Ok, I will date myself a little here and admit that the very first computer I had was a Texas Instruments TI99 that used tape cassettes for storage. I also remember cranking up old analog modems to get online and having bragging rights because I had the first 28.8k modem on my street.

Its safe to say that I have been in IT for a while and its been mind blowing to see what we used just 15 years ago compared to what we have today. Typically these swings in tech are proceeded by subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, trends that start to emerge as companies start to craft and shape their visions. Shifts like moving mainframes to PC's and Microsoft starting to embrace the internet, have changed the way we work, and workshift, even today.

We are all lucky to be living through another one of these transitional periods in tech and these upcoming trends could change the way that we do business and workshift to get business done. Now, depending on which tech pundit or tech vendor you ask, this list could change. But here are three trends that I see coming (or that are already here) and if you have some I would love to hear from you.

1. The consumerization of IT. Think about the traditional model of how IT procures and distributes technology to an organization. Typically an IT shop partners with a specific set of vendors and they procure and deliver solutions from only them because a homogeneous shop tends to works best. With the introduction of new technologies like the iPad, Android phones, iPhones, and with more Millennials starting to enter the workplace, people want to start using the same technology they use at home in their job. Honestly, the consumer based tools are starting to work better and get updated more frequently than traditional enterprise applications so who can blame them. More and more, people's work and home lives are starting to blur and they want to use tools that are familiar to them in both locations.

2. The embracing of software as a service (SaaS). You can really start to see the shift in traditional IT in how businesses are starting to embrace the SaaS model of delivering key applications to their organization. We are starting to see a shift from where IT is always the center of technology decisions to more business units going with web based tools to fill a gap in their technology infrastructure. Be it Google Apps for email, WorkDay for HR, Salesforce for CRM, there are some really compelling tools available for businesses to deploy quickly and often at a cheaper cost than involving IT. The benefit for workshifters is that these tools can be accessed from anywhere using almost any device.

3. The shift towards using simple devices running specific task oriented applications. Lets face it, in a lot of ways workshifters are no different from normal consumers when it comes to tech. We want something that is mobile, works consistently, and is low maintenance. There are always going to be power user/coder types who will need the processing power of a workstation. But for us who simply need to be mobile, access to email, SaaS applications, the new type of slate/iPad devices are starting to become more appealing. Instant on, quick performance, great battery life make for a workshifters dream. Pair this hardware with task specific apps, like an app for Twitter, one for word processing, another for email, that are very easy to install/uninstall, and it gives you a pretty compelling tool to use in your daily workshifting life. I know that my iPad is starting to pick up more of my daily use.

Its going to be an exciting next 10 - 15 years. As we start to see these trends emerge, start to see business focus on ROWE work environments, it will be a workshifters nirvana.

These are three trends that I can see coming, how about you?

Photo Credit: techbirmingham

Where do workshifters come from?  Obviously, they're dropped off by a stork. But, are they born workshifters or do they have to become workshifters?

Most workshifters were at one time or another sedentary office workers, before they took the leap to working independently.  Recently, I was preparing to make the shift from occasional workshifter to permanent workshifter.  It occurred to me when making the transition, that despite the fact that I had been working outside the office for several days at a time, the move to permanent workshifting required a lot of preparation.

And so, to help others who are just about to take the plunge, here are some tips for how to effectively prepare yourself.

Tip 1: Start preparing early.  If you stop reading here, that's fine, as long as you take this piece of advice.  It will shock you just how much prep work you have to do to transition to workshifting, especially if you hadn't been conscious of the fact that you might eventually need to.  Because you'll likely be doing this prep work at the same time as your day job, you'll need time to get it done, so start early.

Physical Documents

Tip 2: Develop digital habits. Physical documents are just a given when you work in an office, but as a workshifter, they're a pain in the neck.  No one wants to carry around manilla folders, take the risk of spilling coffee over them, having them get crumpled in your bag, or risk bringing the wrong folder to a meeting.  Instead, workshifters need to go digital, and so that means that while you're still an office worker, you should start developing digital habits: take notes with software, keep a digital calendar, scan documents, opt for electronic versions whenever possible, etc.

