Driving in the Clouds!

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Who knew one could fly so high? Sure, I’ve been in a plane recently and it drives me crazy that I’m without internet for hours. However, nowadays, if I'm grounded and have access to a computer, any computer, and I’m in a situation where I need some of my files fast, I can get them right out of the sky.

The Groovy Reflections team (my other endeavor) is scattered across the United States: New Hampshire, Florida, New York, Michigan, and California. We reside in three different time zones; sorry Mountain Time! I get online between 6 and 7 AM Pacific while members of my team are getting hunger pains long after breakfast has faded away for them.

And now, things have changed.

The team is groovin’ in a cloud! Two team members investigated and came up with the best solution for us. Criteria included finding an answer that was free or low cost to start with the capability to grow with the company. 
And they found one...

...It’s not relevant which solution was the chosen one. What IS important is how it is starting to change the way we work together. And here are just two examples:

We can all add to spreadsheets. For several things we’re working on lists are created first. And as each item on that list, of which the majority are quick hits, are completed, they are highlighted in yellow to alert the other team members that the task is completed. These are items that several members of the team can assist with. And the lists grow as more items are added, however see those highlighted areas shows us that things are getting done and keeps us moving. 

I admit to having a challenge when those lists grew rather long and needed to be sorted alphabetically! Apparently, some browsers were not allowing me to bring the file into the full-fledged version of the software where the sorting capabilities were, however, it didn’t take long to figure that out. In addition, I learned that you must close and get out of the file when you're done with it so that another team member can access it. Lots of little learning curves!

And the second example: Our original photo library is growing. Currently, it resides in my computer. So far, I’ve uploaded just 15 photos to the library so that the other team members can use them. There is a system in place to let team members know when a photo has been used so that we don’t repost it anytime soon (if it is reposted at all). Bringing the fans original, exclusive material is important to us. I knew this photography hobby could come in handy for something (and yes, all of the photos here were taken by me)! 

Being part of a virtual team has many challenges. Keeping your eyes and mind open and seeking out ways to make it easy to collaborate and communicate brings the team closer together, especially when everyone is working towards making it work!  

And we are soaring! When I see that a team member has added more useful information into our cloud I’m flying high with the feeling that we’re moving forward!

The Orb were likely feeling elevated when they originally released this tune below in 1990 that features the voice of Rickie Lee Jones of “Chuck E’s in Love” fame. Check out ModlandUSA in the internet galaxy:
visit on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ and Groovy Reflections at their Facebook page, as well as on Pinterest, Twitter, and Google+. Thanks for reading.