Our last sacred spaces

Going through some old posts, and came across  this LifeHacker article. The author makes several good points, especially this (not-so) obvious one:

Ever wonder why you get most of your ideas in the shower? It’s because the shower is among the last sacred spaces where we aren’t distracted by colleagues or technology.

I feel the same way about having WiFi on-board flights these days; until recently flying time was another one distraction-free space.  For me, it’s why I’m glad to embrace a weekly break by unplugging every Friday right before sundown, until Saturday evening… it clears my head & makes me feel refreshed for the coming week.

Bullpens and War Rooms: One size doesn’t fit all

Found this quote highlighted on one of my AM newsfeeds, in an article by Daniel Goleman, author of “Emotional Intelligence”:

“…It’s very hard to be creative on demand. Most of us need time for reflection, which requires thinking alone, without distractions. It also requires being able to breathe, think and take in the volume of information to deal with solving a problem…”

“…Let’s take a business meeting as an example. A lot can happen in a relatively short amount of time. Many interesting connections can develop. A great deal of information can be exchanged. As a result of so many stimuli, it’s sometimes hard to really focus in on a problem. Focus is particularly important when people are trying to solve an urgent creative problem…”

For me, it’s never easy to explain to my team (much less clients) why I’m not a fan of the “bullpen” approach. Being crammed into a conference room with several colleagues for days (or weeks) at a time is about as pleasant as getting a root canal without novacaine.  I understand that for many of us, the interaction and exchange of ideas without office walls or cubicle partitions is invaluable – but for me, it’s a real challenge to deal with that kind of situation on a regular basis.  It’s almost impossible for me to participate, much less contribute, and all too often my inability to interact is taken by my peers as being aloof, withdrawn, or even antagonistic.

The fact is, I always do better with as much autonomy as possible, and connecting with team members via online collaboration – either in an office behind a closed door, or remotely from my home office.

Has anyone else found themselves in a similar situation?  If so, how did you manage to get through it, and still integrate yourself into your team?  Feel free to comment below and share your experiences.

Day of Unplugging 2014

Take the Pledge on 3/7-8!

Sign up and take the pledge – who’s with me on this?   Before you say “no” – just ask yourself: What will you unplug for?

Do you have multiple cell phones? Take your iPad to the beach on vacation? Ever find it hard to get through a conversation without posting an update to Facebook? Is your computer always on?

Building a better browsing experience with Wibki

Wibki makes your favorite sites accessible anywhere, from any device you use.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the man who invented the Web, once stated that “you affect the world by what you browse.”   Roy Pessis at Wibki has taken that maxim to heart, and is passionately advocating a new approach to web browsing that gives users better access to more sources of content:

“The browser experience is deliberately forcing us into searching everything. These browsers make most of their profit by keeping this experience alive. So, who cares? The ones who care are the millions of startups, businesses and content providers out there, trying to get the world’s attention.”

“Apple, Google & Microsoft built amazing app stores for mobile and desktop. They made it as simple as possible for their users to access these products. However, on the Web, they don’t have control over what we are doing. So they provide us with a lousy experience. Forcing the user to only a handful of websites that he can remember by heart.”

With that in mind, Pessis developed Wibki to bring the clear visual experience we see on our mobile and tablet devices to our desktop browser, in a way that really gives the user a single location where they can find their favorite bookmarked sites in an easy, accessible format. Wibki also allows a user to easily access their information from any browser or device, anywhere in the world – since it stores their information in the cloud, while maintaining security and privacy.  To hear it from Pessis himself:

Obviously, privacy is a major issue within Wibki. Many of us use the web for things that we won’t be glad to share with the entire world. Therefore, we enabled an Incognito mode within Wibki that allows you to remove tracking from all or specific groups in your profile. You can maintain your privacy while still sharing the sites that you love with the world around you.

Our aim is to create a better, more engaging browsing experience. We are starting this ambitious goal today with the launch of Wibki. The days of type-and-search are over. We would be honored if you give it a try.

Wibki is still at an early stage of development and we appreciate hearing your feedback. We sincerely believe Wibki will replace browsing as we know it – help us shape the future of the web.