Cora Rodenbusch

BlackBerry Geeks Rejoice: GlobalMeet® Web Conferencing App is Here

January 16th, 2012 by Cora Rodenbusch Posted in Audio Conferencing, Collaboration, Conferencing, Cora the Digital Nomad, Favorite Things, GlobalMeet, Meeting Tips, PGi, Telecommuting, Tips and Tricks, Virtual Meetings, Web Conferencing
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Selamat Pagi and greetings from Malaysia! After 6 weeks in India we made our way to the Malay Peninsula where I will work from our Kuala Lumpur and Singapore offices for the next four weeks.

Over the past six months, we have traveled to over 12 countries and enjoyed working in planes, on trains, under mosquito nets and above all at McDonald’s.  But it wasn’t the McCafé that made it all come together, not at all. It was the right tools.

For anyone who has worked on the go, you know that the right tools make all the difference. It’s nearly impossible to predict the quality of your next work environment, even if you’re headed down the street. Will the WiFi be working at my hotel? If so, will it be VoIP quality? Will I have cell signal on the train? Will it be quiet enough to take a call in the cab? To combat an unpredictable work environment, choose tools that are mobile, global and social.

The latest tool in my digital tool belt? A workhorse of a virtual meetings app, GlobalMeet® for BlackBerry.

I nearly lost it last week when it launched. I have sworn by my GlobalMeet account for the past year and the thought of having it on my trusty BlackBerry put me over the top.

 
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Blakely Thomas-Aguilar

Why it Sucks to Wait Your Turn: In-Meeting Chat in Every Web Conference Call and Video Conference

January 12th, 2012 by Blakely Thomas-Aguilar Posted in GlobalMeet, iMeet, Meeting Tips, PGi
1 Comment »

Before I joined PGi in 2009, 90% of my web conference calls were a 90% waste of time. Some guy always talked too much while I guffawed behind the privacy of my mute button. Instead of listening intently, I was distracted by the never-ending email onslaught, an online shoe sale or a new instant message. I was a virtual meeting sinner. Most of those meetings sucked because they were about waiting your turn.

For the majority of the world’s telecommuting, office and digital nomad businesspeople, meetings are all about waiting. Waiting until it’s your time slot on the agenda. Waiting until Mr. Never-Stops-Talking takes a breath. Waiting until someone finally calls your name. And that big idea that hits you smack dab in the middle of someone else’s 20-minute brain dump? By the time it’s your turn, that idea is nothing more than a faint recollection that you had something important to say.

Listen closely, everyone, to the biggest idea your company can have in 2012. Meetings don’t have to be agenda-based talk and respond. Your team — remote or in the office — don’t have to be just non-stop project or sales pipeline reviews via painful online meeting or audio conference calls. And after more than a year of breaking bad meeting habits and growing into a PGi Meetings Expert, I’m a believer.

Now, you can turn on your webcam and actually be a human being. You can break the ice with a fun YouTube video, networking via LinkedIn and asking about the weather.  You can simply share your next big idea without risking interruption rudeness by simply opening up the chat queue and typing. No more forgotten thoughts. No more missing hyperlinks. You can chat with anyone in the meeting privately, whether it’s to prompt the speaker with a missing agenda item, give your boss an idea without interruption or tell your telecommuting coworker that her new haircut looks fantastic. It’s a beautiful thing.

And now, with Evernote integrated in every iMeet video conference room, those chat notes transform into a live, collaborative transcript of your meeting. Every web link, comment and idea are saved automatically and shared with everyone in your meeting — and even those who couldn’t attend. Can it get much easier than that?

So what are you waiting for? Now, with iMeet and GlobalMeet, it’s always your turn.

 
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Holly Anderson

When in doubt, call. Better yet, meet face-to-face.

January 11th, 2012 by Holly Anderson Posted in Collaboration, Meeting Tips, PGi
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Since the dawn of long-distance communication technologies, people have slowly become reliant on the ease and solitude of sending a one-way message (think telegram, email, text or fax). It’s become so easy in fact, that live, two-way communication has become something often avoided and sometimes even feared. Using a gadget to send a digital message is quick, easy and discreet. And if you get a response, you can reply at your leisure. Certain situations make them necessary (if you’re in an elevator, for example, or a doctor’s office where you can’t tactfully have a phone conversation out loud). But more often than not they’re put in to use when we just feel like being in control and would rather avoid face-to-face interaction.Someecards Email Instead eCard

As easy as it may be to lean on our technologies to do the heavy lifting for us, there is a personal cost to having a device do your talking for you. Emails fail to carry emotional weight and auto-correction carries its own risks for text messaging. For various reasons, people rely on technology to keep awkwardness and discomfort at a distance – even at the cost of flubbing a communication and straining the relationship. Here are some familiar pitfalls we all know well in which the way of least resistance means using technology to opt out of a real conversation. But there is another way …
 
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Todd McCormick

Get a sales training program that works—sales coaching on video conference

January 10th, 2012 by Todd McCormick Posted in Event, iMeet, Meeting Tips, PGi, Tips and Tricks, Video Conferencing, Virtual Sales Strategies
1 Comment »

Top performing sales people don’t happen by accident. Successful reps get where they are through coaching and training.

