Cross-posted on futureworkspaces.nl.

CommUnification is a design concept conceived to address the In Sync and In Touch challenges faced by nomadic and highly mobile workers.

The project is an initiative by User-System Interaction students at the Eindhoven University of Technology. It is based on interview findings that nomadic and highly mobile workers are challenged by such problems as communication fragmentation (across multiple channels) and disregard for time zone differences.

These problems signal a disconnect between colleagues and peers, especially when in different geographic locations. After qualitative research, the team has generated a design concept, which can be seen in their video prototype. Furthermore, they seek to evaluate their concept through interviews and a currently ongoing survey.

If you would like to provide feedback via this survey, please feel free to do so!

Does anyone know a good co-working space in Apeldoorn, preferrably at walking distance from the station? I was recently looking for one, but did not find anything…

How do you feel about taking notes from a laptop? And does OneNote do the trick for you?

Obviously, this is not “business as usual” for our organization; it took a while before we managed to get a room for the experiment and approval to do things our own way. Fortunately, the IT department and two of our secretaries were so enthousiastic about the initiative they put a lot of effort in helping us create this working space. Doing things your own way also meant that we had to select and buy everything ourselves, from our desks to the plants. However, sharing pizza while constructing IKEA desks is a great team-building excersise. 

In the spirit of Web 2.0, we consider the room a “perpetual beta”. Most notably, the high benches for the meeting space are still under construction and our smartboard is not so smart yet, as it still lacks the foil to create an interactive whiteboard. And perpetual beta also means that as the team members and our activities change, the room may have to change as well. We just see what works and what not.

These first days, I notice that we use the big whiteboard (2.40 x 4.80 m) with the cubes to sit on for almost all team activities. For individual concentrated work, I like working with my laptop in the comfy chairs. Sharing a room with four people obviously requires a bit of coordination, especially when one has a deadline to meet. Fortunately, most of our deadlines are aligned, so I do not expect much issues there. In terms of technology, we are experimenting with a wireless beamer, smart phones, chumbies and a few nabaztags, but somehow we have not focussed much on those yet.    

Check my Flickr set for some of the images of the room and the opening session.

What are the ingredients of your ideal office workspace?

(Cross-posted on the Future Workspaces team blog)

Anyway, time to implement 10 Ways to Secure my Wordpress Install.

One of the concepts I like a lot is the Mental Strain Injury (MSI) meter.
Digital nomads tend to have long working days. They are expected to be available during evenings and weekends, but also feel obliged to work during traditional working hours. So in the new world of work, work-life balance is not just fading – it’s shifting. And with less time to unwind, mental stress accumulates.

The MSI meter makes you aware how much mental strain has built up. It monitors your physiological stress levels (muscle tension in your shoulders and neck, eye blinking rate, heart rate, blood pressure) and warns you if these are out of healthy range. The meter makes you aware of this and provides suggestions for stress reduction. It suggests microbreaks or a change of activity, or even hints you to reschedule appointments.

Anyway, today I found a great spot: “de koffiesalon“, at the Utrechtsestraat in Amsterdam. Really great coffee made by skilled baristas, upstairs a long table with plenty of plugs and free wifi. The only problem is that now I’m so happy about finding the place that I first want to share this with you, before getting to work… 

• How is Social Media applied at the interface between enterprise and customers or partners?
• Which factors facilitate and impede the successful implementation of Social Media?
• Which Social Media applications are most promising for what purpose?
• What are the approaches in introducing Social Media?
• How is Social Media integrated with semantic technologies and to what purpose?

I hope you will consider sharing your experiences at this special track, as I am one of the program committee members

More information can be found on: http://www.i-know.at/kss.