This is the sixth in a series of posts showing how we use Campfire as our virtual office. All screenshots from the series are from real usage and were taken during a single week.
This time we’ll take a look at some of the miscellaneous ways we use Campfire to share information, communicate, and get things done.
Give a product review for a new piece of hardware
Mark links up his new printer/scanner and talks about its pros and cons.
Work the late shift
Jeremy, a night owl, commits a change at 2:30 am. Everyone else will see it when they login in the morning.
Show progress on a to-do list
Jamis shows his progress by uploading a screenshot of his “Things on my plate” list.
Make a point with photos
Sam uploads a comparison shot of different Apple products.
Solicit ideas from others
Ryan offers Jason some suggestions for products that offer thoughtful integration.
Celebrate good news
It’s a boy! Huzzahs all around for Jamis’ new son.
Share a funny cartoon
Mark posts a funny Dilbert strip. This sort of thing gives our CF room a nice “chatting ‘round the water cooler” vibe.
Other “Behind the scenes at 37signals” posts
Design
Coding
Sysadmin and development
Copywriting
Support
Ed Raynham
on 21 Feb 08I guess QB on the chat means QueenBee, your billing system. Is this something that we can expect to be made public in the future?
Bill
on 21 Feb 08There can only be one scanner for the Mac. Fujitsu ScanSnap S510M. Duplex, OCR, and kitchen sink built right in. Footprint = less space on your desktop than a laptop. Pure sweetness.
Tim
on 21 Feb 08@Ed Raynham
I believe 37signals stated in a previous post that QueenBee is so highly integrated and tailored to their business that it would be difficult to open source the product.
Ryan Allen
on 21 Feb 08... I actually do that with the security pass on my lanyard… I just stick my chest out at the sensor. It’s hella-convenient!
Rob
on 21 Feb 08Congrats JB. That’s admirable dedication to ‘pop in and out’ after coming home from the hospital.
JF you seem to have created a great working atmosphere for your programmers. Kudos to you for creating more than just jobs.
Craig Huffstetler
on 22 Feb 08Great type of post, keep them coming! I second the kudos for creating “more than just jobs.” This kind of post proves that exact phrase, Rob.
It is great to see this kind of atmosphere in such great institutions these days. I wish more corporations would follow such a pattern. It would create a much more stable and fun work environment (and thus ethic for employers…lead to greater productivity…and greater innovation!). At least those are my thoughts on it.
P.S. -
By the way—can I slip in a little question, any updates on the latest and greatest tools and team is using lately?
I guess this would be an update to the older thread: http://www.37signals.com/svn/archives2/the_tools_we_use_to_run_and_build_37signals.php Because I know these have had to change (and/or been additions with the additions to the team).
- Craig Huffstetler / xq / xarquid
Craig, the Insane
on 22 Feb 08I believe my “P.S.” stands slightly corrected/revised. There is a post in December ‘07 that asks “the users” what they use. I believe most of “you guys” responded to this as well. Sorry! I missed this…oops.
Ema
on 22 Feb 08These posts are really interesting, thanks! Love to see how you are using your own Campfire.
I have a question though: how is your rooms’ organization?
How many of them? One for dev, one for design, one for?
there is a common room? do you keep a fixed number or what?
thanks again! e
Craig
on 22 Feb 08I would love to know the answer to Ema’s questions as well. I am helping some designers and developers organize “shop,” so to speak, and I think 37Signals should be a prime example of an ergonomic (maybe?!) and organized work place. But…yet to be seen! Let’s see, Matt!
Nic
on 22 Feb 08@Craig: unless I am misunderstanding you (or Ema), you have misunderstood Ema’s question. When Ema asks about “rooms”, she is referring to rooms in Campfire, not physical rooms!
Craig
on 22 Feb 08I need more coffee. Yeah, I am interested in physical space and pictures of physical offices ;-)
Ema
on 22 Feb 08@Nic: you’re right: I meant Campfire’s room ;)
Vicky
on 22 Feb 08Jamis, Congratulations! Your baby is beautiful.
This post and seeing little Britton’s photo has brought back many extremely happy memories and has made my day! My daughter was just accepted yesterday at the college she chose as her #1 choice. Time flies…. Enjoy every minute!
ML
on 22 Feb 08Ema, we spend most of our time in one general room called “All Talk” and then hold occasional sidebar discussions in a room called “Small Talk.” We also use a room for “Support” issues and then we’ve got some others that just get occasional usage for various stuff (e.g. saving screenshots, tracking Steve Jobs’ Macworld presentation, conducting a Fireside Chat interview, etc.)
Craig, this post has some photos of our physical office in Chicago.
Kevin
on 22 Feb 08Whoo! Another straight razor user!
Tom G.
on 23 Feb 08Ryan, I think Wally puts the security card in his front pants pocket ;-)
Elmar
on 23 Feb 08I seem to have a weak spot for Apple products, too ;-).
It´s just that I think the new nano is even cooler than the touch…
Paul
on 25 Feb 08Cute baby!!!
Silas Baronda
on 26 Feb 08On the subversion commits you guys use. How do you get it so it says “Jason commited https://dev.37signals.com/blah”
I tried everything to get it to create a new line without posting twice. So how do you do it? And how do you guys have your urls not fade out at the end with three dots?
Adam Darowski
on 27 Feb 08Congrats to Jamis! Adorable little one…
This discussion is closed.