Tip 3: Take stock of all your hard copy files. So, all those manilla folders that you've stowed in your filing cabinets over the years, it's time to go through them and decide why you're really keeping them.  Chances are, you will find documents that you recall why you wanted to keep them in the first place.  Trash as much as you can at this point.  It's about streamlining.

Tip 4: Scan everything you need to keep. Now that you've gotten rid of the excess, get access to a scanner and scan all the documents you've decided are important.  Once you've digitized (and backed them up), you will go ahead and shred these paper documents.  They will no longer weigh you down.

Tip 5: Store everything else with colleagues. If you're leaving the office worker role, but remaining with the same company, there may be files that you don't quite need, but that you think others might, or that it would be a good idea if someone had them.  Lean on your colleagues, or your successor to take this stuff from you.  Make sure to explain what it is, and why they might need it, otherwise it will land at the bottom of a filing cabinet, never to be seen again.

Tip 6: Digitize notebooks. As much as I like to think of myself as a digital native, I still take notes in notebooks, on notepads, and on post-its.  When I went back through these notes, I found that most of the stuff was no longer useful, but was surprised to see that some notes I had taken over a year ago could still be useful today.  So, I went through my notebooks and recycled or shredded that which was unnecessary, but added all my notes that were still relevant to a text file, that I could keep at my disposal.

Tip 7: Keep your notes as simple as possible.  In the previous tip, I said put the notes in a text file.  Over the years, colleagues have laughed at me for my staunch devotion to Notepad, the hyper-basic pre-installed Windows text editor (actually I've upgraded to Notepad++, but still find myself opening Notepad out of habit).  While they laugh, I continue to use text editors for many reasons.  They are lightweight, and so I can have a ton of windows open at once and not experience any additional drag on my hardware (and for those who've worked with corporate PC's, you know this can be crucial).  They're also universally readable.  I don't need to worry about the compatibility of my text file if I move it from my office desktop, to my Macbook or to my Linux laptop.  In a pinch, I can even read my text file from a command prompt.  This flexibility will come in handy as a workshifter.

E-mail

Now that you've cleared your physical world of clutter, it's time to do the same for your electronic world, and where better to start than with every knowledge worker's biggest time suck: e-mail. Note that this is really only going to be important if, like me, you're transitioning from a local e-mail client (a la MS Outlook or Lotus Notes) on a company machine to a web-based client, or using an exchange server.  If your email has always been cloud-based, then things should be business as usual for you.

Tip 8: Pick a system and stick to it. There are as many e-mail organization systems as there are people.  I have a colleague who is the neatest most organized person I have ever met.  The consequence of this is that you need a blueprint in order to figure out the folder structure of his Outlook mailbox.  Tracking down an archived e-mail is like navigating a labyrinth.  I am a Gmail fanboy, and my e-mail classification of using only 3 folders spills over from that experience.  This can sometimes be slightly problematic because Outlook's search functionality is not as great as Gmail's, but overall, I still find I have an easier time searching for an e-mail than I do retrieving it from a labyrinth of folders.  In the end, though, which system you use, doesn't matter, as long as it's consistent.

Tip 9: E-mails that you think will be important, save on your company Exchange server. Remember that when you archive e-mails, by definition they're coming off your company's server and being saved elsewhere (by default, that's on your PC).  If you're leaving behind your old machine when you turn workshifter, saving those important e-mails to its hard drive won't be helpful, so instead, make sure important e-mails stay on the server, so that they can be accessed from webmail, your Blackberry, or other e-mail client.

Tip 10: Locally archive things that you probably won't ever need. Like with physical documents, there are many e-mails you will likely never need.  If you are sure you'll never need them, delete them.  If you doubt that you'll ever need them, but aren't sure, archive them.  After all, most companies give you limited space to save e-mail on the server and require you to archive.

