Best Online Tools for Virtual Web Teams

A quick roundup of the most useful web-based tools for designers and developers, as debated at a NEWDA (New England Web Developers Association) gathering last night:

skype
freeconferencecall.com
basecamp
campfire
harvest
box.net
glance.net
google docs

For vetting potential co-workers and maintaining better (emotional) connection:
Linkedin
facebook
twitter
individual blogs

A video of the evening’s presentation, “Using Web Tools to Build Virtual Teams” will soon be available on the NEWDA site as presented by Jonathon Follett, of Hot Knife Design, an insightful contributor to A List Apart.

Give me 5 mins, get a free latte.

Imagine a corner of the coffee lounge converted (as needed) to a “Give us 5 minutes, get a free latte” space. One at a time, marketers could set up a simple trade-show booth display and conduct sample testing/focus groups/surveys with willing volunteers that fit their demographic. Five minutes in exchange for a $5 coffee. Hey, if you’re in there anyway, and you’ve got 5 minutes to spare, why not?

LOGISTICS
Sure, the store could use a simple drink ticket system: the marketer hands the consumer a ticket after they’ve participated, which the consumer then exchanges for a coffee, and the barista later tallies for a bill that the marketer pays at the end of their session. This would keep it simple and flexible (time-wise).  But better yet, a sticker like the kind used for admission at museums, marked on the back with the date and marketer’s signature, that says something like “I scored a free latte at ______(insert name of store)”  would further promote the store, while also advertising the wearer’s resourcefulness to friends and colleagues.  The store’s website could offer an instant alert via RSS feature for volunteers depending on what demographics they register under (“Free latte alert: Rosie’s Cookies and Cakes is holding a taste-testing and survey at our Main Street store from noon to 1pm.”)

COST
Assuming each volunteer cost the marketer the most expensive drink in the house, it’s still a lot cheaper than the $20 – $50 an hour that they pay individuals to attend focus groups, not to mention a lot easier to organize and manage.

WIN-WIN-WIN
It’s a win-win-win: free lattes during hard times; increased foot traffic to the stores, not to mention free press and lots of word-of-mouth; and an easy way for entrepreneurs and small businesses to test their products and services on remarkably willing test-subjects.

JUST SAY NO
How do you say No to willing participants that don’t fit the demographic? Easy: a pre-registration form (online, which can be accessed at any in-store terminal) where they declare their various consumer preferences and categories. This is automatically matched to whatever the marketer has checked off and the result is either “Yes, come on down!” Or “Sorry, we have no matches for you today. Please try again soon.”

Somebody please take this idea and use it. I want a free latte, dammit.

Art and Design in the Montreal metro

I bet New Yorkers can’t believe their eyes (or ears) when they first encounter the Montreal metro…

AESTHETICS
Every station is designed by a different architect, and each one is home to giant works of art, from walls of stained glass to exquisite modern tile patterns. (View a quick photo line-up of the many different interiors.) But that’s just the beginning. The next thing you notice is the general cleanliness and lack of graffiti. There are no signs of neglect (no broken railings, no torn seating, no leaking roofs, or vermin). The temperature in the stations and on the trains is air-conditioned in summer, heated in winter. The cars look new, but in fact are 40 years old; they were refurbished in 1999. Not only are there clean trash cans, there are recycle bins at every turn. A single one-way ticket is $2.50, but the public certainly gets its money’s worth, and there are substantial discounts for commuter passes.

SAFETY
The absence of aggression is palpable. I’ve traveled several times via metro at 1am on a Saturday by myself and never felt concerned for my safety, either in the station or on the platform. I haven’t figured that part out yet. Maybe it’s the clear sight lines and good lighting. Maybe it’s just a general satisfaction with the high quality of life in Quebec.

EFFICIENCY
On the platforms, giant electronic LCD screens display useful information: time, weather, news updates and… the estimated time of arrival of the next train. Transportation and city maps are where you need them and… they’re current! Trains generally run on time (every 3 – 5 minutes at peak times, every 12 minutes off peak). Each train is monitored electronically to optimize performance.

THOUGHTFUL DESIGN
Overhead walkways allow you to see arriving and departing trains, when you’re still close enough to sprint to catch one or slow down if you see you’ve just missed a train. Platforms are intelligently designed. Lighting is focused where you need it at the edge of the platform, and dimmed in the seating area so you can relax more easily while waiting. Seating is set in to the walls. When no-one is seated, the platform is completely clear of obstruction. If the seats are occupied, only ones knees protrude, so others can see you (for safety’s sake) yet you’re not blocking the flow of traffic. Brilliant.

Even the typography makes sense: letters are wide-kerned (spaced out) so that the station name can more easily be read from the window of a moving car.

And of course, the crowning glory is the French-inspired color-coded metro system, with each line logically named after its 2 end stations (none of this vague “A train” or “# 2 line”, which is utterly useless for visitors). If the sign above the platform station is orange and says “Cote-Vertu”, then you are on the orange line, headed in the direction of Cote-Vertu. So simple to use. So well-conceived.