The Virb Team is comprised of 5 individuals superheroes. Most of the time, 4 of us can be found, snugly nestled, in our humble Boston office; while one team member works from Los Angeles. Why LA, I cannot say. But that's not the point of this post. I kid, Rubin. I kid.
For the past few months, we have been scattered about (geographically speaking) more than usual. Between work and personal related trips, office power outages and a new baby, we've been forced to find a better way to keep productivity and communication unscathed; despite the thousands of miles between us.
Earlier this month I was in Chicago and had the chance to grab some dinner with Sarah at 37Signals. We chatted it up, came to the conclusion that our waitress was actually a dude waiter, and eventually ended up on the topic of project management. Go figure. Enter the conversation on Campfire. Being another product from the geniuses behind Backpack and Basecamp, I really can't say why I never checked it out before.
Now, let's hop in the DeLorean and zip forward a few weeks... **CRACK-CRAAACKLE-BOOM**
I honestly can't see how our team ever did without it. Campfire is open in a browser tab all day long. It's launched when the day begins on the east coast and isn't closed until the last left coast'er signs off in the evening. We fire-up iChat for group audio chats several times a day, but otherwise, no project communication happens outside of 'the campfire'.
Ye olde naysayers might think that the feature list for Campfire isn't the most robust; and I'd have to admit, I was one of them. Yet I've discovered that it gives me ONLY what I need. Nothing more, nothing less. All group conversations are logged and archived as transcripts. All file uploads are appended to the same daily transcript archives. There is a simple search feature for plowing through the archives. That same search has also made me aware that I use the word "like" a little too liberally. The tour of Campfire from 37S says it all. Like really.
If I step away from my desk, upon returning, I can catch up with the team simply by reading. Tis wondrous. The iPhone support is pretty frakking stellar, to boot. I was on a train to NYC a few weeks ago. Zipping down the tracks at 90MPH I was getting live status updates from the rest of the gang, just as if I was behind my computer.
Maybe your remote team uses it too. Maybe it just isn't your thing. My only point is that it works for my team! The end. Hell, some days it seems productivity is more solid when we're scattered about the land, versus sitting 5 feet from each other. Therein lies the application's true value.
I've found the product that works for Virb Inc. Maybe Your Company Inc. has something that fits you better. I'm always curious of other teams' workflow and structure. If you've got something that tickles your fancy, do tell.
Us folks at Sidebar Creative would be lost without Campfire. It's how we stay connected and work through projects. With all four of us living all across the land (and in separate countries), it's been invaluable.
Jonathan Snook
23 Apr 08 at 7:10pm