3 ms·

Somehow, and I don't know how this is still possible in 2013, but I don't consider remote collaboration tools to be a "solved" problem. I say this because at ou

Somehow, and I don't know how this is still possible in 2013, but I don't consider remote collaboration tools to be a "solved" problem. I say this because at our shop, we have blocking issues with remote conferencing on a pretty regular basis. The most common problem is when one person turns on their speaker and creates feedback/echo, and then we have to spend an annoying 5 minutes just tracking it down. Maybe we're on the wrong tech (we use WebEx and Lync), or maybe it's a training problem. But I suspect we're not alone.. If there actually was a seamless audio/video conferencing technology that still worked perfectly even when subjected to the dumbness of office people, then I think I would have a different opinion of remote work. But as it is, I think the productivity tax is significant enough to be worth worrying about. Especially since the tax is not just inflicted on the people working remotely, but also on everyone in the office that interacts with them.

jsherwani 13y ago
We've faced this issue ourselves when doing videoconferencing — with more than 1 person in any location, no solution works effectively. We've wondered about getting into this, since it would definitely solve our issue, and most likely solve similar issues for teams all over the world. I agree it's surprising that this still isn't a solved problem in 2013.
GuiA 13y ago
Isn't that problem solved by having everyone wear headphones?
jaredsohn 13y ago
It seems like you just need to know who is currently speaking and mute them if you aren't actually hearing their voice. Perhaps Uberconference (http://www.uberconference.com http://www.uberconference.com) solves this issue? (No personal experience with it and there may be other products that also help with this.)
ams6110 13y ago
Ugh. The conference call, web meeting, google hangout, whatever technology you want to use, you spend 15 minutes on "can everybody see me" "can everybody hear me" "I can't hear you" "can everyone please mute their phone" "I can't see the slides" I mean it's almost always a fiasco. I can't stand it.
- timedoctor 13y ago
  This is a lot more of a problem for teams that are not used to working remotely. Our entire team of 38 people are remote in 9 different countries and we have voice meetings on Skype every day. It's not an issue. However I do notice exactly what you are talking about every time we conduct a meeting with a new person who is not in the practice of constant remote communication.
- JoeAltmaier 13y ago
  Again, there are integrated 'virtual office' products that attack exactly this issue. I do a daily standup with 10-15 people, all remote. Those issues are totally absent. We get started within 60 seconds of the desired time. We finish on time. The entire time is spent on issues. The product we use is the one we build - Sococo Teamspace. We're a small startup made up of mostly Engineers who felt the pain you mention. We're eat our own dogfood, so issues like that are the top of our list. http://www.sococo.com http://www.sococo.com

jsherwani 13y ago

We've faced this issue ourselves when doing videoconferencing — with more than 1 person in any location, no solution works effectively. We've wondered about getting into this, since it would definitely solve our issue, and most likely solve similar issues for teams all over the world. I agree it's surprising that this still isn't a solved problem in 2013.

GuiA 13y ago

Isn't that problem solved by having everyone wear headphones?

jaredsohn 13y ago

It seems like you just need to know who is currently speaking and mute them if you aren't actually hearing their voice. Perhaps Uberconference (http://www.uberconference.com http://www.uberconference.com) solves this issue? (No personal experience with it and there may be other products that also help with this.)

ams6110 13y ago

Ugh. The conference call, web meeting, google hangout, whatever technology you want to use, you spend 15 minutes on "can everybody see me" "can everybody hear me" "I can't hear you" "can everyone please mute their phone" "I can't see the slides" I mean it's almost always a fiasco. I can't stand it.

timedoctor 13y ago
This is a lot more of a problem for teams that are not used to working remotely. Our entire team of 38 people are remote in 9 different countries and we have voice meetings on Skype every day. It's not an issue. However I do notice exactly what you are talking about every time we conduct a meeting with a new person who is not in the practice of constant remote communication.
JoeAltmaier 13y ago
Again, there are integrated 'virtual office' products that attack exactly this issue. I do a daily standup with 10-15 people, all remote. Those issues are totally absent. We get started within 60 seconds of the desired time. We finish on time. The entire time is spent on issues. The product we use is the one we build - Sococo Teamspace. We're a small startup made up of mostly Engineers who felt the pain you mention. We're eat our own dogfood, so issues like that are the top of our list. http://www.sococo.com http://www.sococo.com