Behind any sales growth is an active sales coaching program. On average, best-in-class companies employ 25% fewer sales reps but spend more on sales training.

Research shows the best sales training programs:

 
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5 things a coffee shop can do to attract loyal mobile workers

January 9th, 2012 by San Sharma Posted in Cora the Digital Nomad, PGi
6 Comments »

In between the home office and the office office, there’s a third place, where mobile workers can go to get some work done: laptop-friendly places, like coffee shops, cafes and restaurants.

Some balk at the idea of laptop-warriors taking up space and bandwidth, but there are benefits of appealing to mobile workers and things that laptop-friendly places can do to make the most of the opportunity.

So, why’s it a good idea?

There are lots of reasons why coffee shops and cafes should welcome laptop-warriors. Beyond peak times, mobile workers keep these places busy and more appealing to passersby – as well as a reason to keep the coffee machine running!

Mobile workers are used to the idea of ‘renting’ a table at a cafe with purchases at the counter. So, even if we stay a long time, we pay for it in coffee! And we’re a switched on bunch too. So, if baristas have problems with their networks or computers, we’re likely to be able to help.

Appealing to the mobile work crew

Here are some ways coffee shops and cafes can appeal to mobile workers.

  1. Offer free wi-fi. Coffee shops aren’t going to get many mobile workers through their doors if they don’t have wi-fi – and they’ll miss a trick if they don’t make that connection free! Free wi-fi will keep mobile workers coming back, and they’ll tell others about their network discovery too.
  2. Make mobile workers welcome. If your local coffee shop offers free wi-fi it should boast about it, and let passing customers know with a window sticker and a smile (not a grumble!) when laptop-toters ask for the passphrase.
  3. Empower customers. If there’s one thing that lets down the romance of mobile working it’s the scant availability of a consistent power supply. If you don’t have somewhere to plug in, you’re at the mercy of your laptop’s battery. Coffee shop owners can help by exposing available power outlets or even providing power strips, like my local cafe Lemon Monkey does.
  4. Make a snug. The word ‘snug’ comes from old English pubs, and it refers to a small area set aside from the main bar that is quiet and discreet. Coffee shop owners that are serious about the mobile working contingent should consider setting aside an area for a ‘snug’. If nothing else, it’s fun to say! (Tinderbox Cafe in London has ‘snug’ booths that are popular with mobile workers.)
  5. Keep an eye on kit. What do you do with your laptop when you need to use the bathroom in a coffee shop? Do you take it with you? Leave it at your table? If you see mobile workers faced with this kind of dilemma, offer to watch it for them – or, at least, don’t wince when they ask. They’ll stay for another coffee (and inevitably another trip to the bathroom!).

San Sharma (@WorkSnugSan) is community manager at WorkSnug (@WorkSnug), a mobile app and website that helps users find laptop-friendly workspaces, like coffee shops with wi-fi

Photo credit: ahhyeah

 
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Blakely Thomas-Aguilar

New Year’s Diets are Doomed! It’s Girl Scout Cookies time with a dash of PGi’s Free Form Friday

January 6th, 2012 by Blakely Thomas-Aguilar Posted in Free Form Fridays, PGi
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Little girls everywhere are heading to their local grocery stores, walking through neighborhoods and bombarding teachers as our favorite time of year for guilty pleasures begins, ruining our New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight fast. It’s Girl Scout Cookies time!

Everyone has their favorite flavor — Thin Mints, Samoas and Lemonades — and this year, the new Savannah Smiles cookie makes its way to doorsteps everywhere to commemorate the Girl Scouts’ 100th year anniversary. And just like our preferences for the tang of lemon or the richness of caramel, our weekly guilty pleasure won’t force you to hit the treadmill. It’s Free Form Friday at PGi, all the tasty morsels about social media, technology and workplace trends — zero calories or less!

  1.  A partnership as perfect as peanut butter and jelly. With the integration of Evernote note taking goodness in every iMeet video conference room, we’ve entered the future of virtual collaboration — and Mashable and DailyDisruption.com are digging the flavor combo.
  2. Smells like social good. Just like the Girl Scouts’ incredible mission to bring relief and aid to people in need, check out the power of social media to change the world.
  3. Green Apples are the best. Technology giant Apple looks to hydrogen fuel cell technology to replace batteries with a longer lasting and environmentally friendly power source.
 
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Blake Gruber

Integration to Expand Your Collaboration: iMeet and Evernote

January 5th, 2012 by Blake Gruber Posted in iMeet, PGi, Telecommuting, Tips and Tricks
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Everything around us is becoming increasingly integrated every day in a variety of forms and fashions, with technology often at the forefront. Integration spawns from constructive collaboration, it takes cooperation and the pay-off tends to simplify life. Occasionally, we see great standalone products, but find ourselves wishing they could work in conjunction with each other and synergistically create something exceptional. Fortunately, PGi’s most recent partnership makes one of those wishes a reality.

