What: Information Week article about the evolution of Second Life. Posts To Which It Is Related: Bottom Line: This is a great article for the look it takes at the business side and the evolution of Second Life. Despite the “hype bubble” and its subsequent burst, Second Life is intriguing because of its novelty and potential. Perhaps figuring out how to make… Read more →
Every once in a while, you come across something that defies the conventional wisdom that you need face-to-face contact to build strong social relationships (see a recent article that relies on this wisdom). A New York Times article “After Blogger’s Plane Crash, Virtual Becomes Personal” that was published on September 6, 2008 is one such item. In this post, I… Read more →
What: NYTimes article about Peek, an email-only mobile device. Posts To Which It Is Related: Time to Think Differently About Collaboration in Virtual Worlds Bottom Line: This article is mostly a review of Peek, a mobile device that is relatively limited since it only does no-frills email. However, what’s more interesting than the review is the author’s mention of a… Read more →
What: Researchers have found that racial bias exists in virtual worlds according to an article in ITNews Posts To Which It Is Related: The Mind Has A Body Of Its Own Bottom Line: A study done in the virtual world There.com suggests that the psychological implications of race in the real world also impact the virtual space. When a study… Read more →
I recently read a NY Times article by Clive Thompson about the social effects of information sharing through sites like Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. Posting frequent small tidbits of information about oneself is often perceived as a useless act. But Thompson points out some of the really useful social outcomes that can result from these acts of self-disclosure. I cover the following points: Ambient… Read more →
What: Blog post from the Institute for Corporate Productivity about virtual team trends. Posts to which it is related: About LeadingVirtually.com Bottom Line: 67% of 278 companies responding to a survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) foresee their reliance on virtual teams increasing over the next three years. This number (i.e., the percentage indicating greater reliance on virtual… Read more →
Recently, Surinder and I did a day-long workshop on virtual team leadership, and I think it has gotten both of us thinking more than ever about those who are actually practicing virtual team leadership. We try to do two things when making suggestions for virtual team leaders: first, to support them with research and practitioner experience, and second, to organize… Read more →
What: Inquirer.net article about how to manage virtual teams Posts to which it is related: Confessions of a Telecommuter, How Do I Begin To Improve The Functioning of my Virtual Team? Bottom Line: I found this article interesting as it was written based on the advice of three Filipino managers. It was surprising to see that the views about virtual… Read more →
My fellow bloggers and I have made many recommendations on this blog about how to improve the functioning of virtual teams. When we recently presented these recommendations to an audience, we were told that it would be useful if we could take some of the most critical recommendations and frame them in a way that makes it easier for someone… Read more →
What: Computerworld article on telecommuting. Posts to which it is related: Confessions of a Telecommuter, So You Think You’d Like to Telecommute? Bottom line: This article articulately explains how and why telecommuting is not always a problem nor is it always a good option. The author suggests a series of six questions a manager should ask before allowing telework, and… Read more →