Inc. Magazine going virtual for a month

[Lunican]

February 2, 2010
Technology
Going Virtual

Posted by Max Chafkin at 9:00 AM

Everyone knows the workforce is becoming more virtual. Free online technologies offered by the likes of Skype and Google have made it possible for start-ups to be launched by teams of people who live in different cities or, for that matter, on different continents. As for established businesses, a compelling argument can be made that, between high rents and long commutes, virtual work is more desirable, too. And individual workers have found that telecommuting opens up possibilities for integrating work and life (in ways both good and bad) as never before.

So how does being a virtual workplace affect a company’s cultureâ€"and the quality and efficiency of its output? To find out, we’ve decided to conduct a little experiment: Starting right now, Inc. magazine will cease to exist as a physical place. We, the members of the magazine’s editorial staff, are packing up our things, turning off the lights, and leaving our offices (which happen to be really, really nice). The idea: If virtual companies are so good, why not give it a try ourselves?

For the next month, anyway.

To prepare, we’ve talked to experts in the field of organizational behavior and entrepreneurs who believe in virtual work, such as WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg and 4-Hour Workweek guru Timothy Ferriss. The reporters and editors have taken surveys on our work habits, downloaded new applications onto our computers and smartphones, and created checklists to help us collaborate even when we won’t see each other face to face as we normally do. Most of us will be working from home offices for the month of February. The rest will be scattered among hotels, co-working spaces, and the occasional laptop-friendly café.

As the experiment progresses, we’ll be blogging about our experiences here on a regular basis. We also plan to post video interviews with experts and consultants who study virtual work. Then in the April issue of the magazine, we’ll publish a definitive piece on virtual workâ€"a look at pros and cons of running a highly-dispersed team (namely, ours), plus, tips on how to work virtually that any start-up or small business can use.

As much as this is an experiment in remote work, it’s also an experiment in open-source journalism. Working remotely is never easy, and we may face particular challenges coming from an industry where it is still common for an editor, a designer, a photo editor, and a writer to gather around a table to look at a page proof.

http://blog.inc.com/archives/2010/02/going_virtual.html

[Lunican]

The issue is now available.

The Case, and the Plan, for the Virtual Company
How smart entrepreneurs are finding money and happiness in an office-free life
By Max Chafkin | Apr 1, 2010

On a chilly Monday morning in early February, 30-odd reporters, editors, designers, and the rest of the sundry crew that makes this magazine gathered in a conference room to discuss our next issue. These monthly meetings are typically a time to talk about how stories are coming along, plan art assignments, and make small talk. But this meeting was different, because the issue we were planning -- the physical magazine you are holding in your hands -- would be produced by a company that was not itself entirely physical. When our meeting concluded, we walked back to our desks, packed our things, and headed home. Our experiment had officially begun. We were temporarily turning Inc. into a virtual company.

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100401/the-case-and-the-plan-for-the-virtual-company.html