Currently, workshifters remain the minority in mid-sized and enterprise corporations. One topic that I frequently present on is the changing definition of work in the mobile and distributed workforce. In a recent Webinar I asked the audience "Which best describes your corporate practices regarding flexible working arrangements for employees?"

The good news is that only 11% of companies are still prohibiting flexible work and 15% have very flexible work environments. The bad news is that about half of companies are very restrictive in who can work outside the office.

If you're looking to develop a flexible working program within your company here are a few ideas to get started:

1) Do your homework

There's tons of research out there on the benefits of flexible work but here are a few recent Webinars I did with IDC & The Future of Work to get you started:

* Prepare Your Business for the Growing Mobile Workforce

* Corporate Agility: Doing Business Anywhere, Anytime

2) Start with a Pilot Program

One of the biggest inhibitors to letting employees work outside the corporate office is fear. Fear that they won't be productive, fear that managers will lose control and fear that visibility is gone. Dispel the fear by rolling out a pilot program with a small group of users in the org and bring back results before proposing a full flexible work program roll out.

3) Create a Results-Centric Work Environment

Clearly defined goals and outputs become crucial when workers are no longer in the office full time. As Chris Brogan mentioned on an earlier post, productivity is not how long you sit in the four walls of the corporate office. Productivity is what is produced at the end of the day. When beginning a flexible working arrangement it's imperative to be 100% clear on goals and deliverables. Err on the side of over communication in regards to goal definition, project status and progress.

Workshifting is definitely still a work in progress but companies are beginning to realize the ROI. Care to share your success story about flexible work at your company?

Eric Bensley is a contributor to workshifting.com. He works in Product Marketing at Citrix Online and focuses on engaging new customers with content. This includes White Papers, Webinar speaking engagements, podcasts, and eBooks. You can follow him at www.twitter.com/ericbensley.

Hi, my name is Brad and I'm addicted to frequent flyer miles.

If there is a group for Flyer Miles Anonymous, sign me up.  There's just something about watching those miles accumulate while I dream about a free flight to a exotic destination that gets me every time. (Then reality hits and I cash them in for a business trip to Walla Walla, Washington. Oh well.)

If you're like me, then you'll want to check out this offer from Northwest and Delta.  They are currently matching any miles you transfer 100%. It's a great time to rack up some extra miles and get those stale miles out of your friend / coworker/ family member accounts with a bonus.

This deal is set to end on May 31st, so if you're interested here's what you need to do.

If your miles are with Northwest, start here.
If your miles are with Delta, start here.
(And if your miles are with one and you want to switch them to the other, you can currently do that for free because of their merger!  Start here.)

You can transfer 30,000 miles per year to someone, so plan your move ahead of time.  Here's what I did.

I took 30,000 miles from my Northwest account and transferred them to my wife for $325.  She got 30K + 30K bonus, leaving 60,000 in her account.  She transferred 30,000 miles back to me  for $325, giving me 60,000 miles in my Northwest account.  She then transferred the remaining 30,000 across to Delta for free and transferred them to my Delta account for $330, giving me 30K + 30K bonus.  I then transferred my 60,000 miles from Northwest to Delta for free, giving me 120,000 miles in my Delta account.

My 30,000 Northwest Miles turned into 120,000 miles on Delta for $980. The total cost was .8 cents per mile; buying them costs 3 cents per mile.

So now when I find that tropical vacation ticket in range and more expensive than $980, it'll be time to cash the miles in.

Otherwise, it's off to Walla Walla I go.

Over the course of the life of this blog, other authors will approach this different ways. I convinced my supervisor at a wireless telecom company (this was in 2005) to let me become a workshifter for three out of five days a week. It wasn't easy, but I found several keys that got me the freedom to work out of a coffeeshop, and the flexibility to do more with the two hours a day that shift brought me.

