Three Online Collaboration Tools that Making Working Remotely Easier
Posted: October 4, 2011 Filed under: Accounting, Accounting Technology, Online Collaboration Tools, Online Tools, Technology for Accountants | Tags: accounting professionals, online collaboration tools, online tools, technology 2 Comments »If you’ve ever worked on a project remotely or just find it difficult to get your team members together in the same room on the same day, it might be time to consider exploring some online collaboration tools, which are designed it make it easier to share, comment, review and edit project documents and files. Maybe you don’t need an hour-long meeting to discuss something. Maybe you just need five minutes. Sometimes it’s not efficient to hold a meeting when all you need is some quick feedback or to demonstrate how far along you are on a specific project.
We’d like to share three online collaboration tools with you that make the process of working remotely much easier.
Talkwheel is a collaboration platform that allows groups to participate in a visual roundtable. It was created to combat the static nature of current online discussion models, which may work for one-on-one interaction, but are not ideal for group interaction and discussion. Talkwheel is designed to make group conversation and collaboration more efficient by creating a discussion platform that accommodates real-time activity.
It visually maps out discussions and allows groups to interact, share information and edit projects collectively. Its threaded conversation clearly defines specific and separate topics, users and comments, and allows participants to easily create new topics to steer conversations in new directions. It is able to be integrated with any software or networks and is easily customizable.
GroupZap is a platform that provides a virtual online whiteboard that can be easily shared with group members. Users can easily drag and drop images, documents and other files onto the whiteboard space along with editable sticky notes. GroupZap is ideal for the editing process, as early versions of projects can be dragged onto the whiteboard and team members can quickly comment by leaving a note for the creator.
Instead of gathering an entire team around a conference table to review an email ad, for example, the file could be shared via the whiteboard and members can provide feedback or suggest changes and edits. The entire session can be saved as a .pdf for future reference.
Google+ Hangouts is a feature of Google+, which just recently opened up to the public after initially launching by invite only. Essentially, it’s a video chat function which makes group chats easier and more efficient. Google+ users can start a “hangout” and invite team members to participate in a quick video meeting or conference – making it simple for groups working remotely to convene and discuss a project or issue without having to be in the same room at the same time.
In addition to being available online, Google+ Hangouts works with iPhones as well, making it even easier to get group members together for a video chat.
What are some of your favorite online collaboration tools? Have you had any experience with the ones we just mentioned? What do you like or dislike about them?
Three Online Tools That Make Your Job Easier
Posted: August 24, 2011 Filed under: Online Tools, Web Apps | Tags: business applications, business tools, online tools, tools for professionals, web apps 1 Comment »
It’s always nice to find new online tools that make our work lives easier, right? It’s even better when they compliment each other and work together to help us get things done in the most efficient way possible.
We’ve recently come across three online tools that are designed to do exactly that.
These tools will help you figure out the best time to hold a meeting with colleagues located anywhere in the world, find pertinent infographics to illustrate specific points during your meeting and, finally, create and participate in a virtual online meeting. In the spotlight today:
World Time Buddy is an intuitively designed web application that helps users contact and plan meetings with colleagues located in different time zones. It allows users to easily schedule meetings and import the information into an e-mail or Google Calendar. Users can also customize and save locations for future use.
What makes World Time Buddy different than many other world clock sites that are currently available is the usability of the site. WTB even lists a slew of similar sites and invites users to “simply find a good time to call, say, Minsk” using any of the other websites available. (Apparently, it’s much easier said than done.)
2. Visual.ly
Visual.ly is a website that provides an entire library of various data vidualizations available to reference and share that help communicate complex ideas in a clear and compact way.
Infographic categories include topics like education, business, technology, economy, transportation and social media. Some of the infographics are designed to be humorous, while others are more matter-of-fact, but each one presents data in visual shorthand as a means of conveying a particular message. If you can’t find the infographic you need to convey that message, you can create your own – no design skills necessary.
3. Meetin.gs
Meetings is a shared online space for meeting collaboration that requires no passwords or installation of software of any kind. Users can log on through Facebook or get authenticated through e-mail. It can be used with iPads, iPhones and iPods and includes real-time updates of shared material, notes and comments.
Meetin.gs can be integrated into Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook. Users can edit documents together, easily upload materials, embed content from third-party services and comment on all material. Meeting information can be saved and viewed at a later date or kept for reference. Its simple, clean interface makes scheduling and holding meeting with users from varying locations extremely easy and helps avoid endless e-mail chains with multiple people. (And any tool that makes meetings easier is a tool I’m interested in using.)
What about you? Have you tried any of these online tools? If not, which ones do you use?
