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.

Social Media “♫Comes Together, Right now…Over me ♫!”

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I had a little travel dilemma recently. At first, everything was fine; I booked flights for a trip that was nine days in duration. I already had a place to stay with friends; so there’s a bit of savings there. Good thing, because my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw the car rental prices. The cheapest, “economy” car was a whopping $850! The high-end was upwards of $1,100. Why so much? One week PLUS two days. The extra days beyond one week were upwards of $150 per day.

While violently noshing on my fingernails, demonstrating my rising level of stress, I frantically searched several car rental companies, travel sites, plus all those wonderful organizations I belong to, but no matter where I searched, no luck. Oops. Perhaps I should have researched this first, and then I may have shortened my trip to 7 days instead.

Ah, but then a light bulb went off in my head. Why not ask my hundreds of friends on Facebook for a little assistance? So I threw this post out there:

“Help! Need some ideas for finding a decent price on a car rental. Need a vehicle for over one week; prices range from $850 to $1100! OUCH! Suggestions are welcome...”

Five responses swiftly blew in; more friends jumped in soon after. Most pointed me to Enterprise, probably the one car rental company that I neglected to think of. Checked their website, the price was $861. Hmmm. But one friend had posted “I rented one for 10 days, $450, paid cash, got lower.” That led me to calling Enterprise.

The initial price given matched the internet, $861. I whined “I don’t have that kind of money.” But then things got interesting. The representative suggested renting from a local Enterprise store instead of the airport. And, like magic, the price dropped over $500! My only issue now is getting a ride to the rental office. Worst case scenario is a $75 cab ride. I went ahead and booked, then made another post on Facebook:

“Wow! You guys are AWESOME! Okay, I found a solution. Going to rent from an Enterprise office that's closer to where I'm staying instead of the airport one. Total cost = $346, a far cry from the $865 airport rate. Now, I just have to find a way to get from the airport to Paramus!” Within minutes, I had two volunteers offering a ride from the airport.

From a marketing standpoint, here’s an example of good old fashioned word-of-mouth via “new-fangled” virtual means. Thanks to mentions from several friends, Enterprise went from completely off my radar to awareness to consideration to purchase in a matter of minutes.

But social media did more than that. It’s true; Social Media provides an “in real time” forum where people come forward to collectively solve problems! Sharing thoughts, ideas, and solutions. Collaborating even when not intentionally doing so. A virtual team swiftly coming together, slam dunk, then quickly dispersing, moving on to other posts and other places. Using the words from a Beatles tune, they “come together, right now…over me”.

Ah, you were wondering about the title of this post, no?