Small businesses are becoming more mobile. But learning to work smarter with mobile devices is an ongoing challenge.
On Thursday, April 18, 2013, we were delighted to welcome Judi Hembrough (@JudiHembrough), small business marketing director of Plantronics, to join the small business community for a special live chat on Twitter. The chat focused on sharing tips and advice on how entrepreneurs use mobile devices including tablets; mobile etiquette, including do’s and don’ts; tips for holding conference calls outside the office; and mobile productivity tips.
Not everyone may have as many items in their briefcase as Ramon Ray (@ramonray), founder of SmallBizTechnology.com. But the voyeur in all of us was curious to see. So he shared a picture of all the gadgets in his bag that evening:
Here is a pic of some of my gadgets in my bag #smarterworking twitter.com/ramonray/statu…
— Ramon Ray (@ramonray) April 19, 2013
Thanks to the phenomenal participation from so many entrepreneurs, the chat trended #1 on Twitter for the topic #SmarterWorking on the evening of the event.
The chat was sponsored by Plantronics. Plantronics also provided three Voyager Legend UC headsets that we randomly gave away during the chat to selected participants who offered insightful answers.
How to Work Smarter with Mobile Devices
Below you will find a small number of selected excerpts from the event.
When asked the number of mobile devices they used or thought others used, here are a few of the responses:
@smallbiztrends 2 is my limit. I’ll keep one on skype for chat and one for my email after that, it’s overkill. #smarterworking
— T Becket E (@Coffeeforkarma) April 19, 2013
A1 3; iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air. Portability, large-screen portability & desktop software/blogging w/ keyboard.#Smarterworking
— Chris Goulet (@chrisgoulet) April 19, 2013
@smallbiztrends A2: vibrate. People I know in SM understand the need 2 stay connected but being respectful is also important #smarterworking
— Natasha (@nyoung46) April 19, 2013
A2: I’m old-fashioned, but if you’re face to face – FOCUS on the person in front of you. Meetings too. #SmarterWorking
— Robert Brady (@robert_brady) April 19, 2013
@smallbiztrends Don’t give your mobile device more attention than you give those in your presence. #smarterworking
— Cheri Smith (@1FBA) April 19, 2013
@smallbiztrends A6-don’t try to multitask much depending on the topic & your involvement level in the call, try to keep up #smarterworking
— Morgan Surkin (@MorganSurkin) April 19, 2013
Plan ahead so you’re in a location where you’re less likely to have distractions during the conference call. #smarterworking
— Dasanj Aberdeen (@DasanjAberdeen) April 19, 2013
A6: Use mute and be sure to have a good noise-cancelling headset, right @plantronics? 🙂 #SmarterWorking
— Alan Berkson (@berkson0) April 19, 2013
Reduce the number of devices.Replace your laptop with a tablet? Make sure they do more than 1 thing.#smarterworking
— Judi Hembrough (@JudiHembrough) April 19, 2013
Thanks to Plantronics for sponsoring this chat and for supplying Voyager Legend UC headsets as prizes for the participants. Plantronics’ involvement made it possible for us to host the event.