Even though many prefer face-to-face meetings, virtual meetings are a common part of today’s business environment. It is critical, however, to consider certain things when you’re conducting these meetings.

Etiquette is important during virtual meetings and should be taken into consideration, as it would be in any face-to-face meeting. This may seem obvious, but many people think of virtual meetings as more informal and laid-back than face-to-face ones, which is not always the case.

Here are a few more tips that can help your virtual meetings to be more efficient and professional.

1. Be prepared

Preparedness is significant for any meeting, virtual or not. When you’re conducting a virtual meeting, it can be easy to forget who your audience is. You want to make sure that the information you’re presenting is appropriate for each participant.

Make certain that everyone will be able to easily access the meeting by providing them with the correct access codes, URLs and call-in numbers. After all, a meeting without attendees is really no meeting at all.

2. Engage participants

Many people are in the habit of leaping right into the meat of the presentation, which isn’t always best during virtual meetings. If you and your participants aren’t familiar with each other, building some sort of relationship is necessary. Try giving everybody the opportunity to introduce themselves.

Although it may feel like freshman orientation all over again, having everyone go around and share the highlight of his or her weekend or some other little tidbit, can serve as a huge icebreaker.

3. No side conversations

Although it may be tempting to hold side conversations when you’re not the one on screen, it can seem unprofessional and is often very distracting. Since virtual meetings often don’t hold people’s attention as well as face-to-face meetings, the last thing you want is to distract people from the task at hand.

There are many things you can do to produce a more effective and productive virtual meeting, and these are just a few of those. For more ideas, check out this Inc. article.

E-readers are an incredible convenience that plenty of people swear by. You can have all of your books in one place and they are extremely portable. Sometimes there’s nothing more painful than having to haul around a bunch of large books, however, they’re not ideal for everyone. Continue reading to learn about some of the pros and cons of e-readers.

What are the options?

The Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader and Barnes & Noble Nook are among the most popular of the e-readers. Although some e-readers have Internet capabilities, their main purpose is to display e-books.

Tablet owners frequently use their tablets to read e-books as well. Most tablets, however, do much more than just display e-books, so that is not their key purpose.

Pros

• E-readers are extremely portable, which is ideal for anybody who likes to read during vacation or a business trip
• Another travel perk – if you are in a foreign country, you may still download an e-book in the language you choose, instead of looking for an accommodating bookstore.
• Books are often more affordable than you will find in standard bookstores.
• Privacy – you almost certainly don’t want everyone to know if you’re reading a self-help book. If you’re using an e-reader, they won’t be able to tell.
• All of your books are in one place.

Cons

• Depending on the type of e-reader or tablet, you might not be able to read in direct sunlight because of screen glare.
• Cost – even though you might pay less for books than you normally would, e-readers typically cost more than $140.
• If you’re used to shopping in used bookstores, these books will cost a great deal more than you’re used to spending.
• Lending books isn’t always a possibility.
• All of your books are in one spot – if you lose your e-reader, you’re losing all of your books unless you buy a replacement.

As with any technology, the decision between an e-reader and a book comes down to personal preference. While some people want to be able to showcase their books on a bookshelf and share them with the world, others prefer the portable convenience that comes with an e-reader.

For more insight into the debate between e-readers and traditional books check out this article.

It can often be difficult to inspire employees when you’re running a small business. Funds are limited, and time is extremely valuable. Incentives are necessary when it comes to motivation, however; finding cheap and easy incentives is imperative.

There are plenty of ways to motivate employees that don’t include things like big bonuses or costly benefits. A hand-written thank you letter can go a long way when it comes to showing employee appreciation. Here are a few other ideas:

1. Ask for input

By encouraging input from employees you are letting them know that their opinions are appreciated. This goes a long way in making them feel like a part of the team, which then inspires them to work hard for the good of the team.

2. Change it up

Sometimes repetition can lead to a lack of motivation. When this happens, it’s essential to remember the cause for the waning motivation and mix things up a little. If you know an employee is willing to exercise a certain skill, try giving him or her a project that allows for that.

