Cloudworker. Duh!

When Plantronics launched a survey to better understand remote and home office workers — and then held a competition to rename the poorly understood term “teleworker” — I considered what phrase I could coin that would stick.

Telecommuter and teleworker obviously had wallowed in oblivion since the 1970s and 1990s, respectively.

SOHO-dweller? Nope. Home Officer? Uh-uh. “That guy who works in his underwear instead of driving into the office.” That’s a bit cumbersome and conjures a rather bothersome visual.

Then some dude named Venkat Rao came up with “Cloudworker.” It defines “those of us who work from several locations in one day; communicate on multiple devices and with multiple applications; integrate work and personal lives; and provide 24×7, ‘always on’ service to customers.”

Eureka! Google “cloud computing” or search this site and see how often it comes up. Heck, I “cloudworked” from bed last night while watching Monday Night Football. Read More »

The tools worked fine. The technology — my Verizon aircard was flawless, the HP tablet PC was a hit and it all stashed neatly into my Foray mobile workmate.

Managing expectations… THAT was the detail that needs more attention. My family was pretty understanding. Only one or two clients would ping me with URGENT projects that needed my attention Right Now, I tell you, NOW! (truth be told, my emphasis, not theirs…)

I’m sitting at my kitchen counter, HP laptop powered up, and pondering what we just completed.

Home Office Highway was an unbelievable exercise, in freedom, family, adventure, escape, work / life balance (and then some), technology and the power tools that empower the remote worker, personalities, workstyles, and what it takes to get all these concepts to meet up on the same page.

I have no doubt that we’ll do this again. I’ve spoken with my partners, and the interest is there. My clients were buoyed by the concept, and for the most part, were none the wiser — or at least didn’t seem to mind — that I was working from Lord knows where.

To be sure, there’s some balancing that needs working out. A few thoughts in retrospect… Read More »

When I first saw the RV we’d be driving for Home Office Highway, I wondered how I’d make the most of what was by all accounts a miniature space.

Some concepts and practices fell right into place — like using the Mobile Office Workmate or keeping clutter to a minimum. And some were learned, and depended upon the tools we had on hand.

Check out this video to see two examples of how I used off-the-shelf devices to maximize available space.

Home Office Highway and the virtual office is all about technology. Sure, cooking burgers on a grill doesn’t take much in the way of high-tech gizmos — unless you bought your spatula at Hammacher-Schlemmer.

But this blog has been written on a laptop connected to the Internet by a USB device that delivers broadband Rev-A through-put from almost any location — an RV park, at the base of Stone Mountain in Georgia, or as we drive along I-95 toward Massachusetts. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or you telework / telecommute, tech is your toolbox.

If you’re a tech marketer, the secret of successfully putting high-tech gadgetry in the hands of consumers (especially if you don’t have an IT staff behind you) is making it accessible to folks in a non-threatening, high-touch venue. The chance to play with the latest handset, or demo some new device, or ask “Like Duh!” questions without getting some “You Silly Consumer” look in response is the answer.

Call it the “Evolution.”

Read More »

Alex Johnson is an ardent shedworker. From his home in St. Albans in England, Alex works from a shed — and blogs about the shedworking concept on Shedworking. He’s even written about it in the forthcoming book, Shedworking: The Alternative Workplace Revolution.

So when Alex and I got to talking about Home Office Highway, he commented on his summers spent working virtually at his in-laws place in Spain (those Europeans are SO cosmopolitan. I’m trying to have a little cosmo-mojo rub off on me by writing about Alex’s exploits).

I asked Alex to share his thoughts. Here’s what he had to say… Read More »

Since I began working from home in 1989, I’ve worked from quite a few strange places — ferries crossing the Delaware Bay, minivans scurrying down the interstate, the outback of Papua, New Guinea.

Yet at right is a picture of me in one of my first “remote” offices.

I was covering Spring Break for Advertising Age magazine. I packed my Apple IIc and dot matrix printer in a plastic laundry basket, grabbed my Nikon F, and hit Daytona Beach with my relatively newly-wed wife, Robbie. What a blast!

Once my writing was finished, I went to the hotel lobby, faxed the copy to Chicago, and FedEx’d the slides of kids having fun on their parents’ tab. How times have changed. Today, I’d probably still write from the hotel room table (at little too distracting to write poolside at spring break). But with my wireless broadband aircard in place, I’d do my research and filing with ease.

As this grainy shot reveals, you can work from any office. It also shows how I’ve aged — and grown — in 20 years.

Do you like to work when you play? How about work from ‘anywhere’? A study from Citrix Online revealed that for a growing number of American workers, the traditional office is becoming more of a touchpad than a daily destination, or one of several places we do our jobs.

And one of those places increasingly is while away on vacation or any of the popular shorter mini-vacations Americans are taking.

The study, “Web Commuting & the American Workforce,” notes that people are performing at least part of their jobs virtual – and from anywhere, at any hour of the day. How? They’re tapping various technology that allows them to “take their office with them” wherever they go. These remote workers, termed “telecommuters” in the 1980s and 90s, today are called “Web commuters” for their growing reliance on the Internet.

The rise of this ‘Web Commuter’ is changing how people view work. It’s not a place, but a result. It’s not about time, but productivity. As one saying goes, “It’s output, not hours-put.” Among the stats:

- 23% of American workers (and 41% of small business owners) regularly work from home or another offsite location, relying on Web technology (e.g. the Internet, e-mail, or programs that allow them to remotely access their office computers or meet with colleagues online).

- 62% of those who do not have this ability said they would like to be able to do so.

- 14% preferred the ability to work remotely or away from the office at least some of the time as a perk over stock options (13%) and on-site child care (11%).

- 70% of American workers aged 18-34 were most excited about working remotely and would welcome the opportunity.

Products like VPN, or Citrix GoToMyPC, enable people to access their computers from any Internet-enabled destination. That can include a cyber café, or your Verizon wireless broadband aircard. Today, that means work is a thing – regardless of place…

Are you a mobile home officer? Think you need to work from a home office 9-to-5 to qualify? Think again…

If you run a business from home, then you can be a mobile home officer. If you telework — working a few days each week or month from a home office for a boss someplace else, you can be a mobile home officer.

If you just want to take a stress-free vacation — one that gives you the ability to do a little work comfortably from the road — then you can be a mobile home officer.

Home Office Highway isn’t just for home officers. It’s for anyone who uses technology to improve their workstyle. It’s about laptop computers and wireless broadband connections. It’s about checking email from a campsite in the Smoky Mountains, or working at dawn while watching the sun rise over the Jersey Shore.

It’s about taking the family on the road in a vacation all can enjoy — while mom and dad work a bit and feel less guilty about their getaway.

A marketer recently commented that their audience isn’t “home office,” so Home Office Highway wasn’t for them. This tour isn’t just about entrepreneurs who work from home. It’s about anyone who wants to work and live from the road — doing a little work, journaling about their adventures, even paying their bills online and staying connected with family — from an office on the road.

I just happen to work from home. And this summer, my home — and home office — will be on the road…