As much as I love supporting local coffee shops, sometimes when I travel, particularly in Europe, I frequent Starbucks.  Why?  For workshifting purposes.  I ain't on a vacation, baby, I have a business to run.  They always have a multitude of outlets, plenty of open space, don't mind you camping out for a day.  And, of course, the seminal ingredient for any workshifters needs - WIFI (not free, though).  

But now, they have done something that will make workshifters the world over rejoice!



What do you think?

When you have a flight delay, it's annoying.  When you have to pay 20 bucks to check in one bag, it's ridiculous.  But when you have WiFi on your plane, it's perfecto.

Thanks to the innovators at Virgin America, anyone can now access the Internet while sitting in their cramped, overpriced seat.  Delta, American and Southwest are even catching on to this fabulous trend.  Finally, an airline perk and not another snack charge (5 dollars for a bag of chips--come on now).

This new Internet option will drown out the crying baby two rows behind us, end the armrest war with our neighbor and get our jobs done faster.  Accessing our office computers and meeting remotely with co-workers is now possible from the air, thanks to GoToMyPC and GoToMeeting.

Technology lets us synchronize our work and lives once again.  So my fellow road warriors, tweet to your heart's content; update your Facebook page with video of your cat flushing the toilet, or whatever you consider funny enough to share with the world; and meet with colleagues and access your work applications and files.  Getting the job done and harmonizing your work-life balance are now possible no matter the altitude.

It's a new age--with a new flexibility to work, play and connect from anywhere, even 30,000 feet above the earth at 600 miles per hour.

Here are the advantages I see from having Internet access on planes:

• Travel updates: letting family, co-workers and clients know if there is a change to my itinerary
• Finishing projects: accessing my office computer to work on projects using GoToMyPC
• Keeping in touch: replying to the emails I've been meaning to get to, sending eCards, etc.
• Meeting with a colleague or client: using GoToMeeting's screen-share capabilities, chat, etc.
• Entertainment: watching my new favorite TV show, "Modern Family," or sending a picture of my aerial view to friends
• Staying in the loop: what if a natural or political disaster occurs while traveling?
• Studying up: catching up on industry trends, reading blogs, opinion articles, etc.
• Distraction: focus on the stuff I want, while tuning out the pains and discomforts of modern-day travel

As we know, the advances in technology and the benefit of mobility keep us connected.  The balance and mix between life and work will only become more integrated as the options to access our office computers, social networking sites and email accounts are available no matter the location.  So now, it's a coffee shop, it's a cubicle, it's super work in the sky.

Do you find any other advantages to having in-flight Internet?


More about Internet in planes


Photo Credit: davipt

Ratings and reviews have become a large part of what influences my decisions on where I eat, sleep and drink while traveling.  I constantly find myself checking tips on Foursquare and reviews on Yelp to help me decide where I want to spend my time and money.  These reviews and ratings are valuable because I know they are user generated and I can trust the opinion of normal people like myself, for the most part.  

Now imagine if we applied these ratings and reviews to workshifting.  I go to Starbucks in Stratford upon Avon looking to get some work done.  I get my coffee, sit down and realize they have free wifi, plugs at nearly every table against the wall and its pretty quite (except at 3:30pm when all the kids get out of school).  So I get out my Nexus One, check in on foursquare and write a tip about the great atmosphere, free wifi and outlets and I tag this tip with our cute hashtag #workshifting.  Or I am at my coffee shop in NYC and I write a tip that the Bean has free wifi however they have only three outlets and I use the #workshifting hashtag.  Next time you are in the East Village looking for a place to workshift you probably won't go to the Bean if you need to plug in.  Now we have the ability to make our #workshifting hashtag valuable.

What are your thoughts?

Photo Credit: Melissa Leon

February and March are two very busy workshifting months for AJ and myself.  We are going to conferences, meeting with clients, launching a client website and working on a charity project all while trying to keep our company and team productive.  We have traveled to the UK every six months for the past two years and have had many experiences with their internet options.  So here is what I have discovered. You have three options internet cafes, wifi in cafes or hotels or USB internet broadband cards.  

Internet Cafes usually give you decent speeds for up to 2 pounds an hour.  This is the only place I have been able to make Skype calls on a consistent basis.  However, you have to sit in the same, smelly place for hours.  And hour over hour you end of spending a significant amount of money.  