3. Focus on a great company culture

People enjoy working for companies that they feel are different from the rest. Setting your company apart by integrating unique ideas into the company culture can help you find and retain great, motivated employees. Things like complimentary professional massages once a month can go a long way in developing a unique company culture.

4. Recognize people for a job well done

One of the biggest possible motivators is recognizing your employees for doing a good job. When you’re working away at something and feel like nobody appreciates it, it can make your effort seem entirely pointless – regardless of its effect on the company.

Something as simple as a company-wide email highlighting their accomplishments can re-ignite motivation and make employees want to continue working hard. Although the attention may embarrass some, most people like to know that others recognize their effort.

All of these ideas are great, affordable options for motivating employees when you don’t have a ton of resources. Trying out a few of these ideas could do wonders for employee motivation and keep morale high.

Check out this article to see a few more methods for motivating employees.

Smartpens are an awesome office trend whose possibilities are always growing.  They’re still pretty new to the scene, but so far, they are full of practical features to make office life a little more efficient.

Smartpens essentially keep track of what you’re writing and transfer those notes onto your computer. Each smartpen has different abilities, however, some of which are more useful than others.

IOGEAR Mobile Digital Scribe

This was the first smartpen on the market and, because of that, it comes without some of the bells and whistles that are available on newer pens.

It does, however, do plenty of interesting things that make it a fantastic business tool. The Mobile Digital Scribe captures and stores all of your notes for later review. It doesn’t require you to write on a certain surface – a simple piece of paper will do. Also, if you connect the smartpen to your computer, it can display your notes on the screen as you write them.

Logitech IO2 Digital Pen

The Logitech IO2 Digital Pen is also a more simple model, like the IOGEAR version. It lets you save your notes in a variety of different file types and formats.

You can then search for words and phrases by date, file type, or file name. You can add items to your calendar simply by writing them down. The Logitech IO2 Digital Pen doesn’t work on any surface like the IOGEAR pen, but it works with Post-It notes and Franklin Covey’s iScribe software and digital planning pages.

Livescribe Echo

The Livescribe Echo smartpen is by far the most technologically advanced of all the smartpens available. It not only transcribes everything you write down, it also records audio and converts the recording into a number of different audio file types.

The coolest feature that you’ll find on the Echo is the Pencast functionality. A Pencast lets you play back the audio and synchronize it with your notes, making it much less complicated to keep a detailed record of your thoughts without writing down everything. Apple has also built a free app that allows for easy sharing and replaying.

These pens are pretty interesting tools that can be helpful for just about anyone. They take a great deal of time out of transcription and make remembering details of a meeting or conversation much easier.

To check out a review of the Livescribe Echo, click here.

Everybody has been talking today about the newest feature to be revealed by Google. It is called Gmail Motion and it lets users perform standard email commands with simple gestures.

Standard actions such as reply all, search and archive can now be completed with simple gestures, instead of a keyboard and mouse. This advancement will most likely make users feel more in sync with their computers and enjoy their email experiences even more.

How does it work?

The technology works with your computer’s webcam – most of which are built in to your computer nowadays. Google’s patented spatial tracking technology detects your movements and translates them into Gmail-specific commands.

How to use Gmail Motion safely

As with any physical activity, it is important to take certain safety precautions in order to avoid injury. First, clear the area around you. It is easy to get excited about the technology, which can result in sudden movements. If the area is not clear, you could easily hit something and injure yourself or damage property.

It is also recommended that you take regular breaks, just as you would if you were doing any other sort of work on the computer. Intermittent stretching is ideal as well. It will prevent your muscles from cramping and feeling overworked.

If this technology interests you, try taking a look at the Gmail Motion website, which profiles how-to videos and a printable Motion Guide that contains all of the possible gestures. If you are a business user who is wondering when you will be able to take advantage of this technology, have no fear – you will soon be seeing Google Docs Motion.

This spatial tracking technology from Google is outstanding – it could potentially change the way we all work and interact with our computers on a regular basis. To some people, this announcement may seem kind of silly, and it is. Gmail Motion is just the latest of Google’s yearly April Fools’ jokes.

Happy April Fools’ Day!

