After talking with Phil about the book it sounds fascinating and it’s obvious he is passionate about the topic. I can’t wait to read it!

What’s really interesting is the way he’s publishing the book. Rather than go the traditional publishing route his is going it on his own (with his own publishing company he started when writing his last book The New Small).

In the video interview below we talk about the book and how he’s using crowdsourcing and Kickstarter.com to fund this project. You can also win a free signed copy of the book – just read on below:

Here are a few links to info we mention in this video: Phil talks about a Korean Movie Director who shot an entire movie on his iPhone. He also mentions the Nano Watch as one of the most successful Kickstarter projects ever.

If you haven’t heard about Kickstarter it is a funding platform focused on a broad spectrum of creative projects. Through it you can offer rewards such as copies of the work, limited editions, fun experiences in exchange for different amounts of money that people donate to fund or back a project.

If you are an aspiring author, or have any great idea for a project but need funding for it you’ll be very interested to hear Phil talk about Kickstarter in this video.

This is how Phil brought his last book The New Small to life and he’s doing it again with The Age of the Platform. I was happy to back him on this project as I think he has a great angle for exploring the success of these 4 successful companies and the lessons that small businesses can take from their strategy.

You can help fund The Age of the Platform through Kickstarter

Please visit http://kck.st/philsimon and help fund the book. Phil is offering some great rewards such as your name in the acknowledgements, signed copies, Kindle copies, all the way up to speaking at your company and proving 100 copies of the book! I hope you will join me as we all the get the joy of not only reading it but knowing we took part in making it happen!

Our Contest

To help spread the word we’re running a contest and giving away a signed copies of the book! Just CLICK HERE to tweet about this video (make sure it includes the hashtag #fundphil and you’ll be eligible to win a signed copy when the book is released! I’ll pick a winner at random from those that use the hashtag to spread the word on twitter. Just click this link and the tweet and hashtag will already be in place for you.

Have questions for Phil about The Age of the Platform, about self publishing a book, or about Kickstarter? Ask away in the comments below!

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In this edition of the show we talked about things like how to build trust with clients you may never meet face to face, working in virtual teams, what effect technology has on the shift from employee to freelancer and the future of the “anywhere lifestyle” – being able to do the work where and when you want.If you already work where you want or if you’re thinking about it, be sure to watch or listen to this episode. It will be worth your while. We all shared some great resources and strategies for collaborating and staying productive.

Freelance Jam is the brand-new show for independent professionals who build the web. Episodes are recorded live every other Tuesday evening, offering viewers a chance to discuss and ask questions during the live show.

Be sure to catch future episodes of FreelanceJam. It airs every other Tuesday night and the show includes interviews with guests from across the web industry and beyond. Topics include freelance business, web design, entrepreneurship, working from home, killer apps, marketing, web trends, and even music!

It’s a laid back interactive discussion I know you’ll enjoy – and they keep introducing me to new music!

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Today I chose one comment at random and I’m please to announce that Russell Milland will be the proud owner of The New Small – congrats Russell!

If you didn’t win – you should definitely get yourself a copy of Phil’s book.  It is a hand in a glove with all the tools, strategies, and shifts we talk about here on The Anywhere Office.  And if you haven’t watched the interview yet – check it out.  Phil and I had some great discussions.

BTW – In looking for a way to pick a random comment as a winner I used one of the 5 enablers Phil mentions in the New Small – Free and Open Source software!  I went to the iPhone App store and found Random NumGenerator – a great free app that let me put in the number of comments and then with one tap choose a random number.  Gotta love it!

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I did lots of research (as usual) and reading of reviews and it seemed Case-mate was one of the first to release a variety of cases specifically designed for the Verizon iPhone 4.  There are many different case styles but I don’t like to use a belt clip and prefer a case that has a combination of a solid spine (to protect from impact in case you drop it) but also has a rubber on the sides to help increase the grip to it doesn’t feel like it will slide out of your hand.  The Case-mate Pop case seemed to fit the bill – so I ordered one and in this video I show my unboxing as well as my review of this case.  Although I need to see if it stands the test of time so far I am VERY happy with this case and feel confident it will keep my precious iPhone 4 safe and sound.

Watch my video review and unboxing below:

What case did you pick for your iPhone and what do you like most about it?  Share your thoughts by posting a comment below!

