A few weeks ago, I heard the phrase “working in the clouds” for the first time. The phrase refers to the way many people are starting to use online-based applications for their work processes and tasks rather than computer-based solutions. Even without thinking very much about it, I’ve been “working in the clouds” more and more often in the last six months. But after my big computer crash and near-loss of all 10-months worth of data, I’ve been thinking a lot more about “cloud computing” ever since.

There are definitely major pros but also major cons to cloud computing, and weighing them out is often too much for my overloaded brain to handle. But I thought I’d share my thoughts on the topic and then hear from you as well so we can share best practices on this revolutionary way of work.

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A client of mine teased me the other day when she saw me pull out my calendar book to write down an entry.

“I thought you were so tech, and here you are with a paper calendar,” she said by way of explanation.

“But I have a 30Boxes calendar as well!” I retorted. “And it sends me text message reminders to my cellphone!”

I don’t know why I felt that I needed to prove my tech savvy by rattling off how wired I really am and that the paper calendar is just my first line of defense against my progressively bad memory.

I just like the tangible feeling of a paper calendar. I like the feeling of pen on paper. I like seeing what I write on a page. Our words are so digitized these days with reading and writing emails, reading our news on Web sites, connecting with others through online social networks - that for me, writing things down on paper really grounds me.

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I’m on the road for two weeks with family - not a business trip but not totally a vacation - and am having a tough time getting into a groove so I can actually get some work done - including blogging here. The time zones are mixing me up, I’m forgetting what day it is, I’m having a heck of a time finding a consistent Internet connection, and all my organizational tactics seem useless when I’m not sitting at my home office.

Because I’ll be traveling for another week and a half, I’m trying to find solutions to my work-from-the-road challenge. If I were traveling on business, I’d have everything I needed to stay organized including a constant wifi connection because any hotel that hosts conferences is wired and a set schedule of meetings or events that I could use to know what day it is and estimate time to keep track of when I can do my own work.
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Last year, I blogged about my foray into Second Life from a business standpoint. To bring you up to speed, here are my latest endeavors and how my previous ventures have morphed over time.

My Evolving Work

Last year, I was working on several things in Second Life for income (in the Second Life currency Linden which can be converted into dollars - about L$268 per $1 US). My work included:

1. Business reporter for SLNN.com
2. Virtual tshirt shop
3. Custom tshirt business
4. Real world tshirt shop through CafePress.
5. Writer-in-Residence on Elysian Isle

Today, my work is different. I still occasionally report for SLNN.com on real world companies and organizations coming into Second Life and have added SLEntrepreneur magazine to my writing roster where I publish a twice-monthly column about women business owners in Second Life. But writing is taking more of a backburner because it consumes a lot of time for little pay.
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I get so many people asking me where they should host their web site. Should they go with a local Internet Service Provider? Should they go with one of the biggies like Earthlink? Or should they use a popular discount provider like GoDaddy? Or what about the hosting services offered by their domain registrar such as Network Solutions or Register.com?

There are so many variables to deciding the best place to host your Web site. I’ve tried to distill these issues into a nice concise checklist, and then I’ve included some recommendations of Web hosts I’ve used in the past with good results. None of this advice is cut and dry, but hopefully it gives you some food for thought on how to proceed with a Web host relationship.

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I’ve been developing, coordinating and hosting a lot of events in Second Life as part of my online consulting work, and am still honing my perfect mix of online marketing tactics to attract a steady audience, but here are the online marketing tools I’ve been using.

1. Twitter.
I can’t say enough about microblogging and how effective it is once you build a strong following. I have over 500 followers now on my Twitter page, many of whom are avid SL residents, so I have a nicely targeted audience for promos about my events.
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For any publishers out there - whether you are publishing a newsletter or blogging, podcasting or videocasting, I’m sure you know that coming up with content can be a major challenge, especially if you are posting on a weekly or more frequent basis.

Once you establish the basic topics or themes of your content, there are lots of different ways to come up with and present that content. Here are some of my tips and prompts…
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Are you blogging for your business? Are you thinking about letting other employees blog with you?

There are inherent risks in company-wide blogging that include employees accidentally revealing company secrets or voicing an opinion that is not in keeping with the corporate culture and guidelines. While blogging can be a useful marketing tool for your company and by adding employee voices to the mix you can create a richer resource, you need to take precautions before you add bloggers to your blog.

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Have you been toying with the idea of starting a podcast to market your business?

Podcasting, like blogging, can be a very time consuming process. Here are some things you need to consider:

1. What will you talk about? Like blogging, you are better off zeroing in on a topic area where you have an expertise. Talk about what you know. Better yet, talk about areas where you have strong opinions.

2. Who is your audience? Knowing who you want to listen to your podcast is so important. Without a focused, targeted audience in mind, your podcast will probably fail to reach the right people. Remember: If you are podcasting for business, you are doing it to achieve business goals, not simply for your own entertainment.
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I’m always thinking of things that would make my life easier as I run my business, but the thoughts are fleeting and I never do anything about them. While I am an entrepreneur, I’m just not a computer programmer or inventor.

But there are people who are, thank goodness, and they put good ideas into action with cool Web tools that we can all use. Here are some of my favorites and a few new ones I’m thinking of trying out.






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