Remote working has becoming a way of life in the modern business environment. According to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit undertaken in November 2004, 39 percent of executives expect to telecommute more over the next two years. Additionally, 42 percent said they would work remotely while traveling on business. The advance of wireless networks and mobile technologies and increased awareness of security issues, together with changes in legislation supporting work/life balance is fuelling the demand for mobile working.

Interaction Costs of Expansion
In addition to mobile or remote working there is also the issue of teams being disparate as companies become more global. The problem is that the more we see teams working from different locations, the more collaboration is suffering. Individuals working on their own out of the office, either on the road or at home, are becoming used to being exactly that, individual. But as the old adage reminds us 'there is no I in team."

Alongside this is the problem that remote workers don't always have access to the work they need. Access to files that are stored only in the office can be nearly impossible. And if there isn't good enough collaboration and visibility on all the sections of a project then managing it can become a real nightmare.

In order for teams to work together on projects, and at the same time maximize productivity, staff needs to be able to have real-time visibility and access to the work their colleagues are doing. But, what if I am an employee in London and my colleague in Hong Kong forgot to publish his updated work before my workday started? How do I know what stage he is at and what I need to do during my working day in order to enable him to carry on progressing the project tomorrow? It is for this reason, as well as for the needs of the mobile workforce, that many organizations are now starting to look at Web-based tools that provide a central repository, which store all the information worked on and can be accessed in real time.

Web-based Flexibility
Services, such as Windows SharePoint, enhance work-team productivity for small to medium-sized businesses through simple and effective, Web-based collaboration tools. Being Web-based means it is a flexible solution for both companies who have a few offices across the country and those with offices across the world. It allows teams to keep connected and productive, enabling better decisions and stronger relationships with customers, partners and suppliers.

Real-Time Benefits
Effective collaboration tools offer great benefits above the simple fact that remote teams can work together, including the ability to distribute business-critical information more securely through password-protected sites than through email. This security step has become essential in the current climate of hackers and viruses.

Web-based collaboration can also have positive effects across the business, such as increased efficiency. By offering visibility of a projects status, team members and managers can see at a glance whether a project is on schedule and meeting its targets. This in turn reduces the need for meetings, which can be both time-consuming and costly. Project cycles will also be reduced leading to an increase in productivity as a result of clearer communications. With real-time visibility, the need to rework parts of the project will also be reduced as mistakes can be rectified immediately.

In a world of globalization and collaboration, there are many benefits to be gleaned. But it's not enough just to have mobile technology in place allowing people to work out of the office, on their own. In our modern workforce, we must ensure that we are enabling staff to productively work with teammates. It's important that good communication and visibility is maintained even though workers are moving further into the field. Web-based collaboration is a vital part of the remote working trend.

If you start your day by checking a variety of news Web sites, you could be saving lots of valuable time by having the information come directly to your computer. Using RSS technology, you can determine what sites you check have new content, when they are updated and easily subscribe or unsubscribe to their news feeds so that you never miss out on new information.

Pretty much anything that can be broken down into discrete items can be syndicated via RSS, including headlines, new product information, links and summaries. Once information about each item is in RSS format, an RSS reader can check the feed for changes and send the changes to your computer.

What Is It?
RSS means Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, depending on whom you ask. What you need to know is that RSS is an XML format designed for easily sharing Web content. A RSS service (also known as an RSS channel) consists of a list of items, each of which contains a headline, description and a link to a Web page. Once a site has an RSS feed, its content can be easily shared with other sites and be listed in RSS feed directories.

Alongside this is the problem that remote workers don't always have access to the work they need. Access to files that are stored only in the office can be nearly impossible. And if there isn't good enough collaboration and visibility on all the sections of a project then managing it can become a real nightmare.

In order for teams to work together on projects, and at the same time maximize productivity, staff needs to be able to have real-time visibility and access to the work their colleagues are doing. But, what if I am an employee in London and my colleague in Hong Kong forgot to publish his updated work before my workday started? How do I know what stage he is at and what I need to do during my working day in order to enable him to carry on progressing the project tomorrow? It is for this reason, as well as for the needs of the mobile workforce, that many organizations are now starting to look at Web-based tools that provide a central repository, which store all the information worked on and can be accessed in real time.


Web-based Flexibility
RSS means Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, depending on whom you ask. What you need to know is that RSS is an XML format designed for easily sharing Web content. A RSS service (also known as an RSS channel) consists of a list of items, each of which contains a headline, description and a link to a Web page. Once a site has an RSS feed, its content can be easily shared with other sites and be listed in RSS feed directories.


How Do You Use It?
To use RSS, you need a special RSS newsreader or aggregator that will allow you to collect and display RSS service. RSS newsreaders allow you to view the service you select all together in the same place and, by automatically retrieving updates, stay current with new content updates.

There are many different newsreaders available, many for free. Newsreaders are available for every kind of computer platform and operating system. They offer a wide range of features and interfaces. Most are free or inexpensively priced.

There are three basic kinds of feed readers:

Desktop
Desktop newsreaders run in the background of your computer automatically refreshing headlines as news feeds are updated.

Web Based
Web-based newsreaders are online services, such as a Web page. Whenever you access the page or login into the service, you'll see fresh feeds.

Plug-in
Plug-in newsreaders expand the functionality of existing applications to allow users to view RSS feeds from within an existing program, such as Web browsers and email clients.

Once you decide which type of RSS reader will work best for you, subscribing to a RSS news feed is easy. Simply:

• Go to the Web site and look for a button or icon with "RSS" or "XML" on it. These buttons are frequently bright orange.

