Today we have a guest post from Pamela Slim, an award-winning author, business coach and speaker. She spent the first 10 years of her business as a consultant to large companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Charles Schwab and Cisco Systems, where she worked with thousands of executives, managers and employees. She is also the bestselling author of Body of Work: Finding the Thread That Ties Your Story Together. Her new book, Body of Work, gives a fresh perspective on the skills required in the new world of work for people in all work modes, from corporate to non-profit to small business. As business owners, we spend a lot of time marketing so we can attract new customers. There is nothing more satisfying than getting that first sale from a new person. But once the sale is made, how can you nurture the relationship so your first-time customer becomes a life-long fan? Create useful information content, that’s how. Like webinars that make your customers feel like you are reading their mind and truly valuing their business. The starting place: what do your customers need? Take out a pad of paper and put a big box in the middle labeled "My Customers." Then ask yourself: What do they really need? Customers often have a mix of different needs - some pragmatic, like getting access to useful information that solves their problems, and others that are more emotional, like feeling supported or accepted. To generate as many ideas as possible, create a mind map of different things your customers need. Then you can start to look for patterns or overarching categories. For those of you with product businesses, think about what would compliment your products. As an example, one segment of my market is corporate employees who want to quit their job and start a business. They have four major needs: Knowledge: How do you work through each stage of creating a business? What are the most efficient/effective ways to get things done? Whom can I trust? Encouragement: Giving up a job is mighty scary. Many people are racked with self-doubt. So ongoing doses of "You are not crazy," "You go girl/guy" and "Someone just like you has successfully done what you want to do" are very important. Community: It is very isolating to make a big change by yourself. The more positive, supportive people surround you, the quicker you will make progress and launch your business. Promotion: Once businesses get up and running, they need well-connected people to spread the word so they make enough money to quit their day job. Follow the logical product path. Once you are clear about what your people need, you want to build a product/service map that follows them through the logical path they walk as they are trying to solve whatever problem you are helping them with (personal finance, starting a business, designing a website, organizing their garage). Starting with the first product or service you offer, imagine what logical needs your customers would have once their initial problem was solved. Compliment your offerings with great webinars. A great way to compliment your product offerings is by natural, fun engagement with your customers using webinars. This will strengthen and reinforce your working relationship, provide useful information, build trust and humanize your brand. Connect with your customers by hosting one or more of the following types of events. Demo your product. Getting invited to be walked through one of your new products or features with customers makes your customers feel like part of your club, especially if the demo is offered before the product or features are officially released. Interview an expert. Identify a thought leader that your customers value (or their customers) value, and do an online interview via a webinar. For example, if you’re in healthcare sales, you may choose to bring in a popular MD who’s recently authored a book. Choose someone who has complimentary expertise to yours, so the event is both valuable and relevant to your customers Offer a free Q&A on a monthly or quarterly basis. If one group in particular on your team gets a lot questions from prospective or current clients, ask the department to host a free call once a month or quarter. Nothing shows that you’re there for your customers like actually being accessible by your customers. Your new customers could be your fans, but only if you give them reason to cheer. So start brainstorming: what can do you for your customers? Pamela Slim is a business coach and bestselling author of Body of Work: Finding the Thread That Ties Your Story Together. Get more ideas for nurturing your existing customers in Pam’s ebook, Grow Your Business With Existing Customers. Photo credit: Boston Public Library via Flickr

Photo of me (on the right), my brother (right next to me), and my cousins at the Hegstrom family reunion!

