Online Collaboration

Collaboration is a process where people work together to achieve shared goals.  The Internet provides a tool in which collaboration is possible with anyone anywhere.  This opportunity allows for increased productivity, efficiency, and communication.  Today, businesses work 24/7, people communicate more easily, more collaborative projects exist, and academic research is moving at a stunning pace. This online collaboration has had a major positive world impact.

Rheingold assesses that cooperation and open source projects are ultimately about self-interest.  In my opinion, this statement is 100% true.  Open source projects usually don't offer monetary pay back, so why would a person contribute to a project if they did not have interest?  Jeff Howe states that crowd sourcing "gathers those who are most fit to perform tasks, solve complex problems, and contribute with the most relevant and fresh ideas."  Crowd sourcing enables people with interests in open source projects to contribute new knowledge and innovations.

However, these good results don't come without a price.  Given that more people are using online collaboration tools, more time is spent in the virtual world.  Existence in a virtual world restrains face to face meetings and has vast health effects.  By having meetings online, people-skills and writing skills can deteriorate.  Today, I find that many people misspell common words, use incorrect grammar, or have difficulty expressing themselves in words.  Another problem is the major health issue.  The human body evolved to fit biological demands and the body demands physical activity.  By using online tools, people are less physically active than ever before which causes major health risks.

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free_and_open_source_software_packages
http://sixrevisions.com/tools/15-free-tools-for-web-based-collaboration/
http://www.geekosystem.com/egyptian-protests-social-media/