Digital Nomads & Urban Co.labs | Hunter of Genius : Max Kaizen
They are called Co.Labs for the term and ability to afford collaboration. Just another part of the digital paradigm shift taking place perhaps?
This has not been updated, but was an intersting post on the concept at the beginning of the year.
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Virtual Business Management
The concept of a virtual office is changing. The description in this article is for the most part the old description. Now a virtual business can mean a mobile office in the form of a rugged laptop under your arm, or tucked away in a brief case or luggage.
A virtual office can also mean that you have no office at all, and have managed to develop online businesses, also known as VRE (virtual real estate). This is the habitat of the distance worker and the road warrior.
As costs keep rising and margins keep getting tighter and tighter, new companies are looking for ways to cut costs and pump in money to the more crucial aspects of their business. Just over ten years ago, having an office space was integral to a successful business and there was no way around this face. It represented the base of operations where transactions can occur, meetings can be held, calls can be made – all the secondary protocols of a business can be executed.
It was also the physical representation of a business – start and finish of corporate strategy and branding direction. As the years went by and the internet picked up momentum, there was a change in the business philosophy all over the world. The world was turning into a global village and new forms of liquid business were rearing their economic head out of the water.
Older, more established businesses were also being removed out of the physical office space and into the electronic and digital super corridor. The era of the home sourced office worker came into being and soon the idea of workforce and business became totally transformed. Soon new businesses were warming up to the idea of the virtual office and now the service has become a feature of business start up leaflets and pamphlets’.
What are the benefits of a virtual office? The obvious one is cost. Rental, electricity, renovations – these are just some of the things that can run up a bill when setting up a business base. Computer and digital equipment, internet connectivity and internal as well as external communication then add to several more lines on the bill. The market and especially new business were getting smarter, why should they spend money when the internet has revolutionarised communications and the Web 2.0 movement, with all its interactivity is in full swing.
Virtual boardrooms, online chat, digital fax, email, Microsoft Office – all these translates to a tiny fraction of the possible cost that an entrepreneur can incur on himself and in this time and economic climate, it is all about smart investing and corporate restructuring. Some services do the setting up of a virtual office for you, complete with a call centre, fax service and even a universal admin clerk.
Another benefit of a virtual office is the lack of stress when it comes to setting it up. All you need is simple co-ordination and making sure that connectivity and communication is set up. Each of the satellite mini virtual offices ensure that they have the necessary equipment from wherever they are operating from and voila! You have an integrated networked virtual office that is ready to go. No setup worries, no contractors, no messy wire and lines and most of all a huge reduction of possible things to go wrong. Other intangible benefits include higher levels of productivity for those who find it easier to work in a more comfortable and tactile environment.
These are just some of the benefits of using a virtual office and once you realise that the virtual is so much better than the physical – you will appreciate the full advantage of not having to go to work.
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Cut your business rental costs and use a virtual-office instead. Sign up today at this singapore virtual office or compare virtual office space plans.
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Here are some thoughts on being digital, the advantages of mobile and wireless computing, and how to develop some strategies for a virtual office. If you are considering telecommuting, this list will be a good start. It is far from exhaustive.
This will note many of the initial thoughts to gather the necessary technology of a virtual mobile office for those planning to become successful as digital nomads. The list was originally started by Chris Brogan at his blog, but has been heavily revised since first posted.
Even if you are new to the concept of being a Digital Nomad, you will find that this kind of techology punch list will need to be updated constantly. This is just the nature of mobile and wireless technology and the truth that rings through for Moore’s Law.
Number One
Purchase a Smartphone – Be sure to buy a quad phone that is compatible with the GSM network. It may sound futuristic now, but handheld devices may even replace laptops and mobile phones before we could ever expect.
Number Two
Use Online Apps – Use Open Office in combination with other open source programs. GNU/Linux will continue to influnece the way mobile computing evolves.
Number Three
Centralize and Organize – Develop encypted layers of anonymity for online privacy with opt-in networks versus public social networks. Be aware that the web is still in its infancy, and is stiill very much a free for all, and can be a dangerous place.
Number Four
Migrate to Online Storage – Use encryption for privacy and security. SaaS is the future for data backup and storage, along with many other useful open source software applications.
Number Five
Presence Management – Depending on your location at any given time, consider combining Skype with JAHJAH, Goolge GrandCentral, or any number of SIP telephony options. Pidgin is a good inteface for instant messaging services.
Number Six
Structure Work for Profit – Always structure your work for the higest return for your time investment, whether it is your own pet project, an assignment from work, or a joint venture. Structure for no employers / no employees / no partners, and become your own boss.
Number Seven
Watch for New Gear – Be on the lookout for new and improved high tech gear. New technologies like fuel cells, solar power, and wireless energy options are just around the corner.
Closing Comments
Are you questioning why you should go mobile? To determine your own reasons as to why to be mobile, and how to be a digitalnomad, first go back to step six and then create your own list of reasons you may want to beat the crowd to the best definition of work in the 21st century.
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One of the more successful blog post series ever wriiten on the Digital Nomads blodpsot blog detailed the use of Google GrandCentral. That series will be reprised here in some shape or form, as it is good information and was well recieved.
Unfortunaltely, for whatever reason, that Goolge project appears to have been put on the back burner for now by Google. The Grand Central service is a great computer/telephony system that still works absoultely free of charge at this time (02-09).
The program continues to be in beta testing, and users can send and receive all LD in Canada and the USA for free courtesy of GrandCentral and The Google. However, try as you may, it appears that invitations to the beta test are now non-existent.
According toGrand Central, they have not been handing ou the free servic invites now for quite some time. This was indicated in the last big promtion that was a promotion for Blogspot and the Blogger blogging platform.
However, there always is an alternative if you look around hard enough. The Digitalnomad suggests you sign up for a little known free sevice at RingBranch.com.
With this ad supported long distance solution, digital nomads can make long distance calls from any phone for absolutely no cost.
You also can manage some free air time for your cellular service. You can easily extend a family and friends type plan to an additional 100 numbers. This takes some planning and a little upfront work, but RingBranch has been tested, and it will even work with a GrandCentral number.
Some details from the RingBranch Site
"Some wireless providers offer calling plans that allow unlimited calling for a fixed monthly rate to identified phone numbers, regardless of the network being called. For example, T-Mobile and Alltel currently offer calling plans that allow unlimited ANY NETWORK calling. Under T-Mobile’s MyFaves™ plan, you can make and receive phone calls for free with up to 5 of your friends, regardless of the phone company they use. Alltel offers a similar program called My Circle®. If you are signed up for this plan, you can make and receive phone calls for free with up to 5, 10, or 20 of your friends, regardless of the network or phone company they use."
This means that if you have a MyFaves plan, or a My Circleplan, you no longer have to waste valuable minutes. Just pick up a RingBranch account and add up to 100 more people. Anyone on any network may use this to conserve allocated primetime calling minutes under their base calling plan.
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