Working with others: why not via e-mail?
There are all kinds of online collaboration tools out there on the Web. Still, you shouldn’t neglect good old e-mail as a communication channel for collaborating on a project with others online.
Simplicity itself
There are Web-based services such as Huddle (http://www.huddle.net), ShowDocument (http://www.showdocument.com) and the simple Writeboard (http://www.writeboard.com). They are all very handy tools for collaborating online with your colleagues on a presentation, draft document or project. And yet, many people are reluctant to acquaint themselves with new services, no matter how user-friendly they may be. That’s why we looked for a tool that was even easier to use. We found it from the developers of Tgethr.com (http://www.tgethr.com). What makes this webtool so simple is that it’s based on a means of communication that we are all familiar with: e-mail.
What can you do with Tgethr?
Create a group. Suppose you wish to brainstorm with your colleagues on the new layout of your shop window. After registering with Tgethr, you can immediately get started without having to wait for a confirmation mail. The first step consists of creating a group name (for instance, New shop window) and a general e-mail address for this group (for instance new_shopwindow@togethr.com). Next, enter the e-mail addresses of all the members of this group.
Tip. You can also import these addresses from Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail, or from a group you’ve already created in Tgethr. After clicking on the Create button, your new group is ready. From now on, you can use your familiar e-mail program to send out e-mails to the group address: you will no longer need to type all the individual addresses. Handy!
Advantages. Isn’t it possible to create a group mail address (called a distribution list) in, e.g., Outlook, which also lets you send a message to a group of people in one go? Yes, that’s possible, but the procedure is much more time-consuming. Moreover, it only works in your own e-mail program, whilst the Tgethr group address can be used by every member of the group. Another advantage is that all your Tgethr e-mail traffic is archived online. Any member of the group can therefore access all the messages at any time - you have your personal Tgethr URL - and search them by keyword or by tag. You can add tags at the bottom of your e-mails in the form “#tag”. Another plus: even in the free version all e-mail traffic is encrypted. In the paid versions (from $6 or £3.75/month), encryption is even stronger, whilst you can create more than one group and the number of members isn’t limited to five.
Note. The e-mails may be delayed by a couple of minutes, as we found in our tests.
Don’t forget WizeHive!
Don’t forget that WizeHive (http://www.wizehive.com) makes smart use of e-mail for your online collaboration too. This service lets you create online workspaces consisting of separate pages which you make accessible to specific people. You can post your notes there, but conveniently you can also do so by e-mail. You only need to send an e-mail to notes@wizehive.com, with, as subject, [name of the virtual workspace:name of the page]. Similarly, you can add tasks by e-mail via tasks@wizehive.com All these messages are collected on the appropriate page - a bit like the posts on Twitter.
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