Wifi in cafes is extremely unreliable and can be expensive although it is available.  In most of my experiences with wifi in hotels I usually end of paying between 10 to 20 pounds per day, which just isn't a realistic option.  However McDonalds, of all places, has free wifi that is pretty reliable.

USB broadband cards are your best option for stable internet for email and general work on the internet.  You can buy a broadband card from Vodafone for 25 pounds which includes 3 gigs of internet usage.  You can also go with T-Mobile, the cost for the card is 20 pounds and you pay 2 pounds each day for 'unlimited' web usage. However, you cannot use Skype with T-Mobile and if you run too many applications at the same times (TweetDeck, Gmail, Facebook, Google Docs) then your bandwidth will be severely limited.  

Those are your options, here is what I suggest: Buy a Vodafone broadband card for 25 pounds for general use and if you need to have meetings with your team over Skype go to the internet cafe.  Also the UK has automatic content lock on all devices that access the internet so show your ID and ask for the content lock to be removed if you want to use Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube or other social networks.  

What are you suggestions for internet connectivity abroad?

Photo Credit: AJ Leon

After seeing so many businesses balking at having a workshifting friendly environment (and it's no wonder, since they run the risk of getting "that guy" as a customer), I thought I'd write a few simple guidelines for the business that wants to open its doors to this new mobile working world.

Have a professional set up your WiFi

It costs a little more upfront to contact the cable, FIOS or DSL company in your area and have them set your WiFi system up correctly, but it is worth it in prevention. When you tell a workshifter you have WiFi, they expect it to work. Your poor employees will be fielding tech questions all day if it slows down, or worse, goes down altogether from poor set up.

Can you offer WiFi without a professional set up? Sure! Anyone can buy a wireless router and offer WiFi if you already have high-speed internet in your establishment somewhere. What happens on a WiFi network in a business that is set up like a home office, though, is an increased chance of instability. If you can afford to go the pro route, I would. Going the pro route also lets you get some help setting up a guest login for your patrons that is different than your owner log in, for your protection.

Train your staff

Your staff are going to get questions about how to use the network. They don't have to be computer geniuses, but at least put the basic information they will need to know close at hand for them. This would include the answers to common questions like "Do I need a password or login to use your WiFi?", "Which network is yours?", etc. I assure you, a handful of people will still ask your staff these questions even if they are posted clearly. People are funny that way.

Have workshifting guidelines and post them clearly

Write out a list of rules for people using the WiFi for work, homework or play. Post them clearly in a number of different places.

Sample guidelines:

RESTAURANT X NOW HAS WIFI!

RULES FOR USE:
• To log in to our network (network X), please use Guest as the user name and Password as the password
• The tables with the green cards on them have outlets or power strips nearby
• No camping! We ask that you observe a 2 hour WiFi limit so that other patrons can come in to eat and to use the WiFi also (If you need to stay longer, just ask the manager on duty)
• Sharing is caring: please share larger tables with other workshifters. It is a great way to make a friend and maximize our space for others.
• Use your indoor voice. We know that your calls are important to your business, but many of our patrons are here to dine and relax, not to work. Help us give everyone a great experience here.
• If you experience technical problems with the network, please don't ask our wait staff or counter staff. Our tech support number is xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Make sure you have a few tables near outlets

Workshifters always need more power. Laptops and cell phones are always running out of juice. The more outlets you give us, the more we'll come back to your establishment.  

Consider signage

By this I mean, consider making it clear that a larger table by an outlet is a communal table by putting up a simple sign that says something like "this table is intended for communal workshifting use" or "please share this table with a stranger so everyone can plug in". Marking where the outlets are is also helpful.

Let us know you have WiFi

I can't tell you how many places I would go into in my travels if they had a simple sign out front that said "We Have WiFi". I'm always looking for it, and there is no great database yet to tell us who has it and where. There are a few online sites that list a handful of places, but the lists are incomplete. That also doesn't help when I get a call in the car that requires I hop on WiFi for a few minutes to respond. If you have a sign, I'm going to come in and buy something and sit for a while when that happens. If you don't I'll have to keep driving to somewhere that advertises their WiFi, like a Panera Bread or a Starbucks.

With a little planning and some clear guidelines, you should be able to reap the benefits of happy workshifters filling your establishment. We're out there, ready and waiting for more places to get WiFi.

Photo by: hive