As a curriculum designer for a large insurance company, I have noticed that the population of entry level employees is becoming increasingly diverse.  Our "typical" new hire class has transformed from a relatively homogeneous group of young college graduates to a multigenerational group that also includes recently-displaced professionals.  At a recent Learning and Performance team meeting, many of our trainers revealed that the older workers often have trouble learning multiple products and systems, while the younger workers zone out during class lectures and are easily distracted by their Smart Phones.  Jenkins et al, in their paper Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century, address the "participation gap" which they define as "the unequal access to the opportunities, experiences, skills, and knowledge that will prepare youth for full participation in the world of tomorrow" (3).  They argue for expanded access not only to computers in the classrooms but also to teaching methods that "introduce youth to core technical skills and cultural competencies…teaching youth to critically analyze existing media texts, expressions that encourage youth to create new media content, and ethics that encourage youth to critically reflect on the consequences of their own choices as media makers" (59).   While I agree with Jenkins, I would argue that a participatory gap also exists for older employees who are trying to learn new job skills.  Although most companies offer training on their computer software systems, they are unable to assess and address the prerequisite skills that are lacking in many new employees from the baby boomer generation.  Most older workers come into the classroom knowing how to text and post a message to Facebook, but they lack the contextual, building-blocks knowledge required to embrace the constant changes in their on-the-job technology.   At my company, entry level agents must learn five different insurance quoting systems, as well as our Knowledge Management systems.  That can be a daunting task for someone who came from a job where their most challenging piece of technology was the copy machine.  In class and online lectures we discussed educational theories - a "systems" approach that follows a specific series of procedures, "communication theory" that examines the communication practices (and distracters) between the teacher and the students, "behaviorism" which looks at human behavior and positive reinforcement, and "constructivism," which is rooted in cognitive theory and builds on pre-existing knowledge.   As a curriculum designer for adult learners, I have adapted an adult learning theory that actually incorporates elements of the education theories that we discussed in class - experiential learning.  David Kolb conducted a great deal of research on adult learners, and identified the adult learner’s need to tap into existing knowledge and experiences in order to build a context for new learning (Kolb and Kolb, 15).  My "instructional technology teaching philosophy" acknowledges that everyone has different learning needs, and everyone has valuable experiences and/or skills that he/she brings to the learning center.   I wish I had the time and the tools to bridge that "participation gap" in technology knowledge that exists between the young college graduates and the older employees who were displaced from their jobs or are returning to the workforce.  Fortunately, all our new associates, regardless of age and/or experience level, are usually relieved to learn that they don’t have to master every system or know every answer to a customer question.  Although they need to access their resources quickly, when it boils down to it they simply need to know where to go to find the answers.   This realization helps new agents tear down that "technology fear" wall that impedes learning, and they can then relax and concentrate on building relationships with customers.  Agents are also encouraged to tap into their own experiences with autos, accidents, and insurance claims and use these prior experiences to help them reason through an insurance solution for their clients.   As I continue with my education in Curriculum and Instructional Technology, I am looking forward to conducting further research on adult learners so that I can help our new associates feel engaged and truly a part of the company’s changing technological landscape.   Works Cited: Lecture slides and class discussion for September 2 and September 9, 2013 (Theories of American Education).   Jenkins, Henry; Clinton, Katie; Purushotma, Ravi; Robison, Alice J.; Weigel, Margaret. "Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century."  Building the Field of Digital Media and Learning, www.digitallearning.macfound.org.    Kolb, Alice Y. and Kolb, David A.  "Experiential Learning Theory: A Dynamic, Holistic Approach to management Learning, Education and Development."  Handbook of Management Learning, Education and Development.  Eds. Steven J. Armstrong and Cynthia V. Fukami.  London: Sage Publications, 2009.

