If a teleworker is fearing that he or she is less valued than an on-site worker I would say either 1) that person has a bad manager or 2) that manager doesn’t know how to manage a remote team.  It has been well-documented that remote workers lose a lot of…

Over the last few weeks of working at VSee, I’ve been realizing that VSee is more than just a videoconferencing tool.  It’s a video collaboration tool.  Of course, it can do the things that videoconferencing does, but on a much more dynamic and work-friendly scale.  It’s the difference between a…

Working remotely can feel like you’re always on the periphery of things, lost and forgotten by managers and coworkers who can’t see you.  So it’s great when people come up with better ways of giving remote workers more presence.  One fascinating idea that makes use of videoconferencing technology is the…

The Harvard Business Review (HBR) recently had an article by Professors Tsedal Neeley and Paul Leonardi titled “Effective Managers Say the Same Thing Twice (Or More).” We put this principle into action all the time in our personal lives, like repeatedly telling your child to look both ways before crossing…

Maybe it’s the $4 per gallon gas prices or perhaps people are tired of traveling 6-8 hours for one 45-minute meeting.  Maybe it’s the advances in networking technologies and services or the pricking of our environmental consciences.  Maybe it’s because the world really is a global village today or because…

It’s no big secret that virtual teams need to meet face-to-face.  As mentioned in an earlier post, a study completed by Dubé and Robey found that the most prevalent contradiction or tension in virtual teams is the necessity for face-to-face presence. There’s something important about corporeality that allows us to…

If we’re talking purely about their goals and functions…nothing, really. Like all other teams they are formed to solve a problem, do a project, perform a service, or come up with some answers.  What makes them so  special is that they are able to pool together talent and expertise from…

Milton discussed in some earlier posts the importance of smiling and eye contact in facilitating video mediated communication.  At the heart of these issues is the issue of building video trust. The Research On Video Trust The good news is that according to video trust studies, people using only video…

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Skype and GoToMeeting (Citrix) are banding together to try and shore up each other’s weaknesses as collaborative business tools.  The former has begun asking $9 a month for group calling but has a limited screenshare and no collaborative tools; the latter charges even…

One of the reasons we continue to be so gung ho about video calling is because studies in the field of communication have demonstrated the importance of nonverbal communication in interpersonal communications, many of which are expressed through the visual channel. For instance, one thing you can’t express very well…

I know I’m going to sound cheesy when I say this, but I was really touched and impressed by Sonnenwald et al’s (2002) patience and determination to truly use videoconferencing technologies to increase collaboration.  Even though their action research project was with large groups (30-110 people) in academic institutions, they…

Technical operation considerations are a part of videoconferencing that we’d all like to avoid thinking about.  Why can’t it be like a microwave where we just plug it in, push a button, and it works?  So, as promised earlier, let’s look at some of the technical details Sonnenwald, Solomon, Hara,…

While video calling is great in  many ways (see Top 10 Reasons To Use Videoconferencing), it’s not a replacement for face-to-face meetings.  First impressions do count, and if you aren’t careful, you  could be headed for a video calling wipeout.  Just look at the effect of video (i.e.,  television) on…

With all the research and effort put into recreating Star Trek fantasies of communicating via life-like screen images, you’d think people would be more enthusiastic about actually using the amazing videoconferencing technologies out there today!  But surprisingly, as mentioned in an earlier post, videoconferencing tools have been painfully slow to…

In their study of casual work interactions, Whittaker et al. (1994) concluded that coordination works best among people who are physically located in the same place because they have more opportunities to find others who are available to talk.  Let’s face it, as much as we love Facebook and Twitter,…

Yesterday while I was at a conference Skype announced on their blog that they were dropping the ‘beta’ label from their Mac release, and that group calling would now be a paid feature.  Obviously, I had to respond.  🙂 I have a lot of fun talking about Skype because I…

I read this very interesting article on GigaOm last month and have been digesting it ever since.  Although I don’t necessarily think remote workers are any more (or less) productive than on-site workers, Ms. Laidlaw makes a fantastic point about the productivity mindset of remote workers.  Any company that has…

If you aren’t already sold on the idea of using videoconferencing to supplement (not replace) face-to-face meetings, here is a neat little list I adapted from Richard Schaphorst’s list in Videoconferencing and Videotelephony: Technology and Standards, 2nd Edition: #10 Reliability: Hold your meeting regardless of weather, flight delays, or other…