In the past, syncing Google Calendar with your iPhone has been a pretty big hassle. After having tried just about every method in the book, I’ve found two solutions that are definitely worth checking out.
One is NuevaSync, which is completely free but requires registering for an account. The other is SaiSuke, which costs $10 but offers many more settings to set things up exactly how you need to. Read the complete review on TheAppleBlog.
By Justin Draeger
Teleworking has been gaining traction for years and now more than 2.44 million people spend at least part of their work week at home.
But recently some major employers have been pulling telecommuters back into the office. The goal of any would-be teleworker is to show your boss how working from home will benefit him and the company.
If you’re having trouble getting your point across, here are some possible reasons he wants you in the office.
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By Jake Kuramoto
Back in 2003, I worked in a cube farm at Oracle’s corporate headquarters in Redwood Shores. I had been commuting an hour and a half each way, five days a week, since 2001, and I really wanted to work out a telecommuting arrangement with my manager. I started out working from home a couple days a week, and eventually, I grew into a permanent web worker.
After five years of working remotely, the one problem I’ve yet to solve is the conference call. Or more accurately, the conference call where I’m the only one on the phone. If you telecommute, you’re savvy to this problem, and even if you don’t, you can probably relate.
Here’s the scenario: it’s a handful of people sitting in a conference room and one person on the phone. The more people in the room and on the phone, the bigger the problem.
All typical meeting problems become amplified when you’re on the phone.
(Photo credit: Flickr user morecoffeeplease)
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By Kyle West
Editor’s Note: Around here, “switching” isn’t just changing operating systems. It can also be about leaving a more traditional work environment behind and switching to web work. Kyle made the jump a couple of years ago and shares with us the lessons he learned along the way.
A little over 2 years ago my partner and I packed up our offices, sold all our office furniture and officially joined the full-time web-working crowd. Since then we’ve made plenty of mistakes, but we’ve also cleared our fair share of hurdles. The hardest part of the switch? Communicating effectively.
Communication is tough enough when everyone is in the same room. It’s exponentially more difficult after you end all physical interaction. Gone were the days of huddling around the whiteboard, brainstorming over carry-out and getting instant feedback on your work.
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By Pete Johnson, HP.com Chief Architect
You don’t have to be in the work force too long before someone ultimately insults you in some way. Maybe it isn’t even intentional, but that doesn’t take the sting out of it. The most basic, knee jerk human reaction when we experience something like this is to get angry and hurl something similar right back at the offending party.
While natural, that perfectly understandable course of action tends to inflame the situation instead of improve it. Is there a better way?
Sometimes, there can be and you can get something much more than revenge of a such a situation, like a better relationship with someone that becomes more useful later.
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Jonathan Lane worked side contract jobs as a web developer until he grew his business enough to freelance full-time. Then he moved to Mayne Island, a small island off of Canada’s west coast, a place he had visited as a child. Now he takes on diversified projects including web design and development, e-commerce, and textbook co-authoring.
Jonathan’s personal web site is located at www.flyingtroll.com and his business site is www.industryinteractive.net.
Describe your job/career/business
I do a bunch of things. I’m a strong believer in “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”, so I do some web design and development work for clients, I’m starting up an e-Commerce site, developing a “Web 2.0 app”, and starting up a locally targeted online/offline combo service. I’m also in the process of doing a graduate degree, co-authoring a textbook, and contributing a series of articles on web development.
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Chuck Brotman is the Director of Sales Engineering for ON24, a webcasting and rich media marketing company based in San Francisco. He’s seen the web impact the sales organization in terms of convenience, speed and productivity.
Describe your job/career/business
I work as the director of sales engineering at ON24, a webcasting and rich media marketing solutions company. My responsibilities include running our proof-of-concept program, prototyping and building custom demonstrations for prospects and channel partners, and managing RFP and RFI responses. I also work as a liaison between sales and product management/engineering.
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Lea Woodward, profiled in a recent WWD Field Report, suggested this open thread topic to start off the week:
One of the benefits of being a web worker - whether you work for yourself or for a company - is usually the autonomy to work without having an over-bearing boss breathing over your shoulder.
But it also means you have to be your own boss - and an effective one at that. If you’ve never had the good fortune to work for a good boss, then here are some of the things they can be good at…
- Giving you objective and constructive feedback on your work and performance.
- Setting performance goals and targets that stretch your capabilities and help you improve.
- Providing mentorship, career guidance and helping you manage your long term career.
- Giving you cover, taking the flak and enabling you to concentrate on getting things done.
- Talking over difficult decisions to give you a different perspective and help you see the bigger picture.
As a web worker, who gives you objective feedback? Who helps you raise your game? Do you seek out mentors and take an active role in planning your future career? Who can you turn to when you need to make a difficult decision and get an alternative perspective?
Just how effective are you at being your own boss?