Tip 11: Create a copy of your archive. Now, if you're leaving your old computer behind, archiving files that you think you might possibly need some day isn't going to do you any good, so go ahead and create a copy of your archive.  In fact, create multiple copies, because data can easily be lost on something as fragile as a CD/DVD or a web server.

Tip 12: Get used to using webmail services.  I actually spent my last month as an office worker accessing e-mail through webmail.  Partially by necessity (I'll get to that later), but also because it was a good habit to create for when i would be accessing e-mail this way all the time.

Electronic Files

Tip 13: Organize your files. Are you starting to see a theme here?  When making the switch from office worker to workshifter, organizing yourself is a great way to make sure nothing gets missed.  In terms of organizing your files, there are actually software programs that will do this for you (Belvedere for PC, Hazel for Mac).  Or, you can do what I did and take this opportunity to go through your hard drive and see just what all the files that you've saved since you started working for your current employer are.  You can then triage, organize, and delete to your heart's cotent.

Tip 14: Store everything in a specific folder.  For ease of back-up, and to make the next step painless, it's a good idea to save all the files that you will want to keep to the same folder.  That folder can have as many subfolders as you'd like, but it's important that everything be in one place.

Tip 15: Sync that folder to the cloud using Dropbox. As a workshifter, there are tons of applications out there that will promise to make your life easier.  For me, Dropbox wins the crown of favourite workshifting app.  Its potential uses are nearly limitless, but in this case, you'll be doing something very simple.  You'll install Dropbox (Dropbox referral link) on your machine that you're about to abandon (if you follow the above link, you'll get an additional 250 megs on top of the basic 2 gigs - I will also get an additional 250 megs - win win!).  Once that's done, you will take your folder that you've organized all of your files in and move it into your Dropbox folder.  Now, you can do two things with this folder.  First, you can install Dropbox on the machine you will be using from here on out so that you have access to those files indefinitely.  Second, you can share this folder with another user, so that if you want to leave your boss all your old files so he's not lost without you in the office, he'll have access to them too!

Tip 16: Backup to an external hard drive.  Honestly, this tip is mainly for those who work with large files that may be too large for Dropbox's free basic 2 gig limit.  In my case, the vast majority of my files were excel reports, databases, power point presentations and word documents.  Nothing too heavy.  But if you do video editing, or heavy design work, you may want to invest in an external hard drive to bring your old files with you.

Software & Hardware

Tip 17: Make a list of what kinds of files you use. As mentioned above, in my case, the majority of my files were spreadsheets, databases, power point presentations, word documents (and of course text files).  By doing this exercise, I know exactly what medium I spend my time working in.  That's important for the next tip.

Tip 18: Determine what the ideal tools for you would be. Here's where you get to have some fun and create your wishlist of tools you want.  Based on the file types you saw that you used, what tools would you ideally like to have?  Word?  Excel?  MS Project?  Photoshop?  Adobe Premiere?  Write this list down.

Tip 19:  Determine what on that list will be provided for you.  If you're workshifting, but are still an employee of a company, you may still get all the tools and comforts you're used to having at the office on the road, and it's just a matter of asking.  So, see what you can get your workshifting laptop set up with from your IT department.

Tip 20: Find open source alternatives.  If you're not workshifting on the company dime, or you prefer to use your own tools, shelling out for things like corporate editions of MS Office and Photoshop may be cost prohibitive, so find alternatives.  For starters, open source software is awesome.  I have been running Open Office on my home PC for years, and NeoOffice on my MacBook Pro with great success.  To find other open source alternatives for traditioinal software, check out osalt.com.  

Tip 21: Find cloud-based alternatives. Cloud-based software has come a long way in the past year or two, and many cloud-based apps are more than enough for most people.   Cloud-based alternatives can even be more convenient than traditional software because for a workshifter, it allows you to work from any machine with internet access.  Good starting points for cloud-based software are Google Docs, Zoho Docs, and the 37Signals suite of collaboration applications. There are tons more with price tags varying from free to pricey. Explore them all.