Get On the Boss's Side of the Fence

If you're going to convince your supervisor to let you workshift, it's not going to be because they really want you to enjoy an extra cup or two of coffee in the morning. Start the process by identifying what's in it for the boss. In my case, my commute was over an hour each way, so I told him that giving me a few days to work remotely would add two hours of productivity per day. Showing him the benefit up front gave him a chance to wiggle his eyebrows on what six hours (2 hours x 3 days) would give him each week: practically another working day!

Get Accountability Figured Out Right Away

The biggest shift I encountered in workshifting was that my boss (like many supervisors) was still considering me productive as measured by "hours spent with butt in chair." Yes, sadly, with all the world has brought us in technological advances, it's human nature to equate physical presence with productivity.

The truth of the matter was, because of my position, people often sought me out at my desk to discuss technology changes and work-related issues. I pointed out to the boss that we had some fairly tangible deliverables to my work, and that if wasn't turning things in promptly, it would show pretty quickly, and he could reassess whether I should be a workshifter. He bought this reasoning, and I endeavored to deliver ahead of time as often as I could.

Touch: the Art of Presence Management

When you're out of the office, silence on your part is always met with frustration and concern. It's again a matter of human nature. The cure? Connect with your supervisor often through electronic means. Send a brief email every hour or so with some work-related piece of information. If your company is cool enough to use something like Socialcast or Yammer, that would be the very best tool for the "touch" job.

Another point on this: brief emails with very succinct needs listed are better for you (and your boss) than longer emails that bundle things together. It would seem that bundling things is better, but most times, this serves two purposes: it allows you to properly thread pertinent conversations, and it keeps your supervisor abreast of situations. Is this the best? No. Does it ease tensions? Yes, indeedy.

Be Very Available and Flexible

Early on in my workshifting efforts, I found myself suddenly saddled with lots of local chores. Because I was down the street at the local coffeeshop (I prefer to work out of the house, because if I stay home, I play with the kids too much), I'd be tasked with things like picking up prescriptions or all the other various family-related things. This was okay, but it meant that I had to stay very available.

Simple things like answering the phone as often as you can when the boss calls go a long way towards easing relationship tensions and management concerns around workshifting.

Sometimes, the boss might need you to come in on your "away" day. As long as this doesn't become a habit, I've taken the stance that it's still a job and that onsite is still the primary way of doing business. As a concession, you might ask for a different day that week. That said, be attentive to whether or not your supervisor might be potentially abusing your agreed-upon experience. Tread gently here, but be firm. It may be a sign that things aren't working out.

Over the coming months, we'll be giving you lots more information on this. Any ideas or questions or tips you can share with us?

During my weekly travels I am always quick to strike up a conversation on a plane or in the terminal, and I usually come across other workshifters. Horror stories of travel are swapped and tips and tricks are shared, but I am always amazed at how many of these regular travelers aren't aware of the sites that make my life much easier than it used to be.  Over time, I've come up with my 5 sites for better flights to share with other workshifters and road warriors.

1. Kayak.com
This is where every trip begins for me.  Kayak, named 'Best of the Web' by BusinessWeek, is a site that searches hundreds of travel sites based on your search terms.  Most major airlines are included, but you'll need to go check a few separately (Southwest and JetBlue, for example). After you enter your initial search terms you can use the sliders to narrow down the specific flight you need.  Leave before 7:30am from IND and get to BDL by 11am but leave BDL before 6:30pm that night and get home before midnight?  Yeah, it can take care of that. You can also uncheck boxes to remove certain flights from the results.  I always remove 2+ layovers, and anything going through Chicago O'Hare, and typically check the SkyTeam flights to help with my quest towards the elusive Platinum Elite status.

2. SeatGuru.com
After getting your flights arranged, head over to SeatGuru to figure out where you should be sit on the plane. Just choose your airline and then the plane you'll be traveling on. Seats are ranked as green, yellow or red with remarks in regards to why the seat is rated that way.  Red seats typically are near the lavatory or limited recline. A bulkhead seat might be yellow due to the lack of under-seat storage in front of the seat.  Green seats = exit rows.  Get them while they're hot. (My favorite green seat: 14F on the Continental 737-300... just look at all of that legroom for my lanky 6'3" frame.)