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I have several different email addresses with different domains names all forwarding mail to Gmail and thanks to it’s flexibility I was able to configure Gmail so that I can send or reply from any of them (with one being the default address for new messages).  For example even though I use Gmail as my email program I rarely use my Gmail address – instead my FROM address is phil@theanywhereoffice.com.

Although Gmail handles this perfectly I was disappointed when first configured my iPod Touch a few years back using Google Sync that it ignored these settings and always sent mail from my Gmail address.  This was unacceptable to me as I wanted emails I sent to come from my business address and didn’t want to confuse my clients, customers, and colleagues.  I hunted and searched and tested and finally found out how to get this to work. You can still use the steps I shared in yesterday’s post/video to sync your Google Calendars and contacts with your iPhone but you need to turn off the mail option there and follow some special (and somewhat convoluted) steps to get the mail to sync with Gmail AND send from your own domain.

No worries – I’m here to help.  I recorded 2 videos for you below walking you step-by-step through the entire process. The first step would be to have mail from your other domain forward to your Gmail account. I assume you’re probably already doing this but if not you’ll need to go into your current email settings for your domain and set it to forward your mail to your Gmail account. The steps for this will vary depending on how you currently get your email – most likely these settings can be controlled in the control panel of your web or email host.

The next step is to configure Gmail to send mail from your own domain rather than using your Gmail address.  Watch this video to learn how to do this:

The final step is the tricky part – how to get your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to sync with Gmail and use your own domain.  Make sure to follow all the steps in the next video – there are a few gotcha’s (like one part where you have to set it up with your Gmail address, back out, then go back in and change it).  It sounds silly – but you have to do this to make it work. If you follow all these steps in my video you will reach nirvanna and have your Gmail perfectly in sync on your iPhone and be able to send and reply to messages using your own domain. Thing of beauty!!

(NOTE: I know you can use Google Apps to have all mail for your domain integrated with Gmail but for many small business and solo professionals you may prefer to not go through the steps of setting that up and simply use your regular Gmail account.  I actually used Google Apps and switched back to using my regular Gmail account.  I found it made it easier to use all the other Gmail services and often times new features were released to regular Gmail accounts long before Google Apps got them.  Not to mention the iGoogle pages for regular Gmail are MUCH better than those for Google Apps.  There are a lot more widgets available and if you use iGoogle as your startup page or a digital dashboard that definitely makes a difference!)

UPDATED (7/28/11) – HOW TO USE MULTIPLE FROM ADDRESSES:

Big thanks to Rafael who posted a comment below on how to configure your iPhone to support multiple FROM addresses (so if you have multiple email addresses you use you can have a choice which to use when sending).  Here is what you need to do to set that up:

1. Goto imap account information
2. At the address box type all your outgoing emails with a comma separator for example Aaa@domain.com,bbb@domain.com,you@gmail.com

This will add a from option when you create new email on the iPhone.

Awesome tip Rafael – what I love about the internet and huzzah to tribal knowledge and the great group we have here at The Anywhere Office!

Please leave me a comment below and let me know if my video walk-thru helped you out or if you have any questions.

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I have tried several different ways and found  Google Sync (which acts like a Microsoft Exchange connector) works great.  I used it for years on my iPod Touch and now that I’m the proud owner of a new Verizon iPhone 4 (I am stoked) I used this same method to keep my iPhone and Google services perfectly in sync. One of the great features is that it lets you sync multiple Google Calendars (up to 25). That means when you create a new appointment in the calendar on your iPhone you can add it to any of the Google calendars you have access to (your own or any shared calendars).

Watch my video below and follow along with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch as I show you how to sync your mail, contacts, and multiple Google calendars with your Apple device so you can send/receive mail, schedule appointments, and call any of your contacts from anywhere – instantly.  Now that’s The Anywhere Office in action!

Note that Google Sync is only supported on iOS versions 3.0 and above. You can check your current version by going to Settings > General > About > Version. If your business, school, or organization uses Google Apps, your administrator will first need to enable Google Sync before you can take advantage of this feature.

If you prefer written instructions Google provides them here but I figured it would be easier to follow along as you watch the steps in this video.

These steps work great if you are using your Gmail address as your primary email address.  If you prefer to send mail from your Gmail account (and your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch) using your own domain (ie I send email from @theanywhereoffice.com) then you will want to check out my next article and video where I’ll walk you through how to change the mail setup.  It’s tricky but I found a way to get it to work so stay tuned!

(BTW all the video of me configuring the iPhone was actually shot with the video camera on another iPhone – how cool is that!)

