WORK

Written by Dawn Foster.

I’ve done many posts on this blog about tools and techniques to proactively have information pushed to you via monitoring techniques, dashboards, RSS filtering, smart Twitter clients and more. However, I haven’t really spent much time on research methods for those times when you are seeking information rather than waiting for it to come to you. Most web workers spend at least some of their day doing research for blog posts, client work, or to learn something new, so I wanted to share a couple of my research techniques.

Yes, I know, you could just do a search using your favorite search engine and get tons of responses to your query. While this is a great first step, it can help to have some more targeted methods of finding information.

I usually start by reaching out to my social networks. A quick question posted to Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed or any other social network where you have a group of peers can help you get started on the right foot. I used this technique on Saturday when I was looking for a good software solution for letting people register for a class that I’m planning to teach. My Google search resulted in a bunch of what looked like questionable solutions, but my Twitter inquiry gave me several great options to choose from.

I also use Google Custom Search Engines for targeted searches where I can control the sites that are searched. While a narrow list of sites to search will not work for every purpose, it can be very useful in certain situations. I have one custom search engine that searches only a defined list of online community thought leaders for when I am looking for previous coverage and quotes on a topic from reliable sources. I also have a custom search engine that only searches the industry analysts that cover online communities and social media for when I am looking for data points to quote in blog posts or in materials for a client. There is even a Google Marker bookmarklet available that makes it very easy to add new sites to any of your custom search engines.

These are my two favorite research tools and techniques to help me quickly and efficiently do research.

What are your favorite research tools and techniques?

Written by Georgina Laidlaw.

When I take short, casual-rate jobs I tend to contact the client on a needs basis. But on contract or permanent jobs, I try to be a bit more rigorous. Obviously the need for contact depends on yourself, the client and the work situation. But even if I’m working completely solo, on longer contract jobs I like to try to check in with the client once a day.

Sure, checking-in ticks all the boxes you’d expect: it helps me build client relationships, ensures I don’t miss any project developments I need to know about, and can help with problem solving. But it achieves two other goals that are equally as important, if not more so.

First, it helps remind your client that you’re there. It doesn’t just remind them you’re alive, or that you’re actually doing work. Checking in once a day gives you the opportunity to discuss the sorts of smaller issues that you might not actually set down in email. It gives clients insight into how you work, what thoughts you’re having about different aspects of their projects, and how you might be of value to them in other ways, or on other jobs.

The other benefit of the check-in is that it reminds you that your client is there — that you’re not alone if you face hurdles, need advice or assistance, or want someone to bounce ideas off. I find that working remotely can lead to a sort of “must resolve everything myself” mindset. Whether that means scouring forums for solutions, or brainstorming my own ideas, it doesn’t encourage me to seek advice from the client. And often it’s turned out that, had I asked the client first, the issue would have been resolved much more swiftly, if not more effectively.

A quick IM or call to let the client know where I’m at, or what I’ve been thinking about their project, can often lead to the discussion of factors that I wouldn’t otherwise have gleaned. Last week, while chatting socially with a client about the news headlines, she remembered she’d seen an article that, while not directly related to her company, had a strong bearing on the amount and type of media interest likely to arise around the project I was working on. If I hadn’t called to check in, she might not have thought to mention it to me at all.

But even if every check-in contact doesn’t lead to exciting new discoveries, it usually leaves me with a sense of purpose for my work on the project, and for the day ahead, and makes me feel I’ve reinvested myself with the client — that I’m part of their team, rather than an outsider.

Have you checked in with your client today?

Image by stock.xchng user clix

Written by Simon Mackie.

Xcerion’s iCloud, a free “web OS” that we’ve covered previously, launches into public beta today with some interesting collaboration  features, although limited cross-browser support will be off-putting for many.

iCloud is an impressive web application. It’s an OS-like desktop, complete with storage space and a Microsoft Office-like application suite, that runs in a browser that you can access from anywhere. It’s a very slick-looking app and functions very well. Applications run snappily, and everything operates as you would expect based on using your desktop OS.

According to Xcerion, iCloud’s primary market is Internet cafe users, but with this release the company has introduced some interesting collaboration features that could be useful for web workers, particularly if you find yourself using more than one machine. You can share calendars and to-do items with teammates and, thanks to built-in social networking features, see when your colleagues are online and chat with them. Most impressive is the ability to simultaneously collaborate on a single shared document, with multiple people making edits.

iCloud’s XML backend is clever, and because the applications execute locally on your machine rather than on a remote server, they appear much more responsive than other “web OS” offerings that we’ve seen before.

Xcerion envisions a future in which you can access your iCloud desktop from anywhere, including mobile devices. The idea of completely virtualized applications  is very appealing:  I would love to be able to leave my documents, web pages, etc. open on a virtual desktop and be able to return to them later from any device, anywhere. Unfortunately, though, that vision doesn’t match the current reality.

Disappointingly, iCloud is only completely supported in Internet Explorer. Firefox support is in “early alpha” and works OK in my tests, but the company says that you shouldn’t rely on it, and as of yet, other browsers are totally unsupported. For that reason I (and I suspect many of you) won’t be taking up iCloud just yet.

What do you think of the idea of a “web OS”?