I use a lot of "tools" to do my job as a curriculum designer: Microsoft Office products for writing and presenting the texts; Adobe Acrobat Pro for publishing the texts into a manual; Adobe Captivate for writing computer-based training (CBTs).  I also collaborate with other designers at remote locations, conduct virtual training with WebEx and video conferencing, and gather ideas for training projects through Yammer, our corporate social media site.   I’ve been using these tools throughout my technical writing/instructional design career, but, upon questions raised in my Foundations in Digital Learning class, lately I’ve been wondering - how did my company decide which tools to use? Video Conference Room at my company - used for communicating with colleagues across the country! Andrew Feenberg, in his book Critical Theory of Technology, not only asks the same question but also argues that these decisions are based on ideology and power: "What human beings are and will become is decided in the shape of our tools no less than in the action of statesmen and political movements…the design of technology is thus an ontological decision fraught with political consequences" (Feenberg, 3). Feenberg discusses two established theories of technology: Instrumental Theory which is "based on the common sense idea that technologies are tools standing ready to serve the purposes of their users…neutral without valuative content of their own" (6). Substantive Theory, which looks at technology as any thing but neutral: "Technology constitutes a new type of cultural system that restructures the entire social world as an object of control…a destiny from which there is no escape other than retreat" (7).  Substantive theory is more pessimistic and views technology as "a nihilistic will to power" and assigns "quasi-magical powers to technology" (7) Feenberg then introduces a third theory, Critical Theory, but also expresses its limitations in its current iteration: Critical Theory "charts a different course between resignation and utopia" by "analyzing the new forms of oppression associated with modern industrialism" (13).   Feenberg feels that critical theory offers an alternative that neither instrumental nor substantive theory offer on their own: "The critical theory of technology implies paradoxically that in certain cases neutrality and bias are not different things, but merely different aspects of a single concrete object" (179).  Critical theory uses a Marxist lens by "analyzing the new forms of oppression associated with modern industrialism" (13).  However, Feenberg is dissatisfied with the lack of actual steps toward bottom-up cultural transformation proposed in Marxist readings.  He states, "Reduced to passive robots at work, the members of industrial society are unlikely to acquire the educational and characterological qualifications for active citizenship" (17) Mr. Andrew Feenberg Looking back at our previous readings in class that contrast essentialism with reconstructionism (as well as instrumentalism with substantivism) gives me more perspective to the point that Feenberg is ultimately trying to make.  Feenberg observes that there are political, social-structure motives to the concept and design of the tools, so that the instruments are only placed in the hands of the workers based on decisions made "higher up."  He argues that the workers should get involved earlier in the process and that the knowledge, or at least the potential knowledge, already exists in workers but is, as yet, untapped.  Feenberg states, "The underlying problem is the reified separation of labor, consumption, and the social decision making in all modern industrial societies.  Given the authoritarian structure of the industrial enterprise, workers have no direct influence on the design of technology…workers are not so much opposed to the advance of technology as they are to a system in which they are the objects rather than the subjects of progress" (191). At first I was a little taken aback when asked to look at technology from this point of view.  After all, I grew up in a capitalist country and work for a large company, and I’ve been happy in my "technology world."  I wondered - should I be worried that I might be blissfully unaware of the influences around me?  But then I stepped back to consider the type of company I work for.  The concept of insurance was based entirely on a socialist structure.  Everyone who purchases property and casualty insurance puts his or her money into a pool to ensure that there is enough money to pay claims, from the unfortunate person who backs into a tree, on up to entire communities whose homes are destroyed by a hurricane or tornado.   The insurance industry is highly regulated by the state and federal governments; premiums can’t be too low because there must be enough money in the pool to pay policyholder claims, and the premiums also can’t be so high that it prevents economically disadvantaged people from being able to afford insurance.  And I’m lucky enough to work for a company that does actively involve associates, agents, and even customers in the selection, piloting, and implementation of technological tools.  Feenberg would approve: "There is something intriguing about the idea of mobilizing the full resources of ordinary people in the technical process, not in opposition to the technical intelligentsia…but in the context of a wide consensus embracing managers, technical specialists, and workers" (160).   However, I realize that I am in the minority; most employees have little say in the technology that they use on the job.  Selfe and Selfe describe a "commodification of information" and point out the inequities of information that is "owned by an author who can protect work with a password and accord privileges to readers according to the relationship and involvement she would like them to have with the text" (434).  