Sometimes it can be hard to keep your belongings safe while you are on the go. Luckily, there are many tools that make it easier. Things like notebook locks and personal safes are incredibly handy and portable enough that you can take them with you wherever you go. These are some of the coolest tools that can help protect your things.

Laptop privacy screens

When you’re working in public, it can be rather easy for someone to take a peek at your screen and see everything you’re typing and doing. These privacy screens make that seemingly simple invasion of privacy much more difficult.

Laptop privacy screens get rid of the need to crouch over your screen and constantly minimize windows by obscuring any view from an angle. Looking at the screen from an angle results in a seriously darkened screen, which makes it challenging to really see anything.

Handheld paper shredder

We all know the benefits of shredding documents that have personal or business information on them. Sometimes, it’s not so convenient to do. With a handheld shredder, destroying sensitive documents is a simple task that can be a huge help in keeping your data secure.

Mandylion Password Manager

Strong passwords are essential to our security. They are one of the most effective ways to protect your sensitive information from hackers and evildoers. Strong passwords aren’t always so easy to create and keep track of, however, which is why we often need a little help.

The Mandylion Password Manager eliminates that problem and makes it easy to keep track of all of those strong passwords you create. With its “military-grade password protection,” this device is excellent for anyone who has trouble coming up with and remembering passwords – and you can even attach it to your keychain!

Anybody who ever does any work outside of the office knows that it can sometimes be a challenge to secure all of your data and belongings. These gadgets, and many others like them, can go a long way in the fight for on-the-go security.

If you’d like to check out even more gadgets that can help you stay secure, check out this Mashable article.

Managing your email inbox can be fairly stressful. The emails are coming in faster than you can read them, and it seems like there’s never enough time in the day to make it through them all. Fortunately, there are several tricks that make it easier to keep your inbox clean – here are just a couple of them:

1. Set up folders

   Setting up folders, tags or labels in your inbox allows your email client to sort out emails automatically. You can commonly set filters according to email address, so emails from your Aunt Hilda will go into their own folder and won’t clutter your inbox.

   With this feature, trivial emails are filtered out and don’t take up important space in your inbox. It’s pretty easy to set this up and since this feature is available in most email clients and services, it is probably available to you.

2. Enable conversation view

   Conversation (or “threaded”) view is available in most email clients and it does a fantastic job of making your inbox seem more manageable. Instead of seeing a large number of individual emails about a single topic, they will all be grouped together, taking up much less space in your inbox.

   So now, when you archive or delete an email that has a conversation attached to it, all of those emails will be archived along with it. This keeps your email appearing cleaner and makes your inbox less overwhelming.

3. If it will take less than 5 minutes to address, deal with it right away 

   Many emails take lots of time and energy to really tackle. For those emails that don’t require much time, it is typically best to deal with it right away. Putting it off will only make it seem bigger than it is and create more stress than is necessary. As you address these emails right away more often they will become easier to deal with.

These are just a few basic ways that can help make your inbox more manageable. There are many more tricks that are just as easy and can make a big difference in your everyday email habits.

For more tips on email management check out this Business Insider article.

Whether you’re a wireless mouse user or you’ve stuck with the wired version, you likely know that there are advantages to both. The debate between the two options has been happening for years. While it almost certainly won’t be resolved anytime soon, these facts may well help you better determine which one is right for you.

Wired

The benefits of wired mice are plentiful. Some of the major ones include:

• Extended life expectancy
• Quicker response time
• More cost efficient
• Better accuracy – a big pro for gamers
• No chance of inadvertently gaining control of someone else’s computer

Although wired mice have been around much longer, they do lack in comparison to wireless mice in certain areas. The biggest disadvantages include less freedom to roam and less overall convenience – both of which are of the utmost importance to some people.

Wireless

Despite the occasional dead batteries, wireless mice have quite a few strong points. They offer a level of convenience that can’t be reached with a wired mouse, no matter how long the cord is. Some of the major benefits include:

• More freedom – another favorite feature among gamers, who often control their TVs from the couch
• Improvements in response time and accuracy
• Fewer cords
• Smoother movement due to the lack of a cord

Although there are plenty of advantages to wireless mice, there are several disadvantages as well. The two biggest concerns tend to be the occasional bad signal and dead batteries – both of which can be extremely frustrating if they come at the wrong time.