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Online Colleges and Degree Programs

I was recently made aware of  OnlineColleges.org by one of the sites co-creators, Chase Gugenheim. This site represents a remarkable amount of research into online and distance education resources and they are organized intelligently and intuitively.

I wish this site had existed when I was working as an Academic Adviser. This  database of 343 accredited online colleges and universities is a comprehensive and unbiased resource for students, educators, or anyone looking for a flexible option to further their education.

Take a look and see if you can find a program that fits your needs – and if you do, I recommend you follow an excellent piece of advice from Online Colleges: ‘If you are interested in enrolling in an online college, request information from at least 4 schools that have a degree you wish to pursue;  there are differences between each school’s program that are best explained by the schools themselves.’

Online Colleges :: 300+ Top Accredited Online Colleges.

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As you know I have done a series of posts (with many more to come) about my switch last year from PC to Mac.  Well recently, thanks to the amazing social media tool that is Twitter, I met Phil Simon. He is the author of several books the most recent of which is The New Small.  The book looks awesome and I just started reading it last night.  I’ll be interviewing Phil here soon and giving away a copy of the book.

After chatting Phil and I realized we had a lot more than a first name/hairline in common – we both were born in Brooklyn NY, grew up in New Jersey, went to school in Ithaca NY and have a lot of the same views about emerging technologies and how small businesses/entrepreneurs can leverage these tools to grow their businesses.  We also like the same music (especially Rush, Pink Floyd and the Police) and have a very similar sense of humor (I think that is a NY/Jersey thing).

We also both recently switched from using PCs to Macs and are both now happily plugging away on our MacBook Pros. He also wrote  a series of posts detailing his transition to the Mac. I was sharing some of the great apps I discovered with him and told him about eCamm Call Recorder which makes it super easy to record Skype video and audio chats. He was excited by this and asked if we could do a video interview me about my switch to the Mac so I could share some tips.  Of course I said YES – so visit his blog and check out the interview.

I’ll be returning the favor and interview Phil in the coming weeks once I finish reading The New Small and giving away a copy to a lucky reader so be sure to check back!

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The end of each year also leads me to reflect on the biggest technology changes that the previous year held – not just in technology advancements but also in what technology personally made the biggest difference in my life and work.

It also makes me wonder what 2011 has in store for us.  I’m sure the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) being held in Vegas this week will give us a glimpse into that.

In looking at the biggest tech impacts of 2010 I found a great article from TechCocktail.com:

Best of 2010 Tech, Year In Review

This year has been loaded with innovations both online and off. Many of these innovations were made by the companies we would expect, like Apple, Google, Facebook, etc. But there were also some fresh faces that pushed us to new heights. As Tech Cocktail toured the country looking at new innovations and followed known companies throughout the year, several trends became very clear: 2010 was the year of the iPad, Facebook updates, daily deal services, mobile apps and social geo-location features.  Check out our list and if you think we’ve missed anything, leave a note in the comments.

via Best of 2010 Tech, Year In Review — Tech Cocktail.

Their list hit most of the major advancements of the year.  Beyond what they mentioned in their list I think another big technology step was small businesses and entrepreneurs embracing cloud computing. While cloud computing certainly isn’t new it seems people took greater notice of it and a greater understanding of what it means to live and work in the clouds (watch my video intro on cloud computing). There was certainly no shortage of commercials and articles touting the benefits of the cloud.

But what about you personally?  What technology made the biggest impact in your life or business?  For me it was definitely making the jump from Windows to Mac and buying my MacBook Pro.  This step changed a lot about the way I work and play on my computer. You’ll see that throughout this year as I share a lot more video, audio, and screencasts here on The Anywhere Office to help you learn to choose and use the best technology so you can make your life and work more portable.

Social media was also instrumental for me in 2010.  I connected with some amazing people through Twitter and LinkedIn – many of which have become friends, clients, and partners. In 2011 I will be making a greater effort to connect and partner with like-minded people using these same tools.

What about you? Please share your story and post a comment below letting me know what technology in 2010 made the biggest impact in your life or business? We’d love to hear from you!

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And this doesn’t even touch on all the useless meetings and other time sucks of office life – one more feather in the cap of working from The Anywhere Office!  It’s a wonder anything gets done at all. With a more flexible work schedule it’s easier to schedule some of these “distractions” into your day and still get solid work time in – but when you are in the cube farm from 9 – 5 it’s a different story.

What do you think are you surprised by any of these statistics?  Post a comment below and let us know!

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