(Analog meaning old-school like meeting in person, digital meaning technology-included virtual team)
Just simply, what is better? having original copies of photos or having electronic copies of them? I experienced my hardware crush and lost all the invaluable electronic data. I couldn't do nothing, but sit there with glassy eyes.
If I possessed them with hard copies, I wouldn't happen unless I had a fire.
However, this doesn't mean that I had to have hard copies instead of digital photos. Since the more advanced digital era is an inevitable change, it would be ideal to have plan B in case of system crush. Technology is crucial now.
Back to the virtual team,
Both article Teamwork, super charged in Business week and working together... when apart by Lynda Gratton talk about how to be the effective virtual team. In some of the facts, both say that well-made technology supports the successful virtual team. It really is hard to bring to a successful virtual team without good technology because virtual team doesn't mean anything without technology and it is not a physical meeting and interaction. For instance, when I was in Korea(I went to Women's university), we had so many group presentation and it was so hard to set a time for meeting for every 6~7 member. So what we usually did was separating the part voluntarily, researching the given part, and uploaded to the school's club homepage or cyworld club(it is like a google group). Or we tried to meet online MSN messenger to discuss something. Would this work well? Hell no!!! Every time I do my group project in this way, there were people doing in late and being confused about what it has to be. My conclusion for this was NEVER EFFECTIVE.
Kind of advanced version of technology is wikidot.com. I used this in the ITEC-200 the edge of information technology class last semester for the first time. For the group project we used this under professor's help. It worked better when we collaborate many different ideas. However, after all, when we made a real powerpoint and prepare the rehearsal and presentation, it was better to meet in person and had a physical meeting. Well, anyway, from my experience, I believe that technology have been advanced and there will be a better/best technology supporting virtual team eventually. But it has to lead virtual team members overcome the downsides of physical separation and interaction or it has to make people feel that they are really work together in the same place.
Still,
As Teamwork, super charged from BusinessWeek pointed, it seems that it is better to have a physical team for me...
Am I too conservative and not innovative?