3. TripIt.com
After you set up an account on TripIt, just forward those confirmation emails to plans(at)tripit.com and your itinerary is created. From there you can add hotels, car rentals, and other items for your itinerary.  Download the iPhone app for a quick glance of your trip and be one touch away from maps of addresses in your itinerary, as well as phone numbers for customer service of the airlines/hotels you are using.  Bonus - Check out TripIt Pro for under $10/month and get text message + email updates on all of your flights. When I get the notifications I feel like Shia Lebouf in Eagle Eye with TripIt Pro.  "Disembark at Gate C37.  Your flight departs from Gate A7 at 5:47pm.  You have 49 minutes." If you want to feel like an action movie star as you rush across the terminal, give it a try.

4. Yelp.com
Nothing is worse than getting off of your flight with a rumbling stomach. You've arrived, you've eaten nothing but salty pretzels for 2 hours, and you're hungry.  Search for food on Yelp.com to figure out where you want to eat and how others rate about the place.  Get away from the regular chains and find that hole in the wall you'll be raving about for years to come (hopefully).   

5. search.twitter.com
Yeah, you're on Twitter already.  And yes, you've updated your loyal followers that you have landed and the guy next to you smelled like sweaty gym socks.  But now it's time to really use the power of Twitter.  Whenever I have an extended layover or am looking for some local cuisine and can't decide between what I've found on Yelp, it's off to search.twitter.com I go. It's easy to find people nearby with a quick search or the advanced search, which allows you to search within a certain radius of where you are.

I view every layover as a potential tweetup.  Search your airport code with and without a hashtag (#JFK, for example) and look for others who are tweeting from their layovers.  See if there is anyone interesting passing through and if your terminals are close and the time allows, see if they want to grab a drink or a bite to eat. Just like the popular book states, 'never eat alone'.  Break up your mundane travels and trips with the opportunity to meet others and expand your network.

What do you think?
What are your favorite sites for better flights?  Leave a comment and spread the love.  And as always, happy workshifting!

Brad J Ward is the Chief Explosion Officer at BlueFuego. He is a proud SkyTeam Elite member and thinks a quick flight the best way to boost productivity.  Find Brad on Twitter (@bradjward) and share your favorite tips and tricks with him.

One of the active debates going on in the world of work right now (given the horrible state of the economy) is whether flexible work (aka "telecommuting" or "web commuting") is a useful alternative to layoffs and other ways of cutting operational costs.

I'm clearly a believer in flexible work - and there's lots of evidence that flexible work programs do help reduce costs and maintain the corporate culture and capability in the face of tough times.

But recently Kevin Powell (a senior architect and researcher at the General Services Administration) pointed me to an article published in the Washington Post suggesting that many employees are getting nervous about the "out of sight, out of mind" problem at a time when their companies are actually laying people off  ("As cuts loom, will working from home lead to a layoff?" - free registration may be required to access the article).

Here's the basic theme:

In good times, workers frequently seized the opportunity to use "flex time" and family leave, to telecommute and to take paid sick days. But, according to workplace consultants, human resources specialists and employees themselves, those days are slipping away. More workers are giving up those arrangements, or resisting asking about them in the first place, out of fears that doing so will make them appear less committed to their work and therefore more expendable.

I can certainly understand the employees' fears, but they should be unfounded (not that that they are, of course).

In fact, we recently "went public" at the 2009 IFMA Industries Forum conference with a story about a client we've worked with for almost three years that has realized more than a 40% return on investment, higher productivity, with no loss of employee engagement (see "Getting Real:  Transforming the Workplace at SCAN Health" on the Future of Work blog for the full story).

In my humble opinion, flexible work is actually a far better solution for companies than layoffs (assuming that there's enough work to be done). Layoffs are far more expensive than most managers realize, and the employees who leave take incredible working knowledge (and good will) out the door with them.

Add to that the damage that layoffs do to an organization's culture and its commitment to the future, and I'll bet that keeping people around, even if on a part-time basis, is a far more cost-effective strategy than wholesale layoffs.