• Click on the graphic to get the reader's URL.

• Save the URL of the file into the reader.

 

Once you've found a reader you like, you're ready to start enjoying the timesaving benefits of having consistently updated content delivered to your desktop. While not all sites have picked up RSS feeds yet, the trend is definitely growing. With more and more savvy Web users expecting to have important information come to them instead of having to search for it, you can expect RSS feeds to keep popping up all over the Web.

Domain names are no longer merely a Web address these days. Many profitable companies have been built around their domain name, making it the brand and the company. Choosing the right domain should be as important as naming your product or entire company. Given that status, here are some pointers how to find a name that will see you through it all.

Keywords vs. Branding
Probably the most difficult to determine, branding vs. keywords should be one of your first considerations. There are two schools of thought: one maintains you should have your keywords in your domain name so that search engines pick up on the keywords and rank you better. However, there is no conclusive evidence about the extent to which keyword-laden domain names affect your search engine ranking.

Another school of thought is that your domain name should be based on your brand. Most successful companies start off with a brand, to make their products memorable, create differentiation and encourage loyalty. In the early days of the Internet, everyone wanted a generic domain like searchengine.com, books.com, auctions.com, etc. Today, very few of those generic sites are truly successful sites that rival Google, Amazon and eBay. A branded domain also ensures consistency throughout your marketing efforts.

What's Your Plan?
Whether you use keywords or brand names for your domain depends on your business plans. If you plan to build a Web site that is going to have staying power, branded domains are a better choice. A brand name made up of keywords could be best, and provides the best of both worlds—literally. If you are building a resource Web site, a Web site for affiliate programs or a site that’s temporary in nature, keyword rich and generic domains are a better choice. Finally, there is no harm in buying both branded and keyword domains that point to the same site. Just make sure you only use one domain name for submissions, directory listings, link exchanges and promotion to maximize your link popularity.

You should also make sure the site title or name matches your domain. If your domain is ExtremeBiking.com and your site name is Smith Brothers Biking Tours you risk confusing visitors and directory editors. If you have yet to establish a company name or a site name, it might be a good idea to name it after you find a domain name. This is sensible, consistent marketing.

Company Name
It’s most common to use your company name as your domain name, especially since many small businesses tend to have creative and catchy names. On the other hand, if your business name is very nondescript such as The Smith Brothers, you might want to take the approach that combines part of your company name and a keyword.

Non-descriptive company names aren’t particularly helpful to audiences. Someone looking for your company would find it difficult to differentiate it from others with similar names.

Domain Length
Short domains are supposed to be best but it’s increasingly difficult to find one without paying someone a lot of money to take over the domain. Just because a domain is a little longer doesn’t necessarily make it bad. For example, TrashToTreasure.com is meaningful, to the point, and memorable, even though it is rather long. On the other hand, ThisIsAnExampleOfAVeryLongDomain.com is too long, difficult to remember, and prone to errors. The other extreme is needless abbreviation. TTT.com is meaningless because it can stand for too many different things. Aim for balance while taking into account ease.

.Com, .Net, .Info
Most people will agree a .com top-level domain name is best. If there aren’t any effective .com alternatives, start with .net or .org first. Also, be sure to consistently promote your Web site as a .net or .org when you do register it.

Hyphens
Hyphens aren’t necessarily the kiss of death, especially if they are part of your brand name or the correct way to write a word. However, they are difficult to remember, type and prone to user input mistakes. Avoid them as much as you can.

Suffixes and Prefixes
Suffixes and prefixes are i’s, e’s, the’s and numbers usually suggested by domain search tools when your desired domain is unavailable. If you choose such a domain, be very consistent in your promotion. Promote the domain as a whole; do not leave out the suffix or prefix. Similarly, make every attempt to register a domain name that is singular. For example, if petfood.com is taken, resist the temptation to opt for petfoods.com because people tend to leave out the ‘s’.

Can You Say It?
While not always a top consideration, it makes sense that you should have a domain name that can be verbally communicated, especially if you plan to do any verbal advertising. Test your list of potential domains on a friend to see if any of the names sound confusing. If find you have to constantly repeat or spell the domain, move on.

Copyrights and Trademarks
In this day and age, many companies, particularly those with strong brand names are increasingly protective of their trademarks. Avoid the trouble and expense of a lawsuit by spending some time to research your chosen name. Start by looking up the name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov/) and your state’s trademark database.

Expired Domains
Anyone who has looked for a domain name finds out soon enough more than half of the desired names are already taken. If you cannot find a suitable name, despite numerous searches, explore expired domains instead. There are many services that allow you to monitor expired and soon to expire domains for a fee. Before you sign up for them, a good place to start researching for free is DeletedDomains.com (http://www.deleteddomains.com). Some believe recently expired domains with good traffic and rankings allow you to benefit from someone else’s hard work and give your site a head start. Theoretically, that may be true. Realistically, you shouldn’t expect that previous traffic to last. People consistently return to a Web site for a reason.
If your company is very different from the original site, visitors will stop coming back. If you assume such a domain and want to convert as many visitors as possible, make sure your content is closely related or similar to the old site.
You should also ensure that the old site has completely ceased operations. If it still exists under a different domain, loyalists eventually find their way back there; Word gets around among them and could create a negative image on the old domain that’s now yours.

Finally, when you do find the best available domain, get it immediately. Any delays, no matter how minor, may cost you. Finding the right domain is not easy. It takes a lot of brainstorming, patience and creativity. Once you find it, don’t let it slip.