Green IT for Dummies®

Chapter 20. Virtually There: Collaboration Technologies for a Greener World

In This Chapter

• Valuing the virtual

• Capitalizing on collaboration

• Telecommuting with panache

• Working with telepresence

• Networking for profit and fun

The Internet has changed our world in countless ways, not the least of which is how and where we work. This network of networks (and the applications now available on it) has freed both organizations and individuals from the ties of any specific work location. That freedom carries with it some profoundly green consequences, including not polluting by commuting and reducing the need for physical media. And so, we use this chapter to share the hows, the whys, and the greens of various collaboration, telecommuting, and telepresence systems and programs.

Virtually Yours

The virtual world came into vogue as the Internet became mainstream in people's lives (over the past 15 years or so). The implication of this term is: The world that's connected through the Internet is somehow a world apart, and anyone's presence in it is a virtual presence. You can be anyone, anywhere in cyberspace — virtually — without leaving the comfort of your home. (Remember the cartoon — captioned "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog." — with a hound at the computer?)

But the somewhat derogatory connotation to a virtual existence is being replaced by a widespread acceptance of various Internet-related techno-logies that foster new kinds of relationships, new kinds of collaboration, new kinds ...