For more of that kind of thinking - and to counter the WaPo story, see "Rethinking Redundancy," by Bay Jordan, that appeared in the January 2009 Future of Work Agenda newsletter.

And then there was the story in Business Week back in late February titled Telecommuting:  Once a Perk, Now a Necessity. That article also mentions SCAN Health, and suggests that flexible/mobile work programs can be a very effective means of reducing operating costs.

But we usually focus mostly on the corporate benefits of telecommuting, even though there are many positive aspects to it for employees too. But,  unfortunately, those employee fears that it's the first step towards a layoff are very understandable, because far too many managers still don't "get it."

It's an unfinished story, but I certainly find it disappointing that so many companies still seem to want to take the easy way out.

Photo by: rbrwr

James Ware is a cofounder of the Work Design Collaborative and the Future of Work.  He has more than 30 years experience in research, executive education, consulting, and management, including five years on the faculty of the Harvard Business School. Read his blog at

Are you experiencing the fatigue of the mobile warrior? Even Superman needed a place where he could be himself - the Fortress of Solitude. So when every nook and cranny with a WiFi connection, outlet, and coffee becomes your staging ground for organizational feats of wonder, you need to have a few tricks up your sleeve. Here are five of my favorite tips to combat potential isolation and to keep your juices going.

1.      Make a Call List

When the water cooler is a water fountain next to the bathroom and your colleagues are boisterous members of a book club, you need to reach out and touch someone. Not literally of course. I'm talking about making a phone call. Before you leave for your mobile office write down a list of three people you will call during the day:

Giver: The person you will call to offer a random act of sharing or kindness.

Reacher: The person you haven't spoken to in awhile or maybe never at all. This is a networking call.

Learner: The person you will call with a question or someone you would like to learn something from.

2.      Research 3 in 15

Superman might be faster than a speeding bullet but with the Internet as the wind in your sails you can let your fingers do the walking. For fifteen minutes and no more find three new oceans of uncharted information. I have lots of luck at Scribd and Insightory.

3.      Write a 140 Goal

I always thought the Dunbar number of 150 would rule the day but with Twitter, the number 140 is here to stay. When you feel you may be going astray, stop, reflect, and refocus yourself by writing a goal in 140 characters. This will help you sort through the shifting landscape of priorities and items competing for your attention.

4.      Perform Distraction Audits

Every so often, scan your environment. On a scale of 1-5 where 1= "You are Very Focused" and 5= "You Are Hopelessly Distracted" determine your rating. Then identify any of the things that might be distracting you. Have you tried not looking at the assortment of electronic messages inundating you? Have you cleared unnecessary papers, files, books, or anything else in your physical space?

On the flip side if you've been focused it might be a good idea to introduce a distraction or two to give your mind a breath of fresh air. Never hard to come up with distractions so I'll leave that one up to you! :)

5.      Listen to Music

Listen up...it's not what you like it's what helps your brain work. Music charges up your emotions. Don't get me wrong; listen to what floats your boat. However, when you need to get your mind working, binaural music is the way to go. Based on brainwave research it's been demonstrated that music with specific beats per second can improve concentration and promote creativity.

Well what are you waiting for? You probably have more to do than Superman and now your Fortress of Solitude is well equipped with five tips to save the world and excel as a mobile warrior.

Photo by: hoodrat

Terrence Gargiulo is President of MAKINGSTORIES.net. (terrence@makingstories.net, http://twitter.com/makingstories ).

I web commute sometimes. I also work with remote employees, partners and clients. I'm always amazed at how easily we can overcome geography at work these days. But there is one thing that bugs me about not working with people in person. I like the personal exchanges. I like the water cooler talk and the jokes. That being said, I've learned some creative ways to keep it personal in an online meeting or Web conference.

Here are my 5 tips to help you keep it personal:

1)    Start every meeting with personal questions first -When meeting online we have a tendency to get right down to business. We forget that we're talking to actual people and not machines at the other end of the meeting. Make it a point to ask at least 2 non-work questions before diving into the material. You'll notice that your online meetings will be more productive and enjoyable.

