

This is why I don't believe in remote workers - SeoxyS
http://kswizz.com/post/15538993641/chance-encounters

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seanmccann
That really has nothing to do with remote workers. It's just about
brainstorming ideas.

I agree that it's difficult to match the creativity that comes from a face to
face meeting. It's by no means impossible. Living outside Silicon Valley has
forced me to learn how to generate that creativity over the internet. I do get
a different kind of excitement when brainstorming face to face, but I have
been forced to brainstorm my best ideas over the phone or on Skype.

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jclulow
It's always great to see people turn their (potentially quite narrow) personal
experience into broad proclamations.

"I have never had a productive exchange via IRC, therefore it is not possible
for anybody to do so!"

Meanwhile I have productive IRC, Skype and e-mail discussions all the time,
both with colleagues at work and in the open source communities I participate
in.

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blucz
Some kinds of work are much easier in person, like brainstorming and high-
level product design. Many other kinds of work--the ones that take up the bulk
of the time in my experience--are best done alone. This includes most of the
hashing-out-the-details stuff like coding, graphic design, and copy-writing.

The most important thing is finding people independent enough to function
remotely. There some also work to be done in breaking down social boundaries--
remote workers need to be willing to reach out immediately when they are
stuck, have ideas, or need to talk something through. Many introverted people
have trouble with this idea, especially at first.

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FrancescoRizzi
Creativity comes from A) within, B) sharing with others. Nothing says it has
to be in person, within the same physical room... heck, even if there was a
requirement for eye-to-eye contact, webcams (et al.) provide that. The tools
are there. If the creative spark is now catching on, the problem must be
elsewhere: not the right people, or mix of people (or simply not the right
time.. people are not necessarily brilliant 100% of the time throughout their
entire life)

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dcaylor
Different people communicate well in different ways. There's a tendency to
think there's a right way to do these things. There isn't. You have to have a
way for people to chat with each other informally that works for the real
people on a real team, and a work environment and culture that encourage it.
Whether that can be done remotely or not, or whether it actually works better
remotely, depends on the specific people and the relational chemistry of the
team.

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nmcfarl
To me this then boils down to: Are the people in my organisation the ones that
are most likely to make me say 'Wow!' or would it be better if my water cooler
conversations happen at the local coffeeshop / meetup.

And I've got to say as the founder of a very small firm, I know what people in
my org are doing, but wow are there a lot of talented people doing amazing
things in Seattle.

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jinushaun
I work remotely and I'm in GotoMeeting all day. My other coworkers are on
there too. All day. As far as I'm concerned, it feels like we're all working
in the same office.

Email and chat? It doesn't have to be that way. I agree with Jobs that people
have a natural desire to see and hear other people, and that that fosters
creativity. You can still get that working remotely.

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cjfont
This to me doesn't disqualify working remotely. One can still engage with
peers, it does take a bit more effort. A great example of this is simply
attending Meetups. Most of the time, however, working involves sitting down by
yourself and getting stuff done, even when implementing that great idea that
just came to you from talking to someone else during your lunch break.

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tlb
There are better ways of working remotely than email and chat. Always-on video
screens and telepresence robots allow a good deal of spontaneity and bumping
into people.

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aaronblohowiak
>Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions.

Does Creativity have to be a collaborative process?

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rpietro
probably true when we only had email and chat