At PGi, as meetings experts, we are always looking to improve the ways you and your colleagues get together and share ideas. We push collaboration products that bridge communication and functionality gaps. By living in the cloud, products like iMeet are accessible to all and exemplify ease of use, and our latest integration is going to make your meeting life even easier. iMeet’s new partnership with Evernote is a tech match made in heaven. Learn how iMeet with Evernote improves what you can share and makes the process simpler than ever.

 
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Todd McCormick

From cavemen to tin can telephones—A photo guide through the history of audio conferencing

January 4th, 2012 by Todd McCormick Posted in Audio Conferencing, Conferencing, iMeet, PGi, Tips and Tricks, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Virtual Sales Strategies, Web Conferencing
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As PGi looks ahead to an exciting 2012, it’s only fair to also look back. You have to know where you’ve come from to know where you’re going, right? (If you don’t believe me, check out PGi’s New Year’s resolutions.)

That being said, here’s a photo tour through the ages of audio conferencing technology:

Audio conferencing… in the Stone Age

 
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David Guthrie

iMeet and Evernote: The Future of Virtual Collaboration

January 3rd, 2012 by David Guthrie Posted in iMeet, PGi, Video Conferencing
2 Comments »

Just two months ago, I announced the integration of Evernote into iMeet video conference rooms everywhere. Today, I am even more thrilled to announce that the future of technology and virtual collaboration is upon us.

Now, PGi and Evernote gives people a better way to remember their meetings — via our first ever, real-time note taking and note saving capabilities. By embedding Evernote more deeply into iMeet, we strongly feel that we continue to push the boundaries of virtual collaboration.

With iMeet, you get the best in-the-cloud, low bandwidth video conferencing solution for business today. With Evernote, you get the world’s most popular note taking app that follows you everywhere, remembering your thoughts, websites, tasks and more — your better brain. With iMeet and Evernote together, you get true virtual collaboration for everyone, anytime, anywhere.

Collectively gather meeting notes while in the meeting.

 

Before Evernote, online meeting hosts had to manually record minutes and send those notes to every participant via handout or email. Today, iMeet records all those details for you — digitally. By simply popping open the ‘Notes’ icon in the bottom left corner of a page, you can begin typing notes – and inviting other meeting participants to do the same. At the end of the meeting, you can save and tag the notes inside the Evernote app, allowing for easy retrieval at any point in time.

iMeet’s Evernote chat technology allows multi-user collaboration without downloads, high bandwidth requirements or bulky files. Every guest can add their brainstorms, web addresses, pictures, action items and more right inside the Evernote chat pod. After the meeting, all of your captured information can easily be sent to everyone via an HTML email. 

We invite you to experience true virtual collaboration firsthand today — and start having better meetings anytime, anywhere.

What third-party apps would you like to see in your iMeet room next? Share your thoughts, comments and virtual collaboration experiences with us today.

 
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Cora Rodenbusch

Digital Nomad Tip #25: Calculate the Price of Travel

January 3rd, 2012 by Cora Rodenbusch Posted in Audio Best Practices, Cora the Digital Nomad, iMeet, PGi, Telecommuting, Tips and Tricks
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Happy New Year and greetings from Munnar, India, home of India’s world renowned tea plantations, green hills and stunning mountain-top views.

Tea Plantations in Munnar, India

As we mark our 5th week in South India, we look back and appreciate the many benefits of working in India – The delicious food, the welcoming locals, and most importantly, the low operating costs.

Power outages and connectivity issues aside, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more budget-friendly environment for the wandering Digital Nomad.  I’m not the only one who feels this way – Roger Wade, founder of The Price of Travel lists India as The Cheapest Country in the World for Travelers.  From transportation to eating out and lodging, India proves to be a good value for backpackers, resort seekers and yes, even Digital Nomads.

Finding a budget-friendly location to set up shop is priority number one for web workers and nomads abroad. Most Digital Nomads constantly move from location to location and never getting a chance to acclimate or optimize.

Nomads should either find a place they like and stay there or better yet, travel to locations where risk taking is less costly and therefore reducing start-up time. From my experience, rebounding from a #WiFiFail or transportation mishap is much easier when the solution doesn’t break the bank.

So where can Digital Nomads roam free?

I’ve enjoyed looking through ThePriceofTravel.com for accommodation, transportation, attraction, and food prices of some of the world’s most popular cities.

A Few of My Favorite PriceofTravel.com Articles:

While the price of travel is just one piece of the puzzle, it is nice to have a resource that compares multiple cities against the same metrics. Strong internet/cellular infrastructure, safety and weather are other aspects for the traveling web worker to consider. And of course, having the right tools makes all the difference. I’ve been saved by mobile email and my iMeet® iPhone app more times than I can remember.

Although my year-long journey is taking me to PGi’s EMEA and Asia-Pac offices, I’m always interested in which cities provide for the best Digital Nomad experience. Have you happened upon a web workers paradise?

 

 
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