2)    Put up a personal picture as your desktop wallpaper - I have 3 colleagues who have pictures of their kids as their desktop backgrounds. Why does this matter? Because every time they start to show me something on their screen I see their kids. This always inspires me to ask how they're doing and I remember that I'm talking to a human being. The pictures make it personal.

3)    Ask more specific questions - In larger online meetings people are often hesitant to answer your questions. When you ask something generic like, "Any questions?" you're likely going to hear crickets. So make your questions more specific. Try, "Mark, how do you think this will impact sales in Q4?" Online meetings require very specific questions to drive conversation.

4)    Do your research - Part of my job is working with industry "thought leaders" and external consultants. Before every kick-off meeting with a new partner I do research. All this really entails is a Google search with the person's name but it's amazing to me how few people actually do this. I'll start off meetings by saying "Jim, I loved the Webinar you did last week. We're facing the same challenges in our organization." Sites like LinkedIn, blogs and Twitter also make it easy to research your meeting attendees.

5)     Stand up - OK, so not every workspace makes this appropriate (I'm 6'5" so if I stand in my cubicle people tend to stare) but if you're working from home it should be fine. This is more of an online presentation tip but bear with me. When you present in person you stand. Standing gets your blood flowing and your hands moving. Most importantly, it comes through in your voice. Your meeting attendees will feel more of your enthusiasm and will respond to you as a person. Try it out. I stand up during all my Webinars.

Make your online meetings more personal. You'll find that the meetings become more enjoyable and more productive. Any other tips out there for keeping it personal at a distance?

Photo by: GaetanLee

Eric Bensley is a contributor to workshifting.com. He works in Product Marketing at Citrix Online and focuses on engaging new customers with content. This includes white papers, Webinar speaking engagements, podcasts, and eBooks. You can follow him at www.twitter.com/ericbensley

I'm writing this on a flight from Philadelphia to Boston. Luckily, it's so early in the morning that my flight is ridiculously empty. I have an entire exit row to myself.

Here's tip #1: flying ridiculously early sometimes gives you better seating options (unless you're flying to Washington, DC, where everyone gets up before you).

Here are some more tips:

Before You Board

• Sign up for all the various airline and hotel rewards programs. They add up faster than I thought.
• Keep a text file on your phone with your flight confirmation number, your hotel name and address, your airline and hotel rewards account information, and any contact numbers you might need. You might check out the service TripIt, which manages this neatly (even more so for iPhone users).
• Buy a few energy bars and stuff them in your carry on. These always trump the $4 price tag for the same bar at the airport, and they help you make better eating decisions.
• Also, buy a drink before boarding the plane if you get thirsty easily. That way, you don't have to sit there feeling anxious that the flight attendants haven't served drinks yet.
• Getting to the airport really early makes every other choice work better. (More time to maneuver).
• You can change seats at check-in, if there are some available.
• Not sure about the best seat on the plane? Check it out for yourself at SeatGuru.com.
• You can also check with the gate agent before boarding the flight to see if there's a better seat, even if you were denied at check-in.
• Not sure what to do with that extra time you got by getting there early? Remember, A.B.C. = "always be charging." Find power outlets in earshot of your departure gate. (Hat tip to AlwaysBeCharging.com.)
• Related to charging, if you bring along a power strip, you can make friends fast at a busy outlet.
• I don't pay for wifi any more. It was more cost effective to buy my own Verizon EVDO card (mine's a USB stick). Check with your wireless carrier, and even if the company doesn't spring for it, consider it.

On Board

• Using a small enough rollerboard suitcase for travel and carrying it on sure beats waiting at the luggage carousel. When picking one out, I'm finding that the 4-wheel version are much nicer to maneuver than the old 2-wheel ones.
• My version of best seat in the house might differ from yours. I have broad shoulders, so window beats aisle (unless you like being smashed into all day).
• Paying the extra bucks for the extra legroom means you can actually use your laptop. Consider it a business expense.
• Airplanes are the best way I have of catching up with email.
• If you're reading business books on the plane, keep a notebook and pen handy. I get my biggest inspirations while 30,000 feet above the ground.
• Offer your seatmate your magazines or newspapers when you're done (if you're not keeping them). That poor schlub doesn't really want to read the SkyMall magazine. Share.

