Web Worker Daily

Telepresence: State of the (Affordable) Art

Posted: 22 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT

We’ve written before about some of the big-ticket telepresence systems - and our skepticism about their place in the average web worker’s life. But between the super-expensive systems and the cheapest of webcams, there seems to be another level of telepresence emerging - systems that are good enough to be worth using, and not so hideously pricey as to be out of reach for everyone. A recent blog posting by Microsoft’s Scott Hanselman gives a glimpse of one man’s experiments in this area.

Now, working for Microsoft does give Hanselman a leg up that many web workers won’t have - he can assume, for example, that all of his coworkers are available via Microsoft Live Meeting. But reading through his account, I was struck by how much difference comparatively low-tech solutions are apparently making to his ability to work remotely (he’s in Portland and the rest of his team is in Seattle).

For example, for conference room meetings, he likes the Microsoft Roundtable system - and from his description, it’s a great advance over the “speaker phone on the conference table” system that many of us have had to put up with. The RoundTable system runs around $3000 - not pocket change, but certainly not excessive for some web workers with one big steady client.

But the RoundTable system is far from his only way to be at least partially “at” the main office. He’s using a variety of other tools, from Oovoo to screen sharing, to provide more information bandwidth than a simple phone call. For the future, he’s also been brainstorming with another Microsoft remote worker about the possibility of using telepresence robots.

Many web workers will identify with Hanselman’s key takeaways:

The things that’s been taking me the most time is:

Equipment: Setting up people who don’t have these tools (software, webcams)

Patience: Convincing people that setting these things up are the ONLY way I can effectively do my job.

I am absolutely convinced that video conferencing builds relationships almost as much as showing up in person.

How about you? Are you convinced of the benefits of videoconferencing and telepresence for remote work? Are prices dropping and capabilities rising fast enough to make it work out well for you?

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Understanding Online Photo Rights

Posted: 22 Sep 2008 12:00 PM CDT

I recently had an email exchange with a photographer. He was unhappy that I used an image from his web site on one of my blogs without a proper credit or link back to his site. I took a look at the blog page in question - from 2005 - and noted that indeed, I did not credit him or link back to his site. So I removed the image immediately and replaced it with a Wikipedia Creative Commons image.

The photographer was not satisfied. He asked that I pay him retroactively for using his image. I argued with him that the blog was not a commercial one, it didn’t get very much traffic at all, and even though I did not link back to his image, it was embedded using the actual image HTML code from his site so all anyone had to do was view the image to see the source. He persisted. After further research, I learned that I was in the wrong.

To find out more about photo rights on the Web, I turned to a lawyer, Deena B. Burgess, Esq., Managing Partner with the Law Offices of Deena Burgess, and gave her a few scenarios to comment on. Here is what she had to say.

Scenario 1: I copy someone else’s image onto your computer and upload it onto my FTP site but I include a copyright notice and link back to the photographer’s site (I do not notify them that I have done this).

From Burgess:

The first thing that needs to be understood is that every photograph is the intellectual property of the person who took the photograph. Copyright protection attaches even where the person has not put a copyright notice and even if the copyright is not registered with the Copyright Office. (You do, however, need to register with the Copyright Office in order to sue on your rights.)

Every copyright holder has certain exclusive rights that attach to their work. These include the right to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works from the work (there are others that don’t apply to photography). Without permission, even if you were to give credit to the copyright holder, you would still be infringing their work.

As far as my liability for you loading the copyrighted of the work onto my computer and uploading it from there, I could be subjected to vicarious liability for my part (or, more accurately, my computer’s part) in the copyright infringement.

If you were to contact the photographer and ask for permission to use the photo, you then would not be violating the rights of the photographer provided you abide by whatever terms the two of you agree to.

Scenario 2: I don’t copy their image at all but instead embed it onto my site using the URL of the image that resides on their site - so it appears on my site. I include a copyright notice and link back to the photographer’s site (I do not notify them that I have done this).

From Burgess:

Again, since the copyright holder has the exclusive right to distribute, display and create derivative works from their work, even embedding the photo on your site would violate the copyright on that work.

If you were just to include the link on your site where the image is not displayed, rather than the photo, you would not be violating the photographer’s copyright to the work.

Scenario 3: I don’t copy their image at all but instead embed it onto my site using the URL of the image that resides on their site - so it appears on my site. In this case, I DO NOT include any credit or link back (I do not notify them that I have done this). But if someone were really interested in the source, all they would have to do would be view the image to see where it came from.

From Burgess:

Similarly to the answer to question 2, the display of the image on your site without permission is a violation of the exclusive rights of the photographer.

You need to either ask permission to use the work (which is often freely given when you explain that you’re crediting the source in any way that they’d like) or you need to include the link rather than the picture itself.

Back to my bad move on using a photographer’s image without permission, without credit and without a link. Learning that I could negotiate something other than pay for my infringement, I offered to feature him in an interview on my blog and include a small ad on the blog linking to his site. He was thrilled with the offer and accepted both as payment for the past use of his image.

Have you infringed on someone else’s copyright or had someone infringe on yours? How did you resolve the issue?

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Would You Go Back to Fulltime Office Work?

Posted: 22 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Not everyone who teleworks does it for life. An online writer I know just went back to his old job as an on-site project manager. A quick surf to articles or blogs on telecommuting shows that not all people are happy with their experiences.

Some analysts are also making observations that teleworking is a temporary setup, especially among corporate employees:

In fact, there is a higher degree of churn among teleworkers today than in the past, according to Sean Ryan, an analyst at IDC. Statistics indicate that, for whatever reason, telework is not a permanent arrangement, he says. “They telecommute for a while, but then go back into the corporate world.”
Source: ComputerWorld.com

If telework is as great as promised, why do some people return to the office?

Lost opportunities. According to a survey done by Steelcase Inc., 64% of surveyed participants fear that telecommuting prevents them from advancing in their careers . However, researchers from Pennsylvania State University found no evidence that this actually happens in practice. Still, it’s entirely possible that it does.

When you spend less time in the office, this also reduces the chance you have for getting impromptu opportunities and projects. Also, some of your colleagues might unintentionally downplay your role in the company since they don’t see you often. This will really stunt your career growth, especially if your supervisor thinks that way too.

Fear. There are those who are afraid to even try teleworking, and there are those who are afraid to keep going at it because of seemingly insurmountable obstacles they encounter. If you’re a freelancer, it’s especially scary since you might have some dry spells. The fear alone could be enough reason for some to go back to the security of an office job.

Keeping work and life separate. I love that my work and my life are so closely integrated. My work is such an important part of my identity, that I can’t talk about my life without talking about my work. Not all web workers feel this way. Some people prefer to keep their work in the office and their life at home.

Of course, there are ways to strike a good work/life balance as a teleworker, but if you find that actively looking for a good system is outside your personality, then you’re really going to have a hard time adjusting.

Just missing office life. I have a friend whose working style thrives on the office environment, on dressing up for work, interacting with others, and being on her feet for 8 hours a day. If you’re not satisfied with the teleworking alternatives to such things, then maybe you do belong in the traditional office.

Sometimes, the decision is beyond your control. Your company might decide to cull the number of teleworkers and call you back into the office. If this is so, you’re left with little choice - either go with your company’s rules or resign and work as a freelancer. But that’s a longer, more complex decision than I can write about here.

It’s true that teleworking isn’t for everyone. You have to go with the path that will allow you to work in the best manner possible, which, of course, is up to you to define.

As for me, I’ll do everything in my power to telework for life.

Are you content with teleworking? What would make you go back to full-time office work?

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