Team Collaboration

• WorkSmart.net Does Tasks … Designlinks released an updated edition of WorkSmart.net, its hosted collaboration service, with new task management capabilities such as to-do lists, trouble ticket management, and task-based time tracking. Available immediately. WorkSmart.net
• Online Meeting Scheduling … Looking for a way to schedule meetings without doing the email dance? Take a look at MeetingWizard, Goovite, Set a Meeting (SAM), and Doodle.
• MessageOne White Paper … MessageOne released a complimentary white paper entitled “The Seven Key Problems of Email Management”. The study “reports on seven key problems with email management that are converging in the current IT and business landscape. These issues include Email Disaster Recovery, Managing Complex Email Retention and Deletion Policies, Complying with e-Discovery Requests, and more.” Registration required. MessageOne
• Spreed … Spreed released a free (for 3) web conferencing solution, featuring online presentation capabilities, desktop sharing, and training capabilities. Available immediately, for Mac and that other platform. “Immediately start cost-free online conferences with screen sharing, desktop remote control, chat, video, VoIP, Excel, Word, OpenOffice and PowerPoint presentations.” Spreed
• Multitasking Leads to Productivity Improvement … A major 5 year research study found a positive link between heavy technology usage and individual worker productivity over the medium-long term. “… we found that heavier IT users are much heavier multitaskers, so over time, they’re completing more projects and bringing in more money for the firm …. Heavier IT users are taking on more work. This slows down the work they’re already doing, but because they’re doing so much more, they’re more productive. So simply looking at speed, they might at first appear to be slower, but since they’re multitaskers, they’re more productive overall. The lower IT users are doing tasks serially, but high IT users are doing tasks in parallel“. And in terms of the best tools for multi-tasking: “The technologies that support multitasking best are asynchronous: e-mail and database work. You can use those when you have time as opposed to synchronous [technologies]. Face-to-face interviews was [considered] very powerful. Everyone wanted more of that, but it needs to be used selectively for project setup and takedown because it’s so expensive. You need to use face to face to clarify ambiguity and communicate lots of information where subtle points need clarification.” ComputerWorld
• Nice Stikkit Movie … Mike demonstrates how to use the Stikkit web-based note-taking service to keep track of people, and especially the auto-referencing capabilities between Stikkit notes. Very nice. ValuesOfN (hat tip, Shane)

Productivity

• Communicate Less … Lisa recommends that we realize just how expensive communication is: (a) top-level costs, (b) diversion/multi-tasking costs, and (c) opportunity cost. Her recommendation: Do less of it. But let the “less” be of higher quality. Management Craft
• Communicate More … Poor communication leads to failed projects in organizations. Key recommendation: Do less poor communication, do more of a higher quality. ConnectITNews
• Meeting Skills from Jeff … Jeff outlines 8 principles for effective communication in a meeting: (1) keep it upbeat, (2) talk to the entire group, (3) reach out and encourage feedback, (4) mirror the tenor of the meeting, (5) don’t be a time hog, (6) check the cliches and rhetoric, (7) when and if necessary, take it offline, and (8) be aware of your body. ConnectITNews

Knowledge Management

• Inxight Webinar … Inxight and KMWorld Magazine are hosting a webinar on March 13 entitled “Hidden Dangers in Your Data: What You Don’t Know Can Kill You (Or At Least Your Organization)”. “The webinar will show how providing “content intelligence,” the ability to archive and retrieve documents based on the content of the documents — the “who,” “what,” “when” and “where” contained within them — is opening new doors for value- added offerings for enterprises and government organizations.” Registration required. prnewswire