Tip 22: Determine your hardware needs.  I firmly believe that it is only once you've decided what software you need that you should decide on what hardware to purchase.  If every piece of software you need is Windows-based, buying a Mac is nonsensical, even if you can dual boot Windows on it.  (Although, it should be said that since having made the switch to Mac, the only file I have had issues with is MS Visio .vsd files, so perhaps I'm overstating the importance of picking the right hardware.)

Now, install your software, access your dropbox and your webmail, and it's like you never left the office!  The transition from office desktop to mobile workstation is complete.  If you've gone with cloud-based apps and webmail, your freedom is virtually unlimited.

Habits to Keep

Tip 23: Take digital notes. I'm horrible at following my own advice on taking notes one way.  In addition to text files, I use Evernote, moleskines, sticky notes and voice memos on my phone.  Don't be me.

Tip 24: Keep all your files in the cloud.  Whether you use Dropbox to keep all your files in the cloud, or Google Docs so that they're just cloud-based documents to begin with, keeping this habit means that you could drop your laptop in a river, and never miss a beat.

Tip 25: Save things in standard file formats. This is especially important if you start using some of the open source software I mentioned earlier.  Open source software generally allows you to save files in about 1,000 different formats.  Always pick the format that most closely resembles the standard file format for industries.  So, while I use Open Office and Neo Office, both of which have a .odf standard file extension, I save everything in MS Office XP format.  That way, I know just about anyone can open my file.

Bonus

Not so much a tip, but an anecdote that illustrates a bonus that comes with this kind of preparedness. I started preparing to transition to full-time workshifter about one month before my planned transition.  About two weeks before the move, my company laptop (an IBM Thinkpad T43 - a tank of a machine) died.  Had this happened to me two weeks earlier, I would have lost about two years worth of work that had been saved on my local hard drive, and that I had not been very diligent about backing up to company servers.  Because of my preparation to move to full-time workshifter, I lost nothing. All my most important files were already in my Dropbox, and ready and waiting for me when I booted up my MacBook Pro.

Being a workshifter is all about planning for eventualities, so planning to become one, has the fortunate byproduct of just plain making you better prepared.

What do you think?


Photo Credit: Matthileo

As a consultant and blogger, I keep a pretty full plate.  There's always a client project or a post I'm working on.  Staying organized is key to me getting everything done.

So I live by my Outlook calendar.  I schedule project milestones, blogging deadlines, etc.  I've always known that I was pretty dependent upon my calendar, but didn't realize how much until my computer crashed a few weeks ago.  Lucky for me I didn't lose much. 

But where I really felt it was in the notes I kept on my calendar.  I lost some of the data I had been collecting for future blog posts or business ideas I wanted to research.  I was able to recover quite a bit via my iPhone, but not everything.

That's when I realized it might be time to find a note taking application that could not only make my life easier but provide a better way of collecting information.  So when the folks at Workshifting were looking for someone to test drive a few note taking apps, I jumped at the chance.

The three I looked at were Simplenote, MobileNoter, and Evernote.

Couple of things worth a mention:  all of the apps I looked at offer some kind of tutorial whether it's a blog, user guide or video.  Kudos to them for helping users get the most out of the app.  All of them also offer a free account as well as a premium account.  You have the flexibility to get what you need.  I'd suggest checking out the free versions, see what you like best and then decide if you need the premium model.  None of the premium models I looked at seemed cost-prohibitive.  And they all have the ability to sync to the web.

Simplenote is exactly that...a place to create simple notes.  On their blog, they do mention a challenge with notes that contain hyperlinks.  This is a bummer for me because many times my notes are reminders to visit a website.  Hopefully they will quickly get that fixed.
Once you create a note on your phone, you can sync it to the web or email it.  The email did seem a bit redundant, because I can send myself an email.  But maybe I'm not thinking broad enough and there would be a time when I need this feature - just can't figure it out right now.
Where I saw Simplenote working well for me was for things like errand lists or shopping items.  It's a great place to jot things down - versus if you want to cut/paste a file for reference later.

