5 tips for building a collaborative community

Posted by Tad Johnson - Apr 17th, 2008 at 15:04

I wrote the article below for an internal blog at work. Once I wrote it, I realized that it was pretty much applicable anywhere so I thought I’d try to get a little more press. I’m also posting it over at tadfad.com.

Collaboration is all the rage in Corporate America this year. With a globally dispersed workforce, much of this collaboration is taking place online. Web sites, wikis, blogs, forums, and even full collaboration suites are emerging on the scene.

Are you looking to tap into this collaborative energy? Want to form an online presence for your global team? Here are 5 tips that will help grow your collaborative community.

1. Get Personal. The web is often criticized for being too impersonal–but it need not be so. Most (all?) online collaboration tools have the ability to include small photos (sometimes called avatars) for users. Encourage everyone on the tool to add their own photo. We’re visual, personal creatures by nature so let’s make it personal! For example, there’s my photo. Doesn’t that feel more personal?

2. Respond. If you are trying to start a collaboration community online, you have the burden to check for updates frequently and respond as much as possible. This is especially critical during the first days/weeks as users are testing it out. If a colleague is going to take the time to pose a question or comment, you need to respond in kind. Yes, this is a time investment. Yes, it will pay off.

3. Reward/Recognize. Participating in collaboration communities is not a mandatory task. It’s not critical to our day-to-day jobs. Yet it has the potential to yield great results in improved efficiency and outcomes for businesses. The early adopters who are willing to stick their necks out and participate should be recognized and rewarded. It doesn’t need to be elaborate, and it can be done entirely within the online community, but some sort of recognition is key. As an example of free, easy recognition, Flickr.com (a photo sharing site) allows users to give each other virtual awards for outstanding photos.

4. Set some goals. Users will be encouraged to participate if they know why they’re participating. Set some goals for your collaborative community, making sure they’re time based, measurable, and significant. As an easy example, you could set the goal to reduce team emails by 20% through the use of an online collaboration community.

5. Show progress. Once you’ve set some goals above, track them and communicate progress. We all love trackers and metrics, so this should be second nature. Give your collaboration partners a sense of accomplishment by charting the groups successes (and/or failures).

Don’t be discouraged if your first attempt at collaboration is not wildly successful. As we all become more comfortable and aware of the opportunities of online communities we will work our way up the capability ladder. These tips will help you start that climb.

5 tips for a successful carpool

Posted by Tad Johnson - Apr 13th, 2008 at 20:04

With gas prices on the rise, driving alone in your car is an expensive proposition. We’re paying $3.50/gallon here in Milwaukee which works out to $0.15/mile for the average car. (Double that if you’re driving a truck/SUV). With such a cost pressure, the carpool is certainly an attractive alternative to the solo commute.

I’m lucky to have the idea setup for a successful carpool : my roommate and I both work in the same building. We’ve been carpooling for a few months now and it has made a noticeable impact on my budget. Even as gas prices have gone up, my spending on gasoline has decreased.

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Like most things, the carpool is not all roses. My roommate and I both give up some freedom of scheduling exactly when we leave for work & home, and I’m not able to run errands or drive to lunch on the days he drives. These drawbacks are well worth the extra $20 that I keep in my pocket every week.

Here are some tips for a successful carpool :

  1. Keep a routine. Try to leave at the same time every day so it becomes part of the natural routine for all carpool members.
  2. Don’t keep the driver waiting. If anyone is waiting for a pickup, it should be the passenger(s), not the driver. A happy carpool is a punctual carpool.
  3. Spread the driving evenly. This one is pretty obvious, but it deserves mention. Keep things simple with a daily rotation of driving duty.
  4. Celebrate your savings! To keep the good feelings flowing, celebrate with your carpool mates every now and again by going out for lunch, drinks, or some other event. Since you’re saving money each week, you can think of this as a “free” celebration!
  5. Spread the good word. Encourage your co-workers and friends to try the carpool. It’s really not as scary as it sounds and it’s a great way to save gas, save money, and save the environment (at least a little).

The benefits of high gas prices

Posted by Tad Johnson - Apr 10th, 2008 at 17:04

As anyone who drives regularly is fully aware, gas prices are high. Quite high. Like $3.50 high. This may seem like a real drag when you’re paying $40 or $50 a tank, especially since prices move seemingly arbitrarily.

But as with most things, there is a silver lining!

cityplacedart2.jpgAfter dismantling our national mass transit system in the early 1900s and replacing it with sprawling suburbs and highways, this just may be the time to rebuild. (The reader may note that some of the largest cities in the U.S. have functional mass transit. I will remind the reader that every city of any size once had mass transit systems.)

The one-two punch of foreclosure fears and rising fuel prices will likely serve as strong encouragement for Americans to move back closer to the city centers at which point it becomes economical once again to build mass transit.

For this vicenarian, I can’t wait. What do you think?

Energy Savings : Fill the Freezer

Posted by Tad Johnson - Apr 2nd, 2008 at 18:04

Your refrigerator is probably the biggest electricity user in your kitchen. With energy costs going up, you don’t want it to work any harder than it has to. Fortunately, there are some very easy ways to keep it running efficiently :

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  1. Replace the ancient model. If you’ve had the same refrigerator for 20 years or more, it’s time for an upgrade. Newer models are so much more efficient that they pay for themselves in energy savings in just a few years.
  2. Keep it clean. There’s a reason your fridge has wheels–you need to clean behind it every month or two. Dust buildup prevents even heat transfer, making it work harder.
  3. Fill the freezer. You want your freezer about 90% full for optimal efficiency. If you keep lots of frozen foods on hand, great. If not, fill the extra space with something easy, like ice. I fill up my empty milk cartons with water and place them in the freezer. If I need the space, I’ll just empty a few and throw out the cartons.

Remember, saving energy not only saves you money, it benefits the globe. Don’t let your fridge be an energy hog!

5 Tried and True Financial Fundamentals [via SavingsAdvice.com]

Posted by Tad Johnson - Mar 27th, 2008 at 22:03

Phoning this one in, folks. Click through for the full story.

http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2008/03/23/102071_tried-and-true-financial-principles.html

Five Tried and True Financial Fundamentals - SavingAdvice.com Blog via kwout

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