They state, "The rhetoric of technology obscures the fact that, within our current education system - even though computers are associated with the potential for great reform - they are not necessarily serving democratic ends" (431). Your insurance premiums pooled together helped rebuild Parkersburg, Iowa after an F5 tornado. So, in answer to my own question, I have been fortunate enough to participate in several of the technology decisions within our department as well as throughout the company.  And no, I don’t feel as though I’ve been "drinking the corporate Kool-aid."  However, as present and future educators, it’s up to us to keep the technology conversation alive.  It takes a revolution of thought to shift the paradigm of thought from top-down to bottom-up democratic technology decisions.  As Feenberg puts it, these are "the inner tensions that open possibilities of progressive development" (170). Julie putting this all together Sources cited: Feenberg, Andrew.  The Critical Theory of Technology.  Oxford University Press (1991). Philosophical Perspectives in Education Part 2, class handout. Cynthia Selfe and Richard Selfe, Jr.  "The Politics of the Interface: Power and Its Exercise in Electronic Contact Zones." Central Works in Technical Communication, Johnson-Eilola, Johndan and Selber, Stuart A., eds.  Oxford University Press, 1994. Resources: http://www.iid.state.ia.us/ http://www.sfu.ca/~andrewf/ http://critical-theory.com/category/journals-and-articles/ Photo credits: Photo 1: Video conferencing room at my company Photo 2: Andrew Feenberg (from his website cited in "Resources" above) Photo 3: Parkersburg, Iowa (hit by F5 tornado), taken by Clayton Chapman Photo 4: Julie Beyerink taken from my laptop camera

Unintended Consequences of Technology - Multitasking As an instructional designer, our class readings on Distance Learning truly piqued my interest.  When I first joined the Learning and Performance department at my company, I was a training specialist.  I traveled to cities all over the country - Portland, Oregon; Sacramento, California; Gainesville, Florida; Raleigh, North Carolina; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - conducting product and systems training for new underwriters and sales agents.  Although I enjoyed meeting new people and visiting new cities, the time spent away from my family was physically and emotionally draining. So when my company started experimenting with distance learning in 2004, I was very excited to learn the WebEx technology so that I could host training sessions to hundreds of underwriters and agents in remote locations from my office in Des Moines, Iowa.   Gary Natriello observes, "Distance learning offers educational opportunities to students who for one reason or another are physically removed from the source of instruction" (1886).   I still conducted some face-to-face training on site, but was relieved to have at least half of my travel time reduced due to WebEx.  Natriello points out, "Distance learning is growing as a means of delivering training in corporate environments…the percentage of learning delivered through technology increased to 10.5% from 8.4% a year earlier" (1887).   And WebEx is a pretty easy technology to use.  The trainer is able to show presentation materials via a pre-loaded Power Point, and also share her computer’s desktop to demonstrate systems training.  And it’s even easier for the student to use - the learner simply logs in to a website, calls the assigned number, and sits back to listen and watch. However, an unintended consequence of this technology, unfortunately, stems from its ease of use by the learner.   When one is viewing a WebEx presentation, it’s usually passive learning (just watch and listen).   So the temptation to multitask is hard to resist - the learner is sitting at a desk at her computer, after all.   She thinks, "I’m familiar with this part of the presentation, so I’ll just check my e-mail."  Then she checks her calendar.  Then she logs into her corporate website to see if there are any messages.  Then she starts checking Facebook… Multitasking while viewing distance learning is not unique to my company.  The Agile Project Management Group estimates that 90 percent of people participating in virtual training perform at least one other non-meeting-related task while logged into the training session.  And, unfortunately, performing multiple tasks at once usually means that each of those tasks are done at a reduced quality.  Kendra Cherry observes in her article The Cognitive Costs of Multitasking, "Switching from one task to another takes a serious toll on productivity…productivity can be reduced by as much as 40 percent by the mental blocks created when people switch tasks."   Cherry also notes the amount of time lost as the brain switches from one task to another: "Researchers found that participants lost significant amounts of time as they switched between multiple tasks, and lost even more time as the tasks became increasingly complex."  And the financial costs of multitasking can be staggering; Steve Lohr noted in a New York Times article that "the cost of interruptions (multitasking) to the American economy may be as much as $650 billion per year." Well, it’s now 2013, and WebEx technology has improved.   Now that I’m an instructional designer, I’ve been able to develop training that uses tools designed to address the problem of multitasking.  A trainer can conduct online polls, ask learners to virtually "raise their hands"  or "point,"  draw and highlight directly on their computer screens.  The trainer can break participants into groups, assign research topics, and transfer presentation privileges to learners.    The WebEx tools are intended to make the training sessions more interactive and more engaging. Unfortunately, WebEx participants have also become more clever.  