What is the best online collaboration tool?

This question comes up a lot and for good reason. Nearly every techno-savvy company is looking for time saving tools that will help their team collaborate and achieve more. Before we start spouting solutions, however, we have to ask some follow-up questions: “Collaborate on what? With whom? Using what mediums?” There are a number of different categories to consider. Each has a variety of collaborative solutions, some of which overlap:

• Audio Conferencing
• Co-Browsing
• Collaborative Reviewing
• Collaborative Writing
• Document Sharing – Wikis
• Event Scheduling
• File Sharing
• Instant Messaging
• Mind Mapping
• Multimedia Presentations
• Screen Sharing
• Video Conferencing
• Web Conferencing
• Web Presenting
• Whiteboarding
• WorkGrouping

Robin Good has put together a huge mind map list of tools in each of the above categories, complete with links to each tool. Check it out here. Use the +/- buttons (lower right) to view.

If you prefer the iPaper format, use this link instead.

Which gadget is best? Who has the best price? How can I get the best value for my hard-earned dollar?

If you’re like me, you want every dollar you spend to stretch as far as it will go. You also don’t want to traipse all over town (or the internet) just to save two bucks. How do you shortcut the process? Use the time saving sites that collect user reviews and expert opinions. From cribs to cameras, you can leverage the work of other passionate buyers to shave hours or days off of a purchase decision.

Ann Smarty has compiled an excellent list of these sites. Click here to check it out.

As a business owner or manager, you are concerned not only about your own efficiency but that of your staff. If employees are whiling away time on personal surfing, chats, or emails instead of working, you are incurring cost (for the employee) without making any forward progress toward company goals. This drains your margin.

Spector Pro from SpectorSoft provides the monitoring software you need to easily reduce this problem.

Sometimes the surfing problem is reduced when employees simply become aware that monitoring is in place. I’m not suggesting that every employee on the internet is wasting time… only that company principals deserve to know who abuses the privilege. This comprehensive software is a bargain and gives you the tools you need.