The initiative, championed by the Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation (BEF), is just one in a range of programmes to make the country the world’s entrepreneurial hub by 2020, and a very significant one.

We met with Chris Harper, Programme Manager of the BEF a while back, who explained that the provision of free education in Barbados has contributed to its 99.7% literacy rate and now it’s time to translate that to digital literacy. The aim is to encourage companies and other public spaces to open up their Wi-Fi so that anyone, anywhere on the island can get onto the web at any time, including in outdoor spaces. The initiative catchphrase “From Rum Shop to Bus Stop” is reflective of Barbados’ culture, but doesn’t mean there is any less focus on achieving what can be gained with island-wide free Wi-Fi access.

Map from WifiSpottr showing Wi-Fi spots in Barbados. Many of the spots also cover their surrounding areas.

Considering how relatively easy and low-cost it can now be to set up an online presence, and participate in conversations online, free Wi-Fi access will mean that previously untapped entrepreneurial talent can be exposed to a global knowledge bank and market providing them with many opportunities for staying up-to-date, connecting and collaborating with those across the world. The digital divide will become narrower as more people, regardless of economic background will be able to get online to do business, which for many will be through their mobile devices.  And Barbados also becomes a more attractive place internationally, as both a holiday and business destination.

The initiative has meant that Barbados has moved from about 1% free wireless access to almost 75% 60% within a year. Most of this success has been dependant on the great culture of sharing, together with support from Government, the public and private sectors and telecommunications providers. The Free Wi-Fi Barbados? Wi-Not? campaign is run entirely by volunteers, and includes the WiFiSpottr app which maps Wi-Fi spots across the island.

Although the project is still in relatively early stages, the map shows the great progress that has been made, and the campaign has attracted support from over 16000+ people on Facebook – but this only shows those that already have some kind of access to the web.  The Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation is now working with public organisations such as community centres, demonstrating that making people aware of the possibilities provided by digital literacy and internet access is just as important as the actual connectivity.

Read the official press release here

Around 2 years ago, we wrote about the 24-hour book project, an ambitious initiative bringing people together to collaboratively write, edit and publish a book in just 24 hours. They succeeded back then, and now they’re back with a similar challenge for the South Asian Literature festival – this time with a South-Asian theme and working with contributors from both London and Delhi.

 ”On Saturday 15th October, writers armed with their bare imaginations, a lot of digital ink, and an industrial quantity of coffee, will commence the writing process. Then, on Sunday 9th October, a group of volunteer editors will move in to make the story ready for publication in the final 12 hours. The book will be printed using the latest print-on-demand technology and published under a Creative Commons license.”

It’s an interesting and exciting way of working, and also reminded us of the project that produced the Collaborative Futures book over a week in January 2010. The team have also gone on to create Booki, a downloadable platform which encourages others to produce and publish books using a similar open model. They call this the ‘book sprint’.

The ‘sprint’ has evolved from the technology community, where a group of developers come together over a specified time to develop software projects. Media Lab Melbourne, who have taken the concept to a wider creative community including artists, designers, scientists and technologists, describe the sprint as “short periods of intense project development based on a theme”.  Although there is a large emphasis on producing digital content, working collaboratively in this way also naturally lends itself to using online tools for participants to collaborate. The 24-hour Book Project and Collaborative Futures shows that it works in book publishing, and there are certainly other creative disciplines that could use this format too.

Would you attempt a ‘sprint’ for a project that you’re working on? Do you already work in this way? Let us know.

The 24-hour book project will be taking place at Rich Mix, Shoreditch on 15^th October from 10am. It is run in partnership between The Literary Consultancy, the Society of Young Publishers, CompletelyNovel, if:book, German Book Office New Delhi and the Young Indian Publishers.  They are still looking for experienced writers, proofreaders, copy-editors, and typesetters to participate, so if you’d like to get involved, check back for more details. View the flyer (PDF)

Time for a technology slow down?

Image by dogbomb on Flickr

Aleks Krotoski (Technology writer and broadcaster) explained how the web has provided exceptional opportunities for social interaction. The ability to make new connections and collaborate with speed is a positive development.  Our technology keeps us connected to the greatest archive that the world has ever seen.  But Krotoski also noted that as humans, we don’t always have the capacity to deal with this, particularly in terms of synthesising information.  As Nick Tyler (Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering) stated, the rate of human evolution is much slower than the rate of technological evolution, so engineers need to start developing solutions that place the human first.

Perhaps this explains the discomfort that many individuals experience in trying to surf this wave  – they feel constantly behind, they don’t feel ready.  One audience member commented how she feels ‘forced’ to engage. Is it all moving too fast for us all to comprehend?

