What: Atlanta Business Chronicle article about the bottom line benefits of telecommuting
Posts To Which It Is Related: So You Think You’d Like To Telecommute?, Leading In Face-To-Face Versus Virtual Teams
Bottom Line: Mike Williams, the director of programs for the Clean Air Campaign, has come up with a few statistics that will help those who would like to telecommute convince an employer that telework is good for the company’s bottom line. Some of the bottom-line benefits discussed in the article are as follows:

• 88% of teleworkers report increased morale
• 65% of telecommuters say that they’re less likely to look for another job
• 74% report increased productivity (85% of managers agree)
• 91% of managers say that telecommuting has not decreased work quality

While the statistics listed in this article make a strong case for telecommuting, there are things to take into consideration before delving into telework. See the Related Posts above to get an idea of some of the challenges virtual workers and their managers face when transitioning from a face-to-face team to a virtual team.

What: Wall Street Journal article on why most online communities fail
Posts To Which It Is Related: Rethinking The Value Of Virtual Worlds For Virtual Team Collaboration, Time To Think Differently About Collaboration In Virtual Worlds
Bottom Line: Web 2.0 is the rage in internet marketing and businesses are focusing on efforts to create online communities; however, few people take part in these communities because businesses focus only on the value that the community can provide to itself. Many businesses repeat a series of blunders. One mistake these businesses make is that they spend too much of their resources on fancy technology rather than reaching out to potential community members. This relates to our blog and leaders of virtual teams as devoting too many resources to “fancy” technology may be a hindrance to virtual collaboration. Another problem is that many businesses do not devote someone who has experience running the online community to heading the project, which usually results in failure. Another problem is that businesses go about measuring their success using metrics that do not really reflect their end goals. The connections with this type of online collaboration and virtual team leadership are apparent as leaders of virtual teams run into similiar problems when establishing their virtual work communities.

What: Youtube video (as reported on this blog ) that showcases 50 active virtual world spaces on the internet
Posts To Which It Is Related: Using Virtual Worlds For Leadership Development, Wonderland: A Tool For Online Collaboration
Bottom Line: It is hard to believe that there are over 50 active (and popular) virtual world spaces on the internet. These virtual worlds serve multiple purposes, from business use to informal social use. Gary Hayes, Director of the Laboratory for Advanced Media Production in Sydney, recently captured a bunch of small vignettes that showcase the nature of these virtual worlds. He says that it shows how ubiquitous, popular and streamlined many of these spaces are becoming across the intraweb.” The video really showcases the different direction some of these worlds are taking. See the video here – it is truly a must see for fans of virtual worlds!