They mute their phones; they listen for key words that indicate that a poll or other activity is coming up; they minimize the WebEx screen and view online articles in the background.  Many of these users can’t seem to help themselves when they’re online; Esther Crain observes in MSN’s Healthy Living that "the constant contact when we’re online prompts the release of the brain chemical dopamine, which makes us feel good and crave another dopamine hit."  Between too-busy schedules and borderline internet addictions, participants are becoming even more disengaged from their distance learning sessions. What can be done?  Well, all is not lost.  Building WebEx sessions that use the interactive tools certainly helps.   (Check out this website that introduces new WebEx tools if you have time: http://www.webex.com/lp/fastkit/#) Another tactic (which we’ve had to resort to at my company) is require learners to sit in a conference room and view the WebEx session with their supervisors in the room.   Sending follow-up quizzes that assess learning and require a passing grade also increases participant engagement.  Virtual learning via WebEx has saved my company millions of dollars in travel expenses, so it will be continue to be used when applicable.  So trainers and instructional designers will need to work together to make virtual learning sessions more engaging and fun - and that stay one step ahead of the multitaskers. Resources: Natriello, Gary.  "Modest Changes, Revolutionary Possibilities: Distance Learning and the Future of Education."  Teachers College Record 107:8, 2005. Crain, Esther.  "Is Internet Addiction a Real Thing?"  MSN Healthy Living, online, accessed December 15, 2013.  http://healthyliving.msn.com/health-wellness/is-internet-addiction-a-real-thing Lohr, Steve.  "Slow Down, Multitaskers."  New York Times, online, March 25, 2007.http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/business/25multi.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Cherry, Kendra.  "The Cognitive Costs of Multitasking."  Psychology.about.com, online, accessed December 15, 2013. http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/costs-of-multitasking.htm www.agilistapm.com.

We’re back from SXSW in Austin, where, among learning about the history of the breakfast taco and trying to navigate the many meeting rooms of the Austin Convention Center, we joined a session on digitally spreading education. Virtual trainers perk up. The panel consisted of four leaders in education, technology and non-profits, and the conversation focused on bringing education to remote and developing areas of the world via technology. Projects For All is a non-profit that sets up Internet-enabled computer huts, called "hello hubs," in underdeveloped communities seeking access to information of all kinds. Project For All got its start in Nigeria but is talking with the city of New York about setting up a hub there, too, since poverty exists everywhere. Katrin MacMillian, founder and director of Projects For All, mentioned in the session at the Austin Convention Center that 131 million people could be lifted out of poverty if given access to basic education skills. She and her business partner, Roland Wells, who leads the technical side of Projects For All, noted, however, that their approach to spreading education is based on working with communities rather than coming in and telling communities what they need. For example, MacMillian gathered a group of women to ask them what information they want to seek. She asked the women to bring one question to her "ask the Internet" session. The first query a lot of women asked was how to serve their husbands - so MacMillian showed them how to research it, and the women discussed what they found. Then other discussion questions starting flowing. What’s Rome? Do they have a fifth-grade lesson plan on the Internet? Indeed, the Internet did - so they downloaded it. Under this model of helping communities help themselves, communities are empowered to research solutions to the problems plaguing them, so they can fix them on their own, too. The hubs set up by Projects For All are not only put into communities as research centers for anything and everything, but the organization also teaches locals to maintain the hubs, making the communities completely self-sufficient. Technology continues to make education more accessible worldwide, no matter the level of learning. As part of the GoToTraining team, it was refreshing to take a step back from our world, where online learning often means hosting product trainings or human resources processes online, and think about the impact an online learning opportunity can have on a life and a community. Access to information, no matter the location, empowers everyone, no matter what information they seek. Photo credit: Katelyn deDiego

The London tube strikes last month didn’t just bring trains grinding to a halt across the capital - small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) were victims as well. Figures recently released by the Federation of Small Businesses revealed that over £600 million was lost in working hours, business and productivity over the 48 hours the strikes lasted. As if this wasn’t enough, UK SMBs were met with further misfortune this month as a result of the extensive flooding following the wettest winter since records began. Anyone who lives in Britain is no stranger to wet weather, but the disruption has been so severe in some areas that the government has had to set aside £10 million in hardship funding for those affected, putting the true extent of the problem into stark context. As part of the relief effort, we have pledged to support any small business affected by providing free subscriptions to our online meeting solution, GoToMeeting, to help them get back on