Sherry Turkle, author of the book “Alone Together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other”, brings together 15 years of research on the impact of technology on our relationships.   Turkle says that it’s time for us to reassess how we’re using the web in line with the effect that it’s having on our behaviour, social etiquette and ability to communicate.  The answer is not to refer to it as an ‘addiction’ – technology is not going away.  But, we do need to look at issues such as privacy and how the ‘always-on’ culture is affecting our (and particularly young people’s) ability to be alone and to communicate effectively with others.  In one piece of research she found that business students prefer texting to real-time interaction.

Re-connecting with real-time communication

So it’s interesting that some technology being developed is focussing on how to enhance real-time visual interaction, as opposed to text-based.  Something that could have a major impact on the way that dispersed teams collaborate.  At the NESTA event, Richard Harper (Microsoft) explained that a reason that video conferencing hasn’t taken off in the workplace as yet, is that people prefer text-based communication to real-time as it gives them time to edit – it’s a performance issue.  He noted that on a basic level, people don’t like leaving voice mail messages because they don’t trust themselves to get it right first time.

At the same time, the technology capabilities are now improving.  Previously there were issues with quality and connectivity.  Now, as Nick Sheppard (CISCO) described, it’s almost impossible to buy a new communication device that doesn’t have video capabilities.  It’s something that we’re being increasingly exposed to, and it’s changing the face of communication, literally.

The future of video communications

Image by axel.voitier on Flickr

At NESTA’s Digital You event we heard from two companies at the forefront of video conferencing.  Gostai describe their Jazz Robot (pictured) as a “skype on wheels”, providing a two-way live video link to a location, but is mobile, enables interaction with colleagues and can be used to observe surroundings.    So for example, rather than cutting off the virtual communications at the end of a meeting, the robot enables an individual to maintain their presence.  Even though the image of interacting with a robot raised a few giggles at the event, Gostai have made it a reality.

body>data>space have been researching the area of telepresence which they describe as “realtime performance or connections using the internet to link two or more remote spaces”. This includes how technology can portray gesture development and body movement, particularly in the skills that young people will need for their future social and professional interactions.  They have a range of fascinating projects which explore the use of technology to enhance collaborative practice, one of which is the NESTA-funded Robots and Avatars.  Ghislaine Boddington (Creative Director, body>data>space) mentioned however, that when they run their projects they develop a timeline which integrates both physical and virtual meeting points.  This method of hybrid communication, she says, is vital in terms of building trust.

Virtual communication over physical?

And this is a key point in that ongoing question: will virtual replace physical?  In a word, no.  It was clear from all of the speakers, and in fact both events, that these tools are not a replacement, but are providing us with a wider choice in how we communicate.  What’s important is that future development takes human needs and psychology into account, and in turn we become better at recognising when it’s more appropriate to meet in person or when it’s relevant to use digital communications.  As one speaker remarked, “video is better than e-mail, but not better than face-to-face” and we often need an in-person meeting to kick-off effective virtual communication in a project.

Furthermore, it’s important for us to not blame online tools for unsuccessful collaboration.  People collaborate, not technology – it’s just there to make the process easier.  The team has to be right in the first place, have the willingness to work together and the skills to ultimately get the job done.

“The juggling entrepreneur has their own business and brand, which is the core of what they do, but they also develop ‘micro-ventures’ with others…  These are ventures that are built from scratch, collaboratively with others, and have their own branding and identity”

For this person, time management is key.  They have multiple tasks to complete, having to flit from project to project, and it can be difficult to fit everything in.

So, on a couple of projects we’re working on, we’ve proposed having two different types of meetings – the usual type and the co-working session.

We’re all familiar with the usual type of meeting, where the team get together to discuss and agree certain aspects of a project, give updates, provide feedback and generally develop a course of action. These meetings are useful (when run properly) and needed for collaboration, but they tend to create more work for the team to do in order to move the project forward.  This means that those involved will need to allocate time in their individual schedules to complete tasks – and this can sometimes be difficult for the juggling entrepreneur.

With the co-working meeting, all people in the project agree to be available at the same time, for say 2 hours, to dedicate to the project. This can be working on the same task together such as a writing a document, or working on respective tasks. Either way, everyone has made a commitment to spend ‘X’ amount of time to GET THINGS DONE.

When we’ve proposed this idea, our colleagues have loved it, not only because it’s an efficient and  productive way of working, but it allows them to block off time in their schedule. Knowing that other people are there to do the same thing creates a sense of momentum and responsibility and as a result it’s difficult to let things slip.  There’s a sense of achievement by the end of the session – a specific task has been completed and something crossed off the to-do list, rather than added.