MobileNoter reminded me of Microsoft Word.  So if you are familiar with Word, you'll find MobileNoter very similar and easy to learn.  With this application, you can create notebooks that contain similar ideas.   It also gives you the ability to share a notebook.  I thought this would be very cool for my volunteer projects - many of the people I volunteer with have iPhones.  We could have a shared document for an event and all contribute to the notebook.
In addition, it was very convenient to cut/paste.  With MobileNoter you can add not only text but entire files.  You can also insert maps, photos, images, etc.

MobileNoter connects to MS OneNote.  That means once my MobileNoter files are synced with OneNote.  I can create tasks within Outlook from my notes. 

In Evernote, you can set up folders and collect information for each (similar to MobileNoter).  But one of the things that Evernote really highlights is their search capability.  You can attach keywords to your files (whether it's a text file or an image).  This would be especially helpful when I find an image that inspires me but I don't exactly know what to do with it.  I want to keep it but I don't want to forget about it.  Having the ability to attach keywords would be great because I can do regular searches.

And speaking of searches, Evernote allows you to save searches that you do on a regular basis.

As you can see, there's a lot to choose from in the note taking app department.  And I'm sure I've only scratched the surface with these three apps.  What I realized in looking at Simplenote, MobileNoter and Evernote, is the decision of whether an app is good or not belongs to you.  It's what you do with it.  If it makes you successful, then it's fabulous.

What note taking apps are you using these days?  Drop a note in the comments


Photo Credit: ChicGeek

Bandize / Basecamp

One of the first things we teach musicians is to treat their music like a business. That may be an easy concept for many reading this site to understand, yet many musicians are running their career like a hobby. The first step beyond all the legal mumbo-jumbo is to get organized and start tracking progress of all the things happening in the band. We use project management software to do this. For smaller indie bands we go with Bandize, a project management software made specifically for musicians where they can track everything from mileage to gigs to inventory, accounting and more - all from a very nice user interface that gets even the most computer loathing musicians in tune. For those bands with a bit more going on, we use Basecamp from the 37 Signals crew. It gives more power to the big projects and allows us to tie in all kinds of users from promoters to PR to techies to booking agents, managers and even the band members themselves.

Email Solutions

photo by LoneGunMan

The largest asset a band has are its fans. They dictate the income, travel and release schedules for all musicians that are paying the bills through their art. When artists are on the road they need quick and effective ways to communicate with all their rabid fans. For us, we teach that the email is the most valuable metric to their business and we have gone on to show that more than 30% of their revenue will come as a direct result of the emails they send. There are countless email software providers and each has its own little quirks and features. In the music industry there is FanBridge and Reverbnation that are the two big players for indie artists. Again when the musician gets to a point where their skills pay the bills we look into larger solutions like Aweber or InfusionSoft.

Bandcamp

In the music sharing space the hands down leader is BandCamp. This service allows you to upload high quality .wav files and distribute them to your fans in a multitude of ways including

• Pay What You Want
• Per Track
• Per Album
• Free W/ an Email
• Free W/no Email
• With physical merch
• In any format of your choosing (.mp3, FLAC, WAV, etc)

I can't say enough about the service other than they rock and will be a huge player in the direct to fan movement happening in the music business right now.

 

Google Suite of Tools

What business would be complete without good old Google. From the web apps to the smartphone connectivity nearly all communications go through Google in one way or another. Whether its brand management through Google Alerts, managing a street team with Google Groups, checking Basecamp and fan mail in Gmail or reading up on some trends with Google Reader, we can go on and on about the "G." The best part for a band. They are all free, which fits right in their price range.

Mobile Blogging With Wordpress

Fans love interaction and they love seeing behind the scenes. Technology has really helped give musician's the edge here as their ability to quickly and consistently post photos, videos and text to their official sites has become very seamless and effective. Wordpress is our weapon of choice, however posting updates to a Tumblr account is just as easy. The simplicity of sending an email to your Wordpress account as a post means that even on the road or on someone's couch they can keep their fans updated with the latest happenings. There are plenty of other tools, yet you have to draw the line somewhere. We keep seeing new industries get into the location independence mindset. I love learning about them. Let's share some other tools and industries that help make this lifestyle attainable.