When You Land

• Even if you don't think you have to pee, go. Getting stuck in traffic in a cab after a long flight is never worth it. (I'm a dad. This advice serves a dual-purpose.)
• If you're picking up your bag, everyone crowds the area where the bags first drop. Yes, you'll save an extra 23 seconds standing there, but if you want better access to your luggage, stand downstream.
• If you're staying at a hotel, have the contact info and phone number ready before you hop in a cab. If you're planning on taking public transit, call the hotel ahead of time and get appropriate routing information from them.
• Know where the following stores are in relation to your hotel: a drug store, an office supply store, a clothing store (casual and professional), an electronics store (appropriate to your profession). The Lord made Google for a reason.
• If you're renting a car, consider the extra $15 for the GPS. It sure beats fumbling with maps and missing client meetings.

Error Handling

• If your flight is delayed at take-off for whatever reason, and you're supposed to make a connecting flight, the flight attendants will almost never have the information you need while in-flight. Stop bugging them. Relax. What's done is done. Just think up your next moves and phone calls for when you land.
• Bags get lost sometimes. If you've checked your bag and there's something mission critical in there (toothbrush?), keep it in your carry-on. Also, don't leave the airport without a phone number and a URL to check on the status of your stuff.
• If your flight is canceled or delayed and you're forced to stay overnight in the connecting city, the airline usually won't pay for hotels if it's weather-related. They might pay or offer a discount voucher if their scheduling has kept you over. Sometimes, their discount vouchers aren't as good as what you can get at Priceline. Consider your options.

Your Turn

What are your tips for the ideal air travel experience? How do you fly the hostile skies? What's made a difference to you as a workshifter in bringing what you need with you on the road?

We'd love to hear from you.

As a web commuter we spend most of our time in cafes, airports, hotels, flying, driving, or a number of other places and modes of travel.  This means that we're usually at the mercy of whatever is closest and fastest for food.  We're also constantly surrounded by food which leads to the temptation to snack more than usual.  Before web commuting became a regular part of my life, anything that included traveling was excuse enough for me to eat anything and everything I could find.  Fast food at the airport. Check. Multiple snacks on the plane.  Yup.  A cookie at the cafe. Uh huh. 

Now that I spend most of my time away from home, I've had to re-evaluate that strategy.  It was great while it lasted.  The temptation is always there for us though, isn't it?  If you work in a traditional office, you only have to worry about the vending machine or bowl of candy at the receptionist desk.  Not us.  We have to be even more conscious of it because our offices are places where there's normally food of some kind being served.

Living the web commuter lifestyle requires that I carry around things you might keep in a desk drawer. It's not like I can schlep around everything, so weight and size are an issue. And yet, if you're working remotely, there are things you just don't want to be without. Here's my list of five things. I'm curious to know yours. (Note: none of these links are promotional nor are they affiliate links. They just point to sites that talk about the product referenced.)

First off, the bag itself. I'm sporting a really small Oakley bag. I keep the bag small after reading a post at Digital Nomads about how to lose 10 pounds quickly (hint: get a smaller bag). I might change it out soon. My 7-year-old daughter got all kinds of paint on it last week when she did her best Jackson Pollock impression on some canvasses in anticipation of an art show.

A Monster Cable Power Strip

I have a very small, very portable extension cord dedicated to turning one power outlet into three plus a USB. A.B.C. is the rule: Always Be Charging. Any kind of power strip will do. I like the Monster one because it's so damned compact. Size matters, kids.