The co-working meeting can be face-to-face or virtual. Either way, here are some tips that we’ve found to work:

• To avoid the ‘redundant pair of hands’, even if you’re working in the same room and on the same task, make sure you all have your own laptop and access to the internet. Use online tools that have real-time editing (such as Google Docs) so that you can all get stuck in.
• If you’re working virtually, ensure everyone makes a commitment not to multi-task or get distracted by their other work. A conversation tool, whether that’s skype or IM is essential to keep checking that everyone’s on track.
• Be clear about what you’re all there to do. Re-state this at the start of the session and then review again at the end.
• Don’t mix up the usual type of meeting and the co-working session. Create separate lists for what needs to be ‘discussed’ and what needs to be ‘done’. If necessary cover the former at the beginning of the session, but have a cut-off point for this.

If you have various projects you’re working on with others, you might find the co-working meeting a refreshing addition to your collaboration methods.  Give it a go and see how you get on.

Image by db photographs on Flickr

In this practical guide, Harrin explores every corner that a project manager should consider when introducing their team members to social media – from the different types of tools available, all the way through to making the case to senior management for those using them within organisations.

The book emphasises collaboration throughout, identifying how technology and societal trends are changing the way we work together, including in project management. This is ‘Project Management 2.0′ where we’re moving from command-and-control methods to more open and transparent modes, with one of the main roles of the project manager now being to encourage and facilitate collaboration amongst the team.  This not only makes social media a perfect tool, but means that existing project management technologies might not work so well in the current day.  We’re used to accessing real-time information flexibly and freely in many aspects of our lives, and this is now spilling over into our work.  Using social media within projects means that those involved can access the status of the project at any time, rather than waiting for the project manager to report back.  However this also, Harrin highlights, shifts the role of project managers who are now not the sole holders of information, which could be uncomfortable for some.

Social Media for Project Managers is a perfect introduction for those that are new to social media – it starts by explaining the 7 C’s of community, collaboration, communication, constraints, connectivity, channels, content (and an eighth – cloud computing, which relates to software that can be accessed through the web without a need for downloading it) and a thorough explanation of the array of tools that are available (blogs,  collaboration tools, instant messaging, micro-blogs, podcasts, RSS, social networks, vodcasts, webinars, wikis).   Harrin demonstrates how social media can work perfectly in line with all stages the project management life cycle (initiation > planning > delivery > final) and provides plenty of examples and case studies of how they are implemented successfully (Bracket is found in the section on managing teams where we discuss how we used Google Sites to support Field).

It also works well as a handbook for those that are keen to use social media but are perhaps meeting some resistance from others.   Harrin raises awareness of all the common worries and challenges of implementation, particularly within organisations – such as concerns about lost productivity, security, information overload and managing the ‘always on’ culture with mobile devices.   You will be provided with tips on how to overcome these challenges (e.g. clarify boundaries and dispel myths) and even given an example list of risks and contingencies that can be presented to senior management that are expressing concern.

Social Media for Project Managers is extremely comprehensive, accessible and easy-to-digest – a must read for those working in this area!

Find out more on the book’s website or order your copy from Amazon.

Although the web is allowing people to connect with others despite time and their location, many companies still seem to be sticking to the notion of the ‘nine-to-five’ office.  The event looked to explore this and whether real opportunities for enhancing collaboration through online tools were being utilised.

DEGW, an architectural firm, and co-authors of “Working Beyond Walls” hosted the event, with contributions from Arup.  Discussion focussed on how workspaces and buildings have developed through the decades, with design mainly being based around synchronicity – everyone starts work at the same time and works in the same space.  They concluded that work spaces will always exist as offices give individuals a sense of identity, people to connect with and a culture to grow within.

However, in contrast, we have a wave of mobile/freelance workers that travel around, work when it suits them and connect flexibly with others using online tools.  We can’t ignore the fact that the nature of work, particularly knowledge-based work, is changing dramatically.  Furthermore, we have a generation of people growing up with social media and the culture that it brings, expecting that to be reflected in the workplace.    So, how are organisations going to respond to this?

Physical spaces are important, even for the individual entrepreneur.  Co-working spaces such as The Hub (for social entrepreneurs) and THECUBE (for creative entrepreneurs) have shown this.  They provide a sense of identity and social connections, but they are more fluid than the traditional office.  However, although people come and go as they please they are fertile environments for collaboration and connections.  There is a great energy and buzz as people from different areas meet and generate new ideas together.

It would be great to see more organisations adopting some this culture – beginning to encourage employees to connect around interests and motivations (some of which can be facilitated by online tools), rather than the fact that they happen to be located in the same space:

-          Encourage staff across departments to share best practice and working practices on areas of common interest, by using a wiki.  This can make up-to-date information easy to find and reduce duplication in output.

