These days, who needs offices? Many of the most successful workplaces aren't even places! Many of the more successful new startups would look to the untrained eye as a team of freelancers, working from homes often hundreds or thousands of miles apart.
So, why? From the perspective of four years ago, this would appear to fly in the face of productivity or anything like it. Back when VOIP and video chat clients were in their infancy, Skype and programs like it were novelties, reserved for those moments when the frustration of being unable to see someone face outweighed the horror of grainy video and bandwidth overage charges.
But those days are over. Over the past years Skype has cleaned up its act significantly, and to some extent Microsoft, the proud new owner, is to be thanked for its hard work and dedication.
But like everything Microsoft has ever done, Skype's triumph is bound to be short-lived. Whether its Windows, Office, or Windows Phone, it seems like Microsoft can't catch a break these days. Every time they make a push to establish themselves as the market leader, someone comes along and does what they're doing better and more cheaply.
And that brings us to Google Hangouts.
Often mistaken for a Windows Live Messenger-type service, Google Hangouts is worth a second look for those looking for a free alternative to the paid service that Skype has become. In a nutshell, Hangouts is Skype, without the pay, and with several frankly incredible features that make Skype look like the doddering old client that it is.
First and foremost of these features is Hangouts' brilliant implementation of multiple-person video chat. It works so well, it's effortless. Like Skype, when someone talks, their face is put on a "big screen" for all to see. But you have to pay for that functionality with Skype. With Hangouts you don't.
Another great feature is screen sharing -- a way of viewing other people's screens without asking them turning their webcam around. Google's attention to detail here is stunning. They allow users to share their entire screen or, if they so choose, only parts of it, like a single program, video, or image. It's all handled very well interface-wise, and once again it is free. Skype makes you pay for worse functionality.
And the final nail in poor Skype's coffin is Google's integration of Google Docs into Hangouts. Picture this: everyone in your team is able to work on the same document simultaneously, seeing everyone else changes as they happen, all while using video chat.
At that point, why even come into work? You can do better work at home.
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