their feet again as quickly as possible. Both the strikes and the recent flooding have exposed the continuing vulnerability of SMBs to unpredictable disruptions of this nature. For many, this vulnerability stems from an over-reliance on the increasingly outdated work practice of requiring employees to be physically present in an office in order for the business to function as normal. And as a result, any impediment to employees translates immediately into problems for the business. In a recent YouGov survey of IT decision makers, two fifths (40%) of respondents felt their business lost revenue through employees being unable to get to work. Yet it does not have to be this way. Through simple, intelligent deployment of technology, many SMBs can ensure they remain operational regardless what’s going on in the world around them. Citrix small business customers are already capitalising on the flexibility that our portfolio of cloud service offers to work efficiently from just about anywhere. Whether it’s meeting with colleagues remotely through GoToMeeting, accessing content and sharing files securely using ShareFile or collaborating on projects using Podio, Citrix offers cloud-based solutions for businesses of all sizes and shapes. After all, business success should not be contingent upon regularly running trains or a physically accessible office. It’s easy to get started and could be the key to the future of your business. If you’d like to know what the cloud can do for your business flexibility, please just get in touch. A few minutes talking to us could ensure that next time the UK disappears under water, it doesn’t take your business under with it. Photo credit: FreeBirD via Flickr

"Knock, knock." "Who’s there?" You’ve probably heard this joke one too many times, but humor can be a powerful marketing tool if wielded properly. During one of the many great SXSW sessions I attended last week, I was able to sit in on a session about communicating with humor. "Humor is about change - taking the boring and serious and subverting it to create fresh and unexpected connections that didn’t exist before," commented one of the panelists, Sheri Klein, VP and Director of Research at AD Council. Humor can be used to make a serious topic - like adoption - approachable or a boring campaign exciting. Humor is a tool just like any other marketing tactic. The panel highlighted three key ideas to consider whenever using humor in marketing and advertising. Target prospects that aren’t already advocates. Use humor to make your product or campaign interesting enough for people to talk about and do something - like buy, ideally. Check out this example for pet adoption. Be honest. The truth is funny, but imperfections are even funnier.  If you use humor to own up to a mistake, that mistake could end up winning you more advocates than trying to cover it up. Leverage outside-of-the-box celebrities. Consider using celebrities from YouTube or other social media sites and microsites. They can be your biggest advocates and increase the awareness of your product or campaign with their own fan base. Check out this video by Milana Vayntrub and Stevie Nelson for water.org. Humor doesn’t have to be intimidating. Just speak in your own voice, be honest and use it as a tool to be interesting. And remember, people like poop jokes. Photo credit: Gregory Gill via Flickr

GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining are similar products that serve different functions, but users don’t always realize the differences between them. In short, each product has specific features to help facilitate different types of online events. In our recent webinar, GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining: A Comparison, we covered the differences between each product. We’ve compiled the most relevant questions that you asked during that webinar and paired them with our answers here for your review. But before we dive into those questions, let’s review the core functions of GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining. GoToMeeting facilitates small-group collaboration online. Up to 6 people can share webcams, and up to 100 can join each session, making it easy for teams to meet online. GoToWebinar facilitates large group gatherings and presentations, like all-hands meetings and marketing webinars, with audiences of up to 1,000 people. It has built-in surveys, polls and Q&A, so you can make your online presentations interactive. GoToTraining facilitates online classes and accommodates up to 200 attendees. With course catalogs and attendee reporting, GoToTraining lets you train employees, customers and anyone else online. Now let’s get to your questions about the differences between GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining. Within screen sharing, can you share a specific application or document rather than your whole screen within all three products? Yes, sharing a specific program or document is possible within GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining. Select the application you would like to share using the dropdown under Show My Screen in your control panel. Do GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining all have built-in reporting functionality? No. Running reports on attendance and engagement is a feature built in to GoToWebinar and GoToTraining, since they are designed for larger group trainings and briefings. These reports give organizers insight into event registration, performance and attendee engagement. GoToTraining reports are built specifically for educators and trainers, with performance data on testing scores and evaluation reporting. You can learn more about the reporting functionality of GoToWebinar and GoToTraining on our support site. Will GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining automatically distribute the join