-          Develop a project-based culture, where staff work according to the tasks they need to complete as opposed to time they spend in the office.  Using online project management tools, teams communicate effectively with each other outlining what tasks they need to complete and by when.  Open and transparent communication can lead to greater personal responsibility and motivation.

-          Find ways of enabling staff to share bits of information and pose questions with a wide range of people quickly and easily (e.g. a micro-blogging tool such as Yammer) helping them to find answers quickly and increasing productivity.

-          Enable people to make connections, based on their interests, outside of their department, perhaps using an internal social network.  These conversations can encourage sparking of new ideas and innovation and potentially create new projects.

Then the role of the physical workspace begins to change – becoming more about supporting collaboration and connections – which could be reflected in its design and layout (see Bene’s trend report New Work Spaces on the changing office and work environments) but most certainly in its culture – a change in thinking, mindset and approach by the organisation, its managers and its staff to how work is carried out.  And that could be the most challenging part.

So do we.

The thing is, it can be quite difficult to pull groups away from using e-mail to collaborate.  People are familiar with it, it’s the easiest way to get the attention of your project team, and it’s instant.

But it’s clunky as a collaborative editing tool.  Aside from the inconvenience of downloading and uploading documents, you don’t know for sure that the one you’re editing is the last version sent around, e-mails cross over in discussions and clog up your inbox, information gets lost, and it’s hard to find and follow threads.  Most people know this but yet it’s sometimes impossible to encourage them to use something more effective.

If you want to collaboratively write/edit text, why not use Google Docs?  It’s free and you don’t need to sign-in.  Some other tools that you might find useful to get your team out of the inbox:

Want to set up a meeting? Use Doodle to find out everyone’s availability.

Need to get feedback on an image or something visual? Post it to Twiddla and invite people to annotate it and write comments.

Want to share information, an update or start a discussion?  Most online project management tools (such as Basecamp or Huddle) have discussion boards, but we’ve found Teambox, which is based on short Twitter-like status updates, to be quite fluid and intuitive.  And if you really can’t get your team away from using e-mail, Teambox allows them to send messages to a dedicated address which then records everything in the project space for later reference.

It’s not always easy to encourage a team not to use e-mail for these scenarios – but they often can’t disagree with the reasons why it’s not ideal.  So you might want to show them The Oatmeal’s comic first, and then suggest the above alternatives!

Is there a scenario that we’ve missed out where you think an online tool can’t replace e-mail?  Let us know and we’ll try to find an alternative for you.

Photo: CarbonNYC on Flickr

But when you don’t share a physical space with your collaborators, is there an online equivalent?  How can those titbits of information be shared with the whole team and displayed visually so that they’re not forgotten?

Stixy is a flexible, intuitive and free tool that allows individuals to create online boards and add to-dos, documents, photos and notes, which can then be shared with team members.  The board’s design can be customised and the ‘widgets’ moved around and organised easily.  A great way to get started.

A tool with more sophisticated functionality (but needing a bit more of an induction) is Evernote.  Evernote allows users to store anything – images, websites, text notes, sketches  – in an online space or  ‘notebook’, to come back to later.  Although primarily designed to help individuals to remember stuff, they have added functionality for notebooks to be shared with others (although a Premium account is needed for them to edit and add to the notebook, otherwise they can only view).  Once downloading the various applications and plug-ins (such as the web clipping tool), your Evernote account can be accessed from your computer or the internet.  Install it on your mobile phone and you’ll also be able to store bits of information on the fly – for example,  take a snapshot of something that inspires you and add it to your shared notebook for your team members to see almost instantly.

Google Docs has added ‘Drawing’ as one of the file types that can be created (drawings can also be inserted into documents, spreadsheets and presentations). It’s very easy to start sketching away, and existing images can also be uploaded. Invite people to view and edit the file in the usual way, and download them as .png, .jpg, .svg or .pdf files.

For something more interactive and advanced, try Dabbleboard or Scribblar. Both offer real-time collaboration with supported chat functions.

In Scribblar, create a ‘room’ which you can invite people to by sending them a link. On sign-up you’re asked for your Skype username in case you want to use audio chat whilst working in the ‘room’ at the same time as other team members. Scribblar is completely free to create as many rooms as you like unless you want to embed them in your website or blog with your own branding.

Dabbleboard prides itself on an easy-to-use interface, which can automatically detect a shape you’re trying to draw when you provide a rough outline. Alternatively you can use freehand drawing or upload and annotate existing images. Again, invite your collaborators to the drawing area by sending them a link. Dabbleboard also offers voice and video chat for a project team (via Tokbox, a tool that supports free video chat for up to 20 people). There are additional services for paid-for accounts.

Creative Boom London kindly wrote a fantastic review of the workshop which covers all of these points (and more) in detail.