Web Worker Daily

I spend a lot of time each day communicating with colleagues and clients, by phone, email, on social networks, and via the occasional fax. But when I need to have a short conversation and get an answer right away, instant messaging is hard to beat. Unfortunately, there are several IM protocols, and most of them don’t talk to each other. That’s why I use the multi-protocol IM software Adium on the Mac and Pidgin on the PC. I can also use a web-based alternative like Meebo or the new Imo.im.

VoxOx wants to take multi-system communication several steps further. In addition to the various IM protocols, it supports social networks (Facebook, MySpace and Twitter); SMS texting; faxing; private email; file sharing; video conversations; and voice connections. VoxOx also supports Skype messaging, although you have to have the Skype software running, which sort of defeats its purpose. Read the rest of this entry »

A few days ago, Aliza provided some excellent planning advice on how to pick a company phone system. I’ve written in the past about three options for incoming service: Google Voice (which now lets you use some of its features with your existing number), 3jam, and Grasshopper (which is now reportedly profitable.)

This time, let’s look at a business phone system that provides both incoming and outgoing service, plus actual phones. The folks at RingCentral have kindly set me up with one of their packages, the RingCentral Office. They also offer RingCentral Online, an inbound service similar to those listed above, but we’ll focus on the Office package for simplicity. Read the rest of this entry »

My cell phone number is on my business card. It’s the only number I ever give out. It makes sense, because I’m routinely not in my home office when someone calls me; if I want a client to be able to reach me, my cell phone is the best bet.

Many web workers rely on their cell phones for work these days and some have even moved to handling their phone calls entirely through their computers, with services like Skype. There are plenty of ways to do without a landline at this point, which leads us to the question of whether it’s even necessary to pay for a telephone line anymore. Read the rest of this entry »

Even though corporate telecommuters can leave the sterile cloth walls of their cubicles, they can’t escape the long arm of the conference call. This means that corporations launching a telecommuting program need to carefully consider how their remote workers will communicate via telephone. There are several choices:

• VoIP
• Plain Old Telephone Systems (POTS)
• Mobile
• Hybrid

It’s important that remote workers have a business line that rings separately from their home phone. This post is going to look at these options for corporate telecommuters.

Read the rest of this entry »

A friend of mine who is new to teleworking was complaining that her overseas prospects wanted to speak with her on the phone. Since she didn’t want to have to pay for international calls, she turned down these lucrative offers. “I don’t want my fees to be consumed by phone bills,” she said.

“You don’t need to use the phone, you can always use voice chat or VoIP,” I suggested.

“What’s that?”

It seems that not everyone who sets out to do web work knows how to establish their communication methods. There are many tools that allow us to sidestep more traditional — and usually more expensive — means of communicating with our clients, such as client visits and phone calls. For those who are just starting out, here are your options: Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been using Google Voice since it was GrandCentral, and have been quite impressed. But it’s still in beta, and while invitations to the beta are finally becoming available, I understand that they’re still hard to come by.

3jam is billing itself as an alternative to Google Voice, and it’s available today, so I’ve given it a quick spin. This is not a complete review, as there are some of 3jam’s features that I haven’t tried, such as SMS messaging, forwarding to Skype, an API that lets you write your own applications to interact with their service, and “group” numbers that allow multiple users to share voice mail and messaging. Read the rest of this entry »

James over at our sister site jkOnTheRun has been trying the latest version of Skype (version 4.1 on Windows, 2.8 on Mac). This new version includes screen-sharing features that allow you to share your desktop with other Skype users. James tested it out while collaborating on a document editing session with co-writer Kevin and was extremely impressed with its simplicity and the way that it allowed real-time collaboration with very little lag. He says that using it enables “true collaboration; it is just like looking over the host’s shoulder to see what they are doing.”

Earlier today, I had a Skype call with James. Initiating a screen-sharing session during the call was as simple as pressing the “share” button and selecting whether to share the whole screen, or just a portion of it. It worked very well; James was able to see every detail on my screen with minimal lag, even though I am in the UK and he’s in Houston. Here’s a screenshot of my desktop he took during the call:

This new version of Skype provides a very easy (and free) way to share a screen with a colleague for collaboration or tech support. Check out James’ post for more detail.

Note: You might need to go to the Skype web site to grab the latest version; clicking “Check for Updates…” didn’t work for me.

Have you tried Skype screen sharing for collaboration? Let us know how it went in the comments.

Web workers do pretty much everything else online, so why not use Internet phone service, too? Besides our natural technology addiction, there are actually compelling financial reasons for why using VoIP (voice over IP) services can be a good idea.

The cost savings can be significant over traditional landline phone services, depending on the needs of your business and whether you make a lot of long-distance or international calls. Here’s a look at the top four ways to cut your web worker budget by using a VoIP service.

Get a business phone number at a fraction of a landline’s cost. Using VoIP can save money on a business line in both service and installation costs. Service for a landline into my home office from our phone company would cost around $30 per month for local service, with long-distance calls additional. Read the rest of this entry »