but private, of course) for maintaining ongoing communications with clients on projects. | ||
| Jgberkeley |
Dave, Thanx for asking. Here at ADP we use both synchronous and asynchronous communications systems and we have a Global Videoconferencing system. Lets start with Videoconferencing. Videoconferencing is not redundant, it is obsolete. The very expensive Global Videoconferencing system that ADP owns has always been more of a problem than it was worth. It requires a staff just to operate it if you wanted a more complex meeting, say one using slides, PowerPoint, or even a White board. Add to that, the problems of the dis-jointed video with lag delay that developed every time a phone line got ratty and we have simply a pile of trash. Today, that system is used mostly for a staff meeting type of conference, and even then, most turn the video off. Now to the others. My project team is Global and we have set up a Project Management system using both communications models to help deal with the time zone and other communications problems. For synchronous communications, we have moved quite heavily to the Asp's like WebEx. We find that for live interaction we can not beat them. Often we use them to develop on the fly. We look at the application module a development team has completed, and our Marketing team, Sales team, Customer representative, and Systems designers for interfacing systems are all able to comment over the audio call and use the mouse to point at things, type in changes, and work to talk things out, finding a solution all can accept. Then at that point I bring up the specification documents and we agree to the written changes and make them on the fly. As I said we get a lot done at these meetings. We also have moved all training to Web based synchronous systems. Centra.com is the Web tool we use for training. Even though that tool streams the audio over the internet and requires that all user systems have audio systems and microphones, the recording and play back tools are considered the best. We record most training systems and edit and re-use them. At this point they become asynchronous as people can use them at their pace and time schedules. We also use asynchronous communications, much like your MOL message boards as the backbone to the Project Management system. We use a suite of (I know, put your hands over your eyes) MicroSoft products. The basic tool we use is MS TeamFolders. This gives us the structure to develop various project module folders and to host threaded conversations on a topic. In our case, say, the design of a database schema to support FICA or 401-K deduction records for our Payroll product. Here you will find threaded discussions that often start with the legal needs, then the system needs, then design and on and on. Much like MOL, the threads support attachments, searches, and sorting. In most cases the threads end with an approved design document attached, if not the actual database. All are archived. Along with the TeamFolder tool, we also use MS ProjectDashboard, MS ProjectCentral, and we use MS Project to further manage the development detail, QA, and deployment efforts. MS Outlook provides scheduling calendars and the Email tools we use. The BIG advantage of the threaded tools is the nullification of time zone issues, nullification of language and accent problems, the team accessibility to the thoughts and information being developed, and the way information becomes self organized as it is developed. I have to also say, that having written history of what was stated has helped to resolve a lot of who said what, when problems. We still have the issues you see on MOL where I can type something, and have someone else read it, and have a different view of what I thought I said. We even see Thread Rage from time to time! But, they are eaiser to resolve. Email systems can do this to some degree, however, a lot of time has to be devoted to management of distribution lists, and even then, when a new team member arrives, one needs a way to get past data to him/her. The TeamFolders product even allows for the Email problem. Say someone sent an Email to one on the team with some useful information regarding a topic, the person who received it can simply post the Email in the threads. All in all, we find this combination of communication tools very useful. We have had our problems. Not all the MS tool talk nice to each other and we have had to bring pressure to bear on MS to get in here and help sort it all out. Even today we have two full time MS people on the team, paid by MS. The impact of a worm, virus, and the cracker/hacker can kill us. Every thing we have runs virus shields that are updated daily, we are fire walled and security protected to the hilt, however, every now and then one will get to us. The one that used ISS really hurt. The onsite MicroSoft team spends most of their time working this issue, and one of the reasons our MS tools do not always talk nice to each other is the extensive layers of security and firewalls we have in place. But, given all the problems, we are still 14 months ahead of our first Project Schedule and not at risk of slipping any scheduled dates. Our use of the communications tools clearly are the reason for the success. | ||
| Dave |
George, Thank you for your detailed post. Lots of good information there! I learn something new almost every day here. (And that's the point, isn't it?) | ||
| Jgberkeley |
That is what it is all about! I learn a lot from this site as well. I'm sure others use communications tools in perhaps a different way. I look forward to hearing about them. | ||
| Edmay |
Most of my clients are in manufacturing. Many use dark ages methods to communicate. One place uses bells to tell people to pick up the wall phone hidden behind the 150 ton press running at 110 decibels. Others are still amazed at fax machines. At least one won't allow a computer in the building. Some despise voicemail. Some have email but are afraid to use it. A few put up websites that are never updated. My goal is to catapult them into the 20th century - God knows they are not ready for the 21st! |