In general, the decision between wireless and wired mice is dependant on preference. If you require accuracy and fast response times, a wired mouse would probably suit you best. If you’re someone who likes to work from the couch or other untraditional spots, you may enjoy the convenience and freedom of a wireless mouse. There are plenty of great wired as well as wireless options, so you can’t go wrong either way.

If you’d like more information on both wired and wireless mice, or if you’d like to join the debate, check out this website.

Many of us are familiar with Google Docs as a tool for quick and easy document creation. What many people don’t know is how great of a collaboration tool it can be, especially due to its recent updates.

Google Docs’ commenting feature just received a substantial overhaul and the results seem promising. Some of the most significant changes include:

• Timestamps and profile pictures on comments
• The ability to edit and resolve comments
• Implementation of email notifications via @mentions

Email notifications are one of the coolest features that have been added as they allow you to bring people into the discussion that weren’t already.

Since the notification will include the text of the comment, the team member does not need to have immediate access to Google Docs. He or she can simply reply to the email notification, and it will show up in the dialogue.

These new features also make it easier to see what has been done and what still needs to be done. Instead of simply deleting a comment once edits have been made on the document, you can now mark it as resolved. This allows you to go back and view which changes were made and if they were, in fact, done correctly.

If distributed teams are working on a project, it can sometimes be difficult to make sure everyone is on the same page. Collaboration tools like Google Docs make it much easier. The email alerts will let your team members know as soon as you need their help on a project and keep everyone in sync.

Passing a document back and forth via email is often rather messy. If multiple people are editing at once, keeping track of all of those edits and ensuring that they show up on the final version gets difficult. With these tools, since everybody’s version of the document is identical there is far less confusion around changes. For distributed teams, and remote workers, tools like this are quite valuable.

If you’d like to learn more about the recent changes to Google Docs, take a look at this article.

South by Southwest (SXSW) is a yearly compilation of conferences and festivals that has been around for 25 years. SXSW draws together some of the most innovative thinkers in the fields of film, music, and interactive media. It is known for its wealth of creative content, which is quite prevalent this year.

SXSW Interactive is one of the largest conferences at SXSW that encompasses all of the new media, and it has already unearthed some great ideas. Although the SXSW Technology Summit, which is full of great ideas and presentations on technology and business, has just begun, some standout startups have already emerged.

Every year, in addition to all of the conferences, there is a “Startup Bus” competition. The Startup Bus departs from Chicago, Cleveland, Miami, New York and San Francisco, and drives to Austin in two days. In those 48 hours, teams are assembled and they are given the task of coming up with an original idea, creating a demo and website, and then presenting their idea to a panel of judges once they arrive in Austin.

48 hours hardly seems long enough to come up with a business idea and actually create a demo for it but, for these people, it’s plenty of time. Great ideas are virtually always born on the buses, and this year was no different. These are the two winners of this year’s competition.

TripMedi

TripMedi is based around the rapidly growing medical tourism industry. Medical tourism is essentially when a person needs to have a medical procedure performed on them and travels to a developing country in order to save money.

According to the TripMedi team, there is no clear way to navigate this market, making it an even more unnerving experience for medical tourists. So the team decided to create a Yelp-like service for the industry.

Now, people curious about medical tourism can find a comprehensive list of services, prices and physicians all in one place. The site has already seen 1,300 unique visitors and 44 sign-ups, and it’s only been live for four days.

WalkIN

WalkIN looked to solve an issue that everyone can relate to – waiting for a table at a restaurant. We all know how aggravating it is to cram into a restaurant lobby waiting for your name to be called.

WalkIN eliminates the cramming, but not the waiting. With WalkIN, you can come into the restaurant and scan a QR code, which will automatically put your name on the waitlist. You are then free to wander until you are alerted via your phone that your table is ready.

People no longer have to carry around big, clunky restaurant pagers that vibrate incessantly until you make it back to the host stand.

This year’s SXSW conferences, like all other years’, has already brought us some truly innovative ideas, and is sure to bring us even more.

For more information on SXSW, check out the website.