Today we have a guest post from Gene Marks.  Gene, an idiot, is also an author of four best selling small business management books and a frequent online columnist for Forbes.com, Businessweek.com and American City Business Journals.  Gene owns The Marks Group PC, a ten-person CRM and Financial consulting firm located in Bala Cynwyd, PA.

I am a remote worker.  And I am an idiot. 


I'm also the owner of a small business and everyone in my company also works remotely.  We used to have an office.  We now have a virtual private network supported by a local IT firm.  



And now Windows 7 is released.  Now that really sucks for my IT firm.

My ten person company is no different than many other small businesses around the world.  Most of the businesses my size are still in Windows XP Land. That's because they were smart enough to stay away from Windows Vista and all of its shortcoming.  I recently read Windows Vista has been adopted by only 8.8% of potential users.  At the same stage in its lifecycle Windows XP had been adopted by 87.1% of potential users.  



The bad news is that I've been told that my company is going to have to migrate to Windows 7 in the next year or two.  Citrix Online recently conducted a poll of 200 IT professionals in the SMB world and found that 42% of them expect Windows 7 will have "more than a small impact" on their operations next year.  And at the same time, only 13% of these guys plan on hiring extra staff to help migrate their clients to the new platform. 



I've got everything PERFECTLY organized on the computer I've been using for the past five years.  Upgrading me will not be fun.    



Thank God for GoToAssist.  Whether I decide to upgrade my existing computer (unlikely) or get a new computer (probably, but it still kills me to do so), my IT guys will be using GoToAssist to take control of my system.  This way I can turn my computer on while they connect and do what they have to do to configure my system. 



And thank God for GoToMeeting.  Because even before I let my IT guys touch my beloved, perfectly configured and trusted Windows XP workstation, I'm going to need to have an infinite number of conversations with them. With GoToMeeting, my IT guys can show me what I'll be expecting to see on my screen and how they're going to get me there. 



The research firm Forrester says that there are about 34 million "teleworkers".  They say that by 2012 enterprise mobile workers will make up 73 percent of the workforce.  My IT firm, and many IT firms like them, will have their hands full supporting idiots like me when we all have to upgrade to Windows 7.  They're going to need all the remote tools they can get their hands on.  



By the way I forgot about one other remote connection tool.  That's GoToMyPC.  I'll be using it to connect to my old Windows XP box which I fully intend to keep up and running.  Just in case Windows 7 hiccups.  Hey, maybe I'm not such an idiot after all!

If you want to read more detail about Windows 7 migration, online tools and why I'm an idiot, check out the extended version of this post, er, a whitepaper (or so I'm told): Windows 7 Migration and Online Tools.

If you're sick of reading, check out the webinar I recently was a part of: Windows 7 Nirvana Roundtable.

Photo Credit: techedlive

Less Accounting

Process

Bookkeeping

Price

Free to $24 per Month

Some Cool Features

You can create and send Invoices & Proposals

Handy dandy Mileage Log to record mileage deduction

Perform super easy Bank Reconciliations

Multiple types of Sales Tax

Set up Bank Accounts and import all of your transactions, yes, it's less accounting

One reason they kick SaaS

If Quickbooks and LessAccounting were in a fight, I'm pretty sure Less could pull an old school "Head Lock n' Swirlee" move.

Box

Process

File Sharing & Collaborative Working

Price

Free to $15 per User per Month

Some Cool Features

Store ALL your files online

Create Online Workspaces

Mobile Access to Files

File Commenting, Group Discussions & Online Documents

Within Box edit files online in Zoho, ConceptShare, or Picnik

Create tasks associated with files (ie "to review")

Access files from anywhere in the World with Internet connection

One reason they kick SaaS

They have launched a scrappy campaign to usurp the Goliath Microsoft's file sharing service.