information to my attendees after I create an event? No. In all three products, the organizer is responsible for sharing the meeting invite and information with attendees. After you schedule a video conference using GoToMeeting, copy and paste the session information into your meeting invite or get started with gotomeet.me for easier meeting scheduling. In GoToWebinar and GoToTraining, after you schedule a session, use your unique link to the registration landing page to promote registration to your event. Will GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining automatically notify my attendees if I cancel my event? No. You can cancel or reschedule an event at any time with GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining, but the organizer is in control of notifying attendees of any changes. Paid events that you have set up through GoToWebinar or GoToTraining will require extra steps for organizers to reschedule their event. We have step-by-step information on our product support pages to help you cancel or reschedule a paid event at any time using either your GoToTraining account or GoToWebinar account. What formats do GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining produce recordings in? Is there a way to change my recording’s format? GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining all produce event recordings in specific formats depending on the hardware you are using. On a PC your file will be converted to a .wmv. For MAC users the file will be converted to a .mov format. To edit your recording file, you need editing software. Who can change presenter control in GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining? In GoToMeeting only the meeting organizer can give or take control during your video conference. In GoToWebinar the event organizer and assigned co-organizers can present and control the session. (More information about promoting someone to co-organizer in GoToWebinar can be found on our support pages.) In GoToTraining organizers can give control to co-organizers, panelists or an attendee, and they can override that control at any time. Learn more about the roles of organizer, panelist and presenter in GoToTraining on our support pages. What is the attentive feature and why do only GoToWebinar and GoToTraining have it? The attentive feature of GoToTraining and GoToWebinar uses a unique algorithm to show organizers how many attendees are engaged with the presentation. The attentiveness dashboard is housed in the control panel, so organizers can easily check to see how engaged the audience is and, if low, think about adding in something engaging, like a poll. Because GoToMeeting is designed for smaller collaborative sessions it is not necessary for the organizer to monitor the attentiveness of the audience. Who can be unmuted during GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining events? And who controls that functionality? In GoToMeeting, individual attendees control their audio, but organizers have control of attendee audio, too. So if any attendee has background noise coming in, either the individual or the organizer can mute the line. In GoToWebinar and GoToTraining, only the organizer can mute or unmute attendees. If you missed the event and want to learn more about which Citrix collaboration tool fits your needs, watch the recording. Or if you’re interested in learning more about a specific product, check out the recordings of our webinars: GoToMeeting101, GoToWebinar 101 and GoToTraining101. Photo credit: TheBusyBrain via Flickr

We’re sharing SXSW insights all week, and I’ve got one last post for you. I sat in on the session "Beyond Unplugging: How to Stay Sane Online," where the panelists argued that digital detoxes don’t work. I was intrigued. I know I’m not the only one these days that battles the balance between keeping up on work and in touch with friends and disconnecting from my device. Some days I’m so sick of my phone that by the time I’m home from work, I find myself hoping it won’t ring; yet the thought of turning it off makes me anxious. What if someone I love gets hurt and their last dying wish is to call me and they do only to find that my phone is off? So when Rohan Gunatillake, the creator of the meditation app buddhify, and Lauren Bacon, a tech entrepreneur and coach, told the group that we didn’t have to turn off our cell phones to feel free from the technological overload we often experience, I perked up. How? "Digital detoxes frame technology as bad … we need to move past to a more mature conversation about technology," said Gunatillake. Rather than unplugging entirely, they suggest being more mindful about how often and for what reason we’re using technology. Bacon explained that answering an email or text message isn’t just about you and the person you’re answering. When you take time to answer a message, what are you not doing? Did the email interrupt you while you were doing something important, like having a conversation or eating dinner with your family? If so, consider why you answered the message right away. You may find it’s more of a habit that a necessity. Not to mention that only we can set our expected response times for ourselves. Bacon also pointed out that what we need separation from is different for everybody. It could be work email, social networks or group texts, among other things. The insight here may seem simple, but it’s powerful too. Bacon said it best: "It’s about choosing to engage in technology rather than being a slave to it." If you feel like you’re a slave to your email or social networks, consider being a more mindful consumer of technology. Digital detoxes are a don’t. Purposeful participation is a do. Do you feel overwhelmed by technology? Write to us on twitter @citrix to tell us how you deal with technology overload. Photo credit: Tom Magliery via Flickr