My Verizon EVDO Card

You're not still surfing the wifi hotspots, are you? You're going to pick up a nasty virus. Oh, and if not that, you'll get stuck at the coffeeshop where some fuzzy girl wonder is bittorrenting the entire fifth season of South Park, slowing down your basic connections to a crawl. Web commuters can't rely on whatever resident wifi crumbs you can scrape together. Spend the $39 a month (most US carriers have similar plans, including Sprint and AT&T) and do it right. 3 paid-for wifi hotspots a month and you've already justified this to the boss.

Pens and a Moleskine Journal

Don't think life is strictly digital. Sometimes, you need a good old fashioned pen and paper to get things handled. Use said pen and paper to jot important notes about upcoming projects while you're in between laptop moments. Or, maybe you'll use your pad to write a quick note to the cute web commuter at the next table. Whatever the case, I keep paper and pens handy.

A Flip Mino Video Camera

I prefer the Flip Mino to the Flip MinoHD (it's the web; you don't really need HD much). Why? How? I use this tool in many ways. I use it for marketing. I use it for communicating brief messages that I'd rather capture in video instead of text. I use it to show off the conditions in certain work environments. For instance, if I were still building data centers and rolling in huge enterprise servers, I'd use a Flip to document the process. I'd show off how the procedures went, and how things stacked up. This tool is just basic communications protocol for me now, and might prove useful to you.

My MacBook

My laptop goes everywhere with me. I need it to connect to my world. Yes, the iPhone is getting closer and closer, but my Macbook is still my portal to the larger web. I can't yet run a webinar off my iPhone (though I hear that's coming soon). I can't really type as fast as I can on my laptop, so it's a staple. I keep it charged as best as I can, too. If you're a really hardcore user, you can tote around a second battery, but then, that's adding about five or more pounds of weight to your backpack.

What's in YOUR Bag?

Are there five things you can't stand to be without? Share them with us here at workshifting. It's always fun to get a peek into someone else's life, don't you agree?

Chris Brogan is acting editor of workshifting. He is president of New Marketing Labs, and blogs occasionally at [chrisbrogan.com]

What do you see outside your office window? I see the Rocky Mountains and a jet going the other way. Okay, you might have much better office mates than the jolly German beside me, who is laughing a little too much at some Dustin Hoffman movie. But I think I've got you beat as far as vistas go.

If you're here, thanks. workshifting is our new project, sponsored and created in concert with the folks at Citrix Online, who make software like GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar and more. No, this isn't a big ad. It's easier to make ads, actually. Instead, we've got a mission.

workshifting exists to swap stories with others (like me) who make their office in some pretty interesting places when not back at the mother ship. Sure, I've got a cubicle-style office like lots of folks (thanks, Herman Miller), but I also shift my work to several dozen other places, like coffeeshops, airports, hotel desks, and pretty much anywhere I can sneak some power (we'll talk about that a lot).

When a post is very very very specifically about a Citrix Online product, we'll label it as a sponsored post. In truth, the entire blog comes out of their money, but the difference is this: we're going to write stories and reviews about everything that pertains to workshifting, and not just why GoToAssist lets you offer customer support from the beach (not recommended: sand in laptops isn't that easy to get out, I am here to report).

Fair? Make sense?

So, as this is a project built in part by me and the gang at New Marketing Labs, you can expect a mix of useful, community-minded, and two-way interactions. I'm not going to write every post, but we had to start somewhere, so the first few days or so of the blog will be heavily influenced by me. I don't mind. I'm like the perfect target audience for workshifting.

Like the design? It was created by our friends Justin and Eric at Coffee House Ideas, two guys who understand workshifting, that's for sure. We'll drag them into writing a post or two for you, too.

Do you want to write for workshifting? We have info on what that takes. If that interests you, ping Justin Levy (jlevy [at] newmarketinglabs [dot] com). He'll talk you through it.

Thanks for your time, and welcome to workshifting. We promise it'll be informative, helpful, entertaining, and a place to learn more about the whole "stay integrated with your office anywhere" kind of lifestyle of web commuting. Good? Good!

--Chris Brogan is acting editor of workshifting. He is president of New Marketing Labs, and blogs occasionally at [chrisbrogan.com].