The push and pull of technology

People are so busy these days, don’t you think?

Sometimes it seems something as simple as calling and talking to a friend or family member requires a certain amount of planning. Today’s ‘high-speed’ life surrounding us with technology can sometimes be overwhelming. But it’s also nice to have technology pull us together when we’re scattered all over the globe.

Technology’s pull couldn’t be more clear when it comes to our FindJodi.com team. In order to have a meeting these days and get anything accomplished, email and Skype are absolutely required for this organization.

Another recent team meeting.

Email is a big tool for our team. We all have an email address (Tip: if you’d like to send any team member a personal email, just use their first name followed by @findjodi.com).

We’re all attached to one email address and that sends a copy of a message to all team members. We can share files, notes, images and anything else we need to help accomplish a task.

Outside of basic email, we use online videoconferencing software for meetings. In order for us to all meet at the same time, at the same place, we all need to be on a cell phone, iPad, laptop or a desktop computer with a stable internet connection.

The software we’re using now is Skype. Many people already know what it is, and perhaps use it. If you don’t, the premise is simple. All a person needs to do is open the program, look and see who’s online (your per-approved contacts), click their name and connect by audio or video. If things go right, you’ll be hearing or speaking to that person, live as it happens. Best part is that it doesn’t cost you anything! (Well, we pay a monthly fee for a premium plan so we can group video chat). But you get my point. Technology can be great.

Why online meetings?

First off, it’s the only way we can get together at the same time and ‘in person’. We are a team that is stretched across the country. So having Skype is crucial to our success. Just take a look at where our team members are currently:

• Beth Bednar: Wayzata, Minnesota
• Caroline Lowe: San Luis Obisbo, California
• Tara Manis: Miami, Florida
• Gary Peterson: Spring Valley, Minnesota
• Jay Alberio: Woodbury, Minnesota
• Josh Benson: Miami, Florida

With Skype, we’re able to have meetings to discuss our strategy with ongoing leads. We can discuss content plans for this website (speaking of which, check back often as we plan to have many posts leading up to the anniversary of Jodi’s disappearance). And we can share exciting news with each other as it happens.

The benefit is that we can join these conferences anywhere there’s a decent internet connection. Beth, for instance, is always on the run with her speaking engagements. She’s able to pop into meetings on her cell phone if need be at almost any location.

Technology pushes a lot of us apart by keeping us so engaged and busy with a multitude of things, it can be a burden. But it also allows pulls us together like never before. It’s not perfect. There are times when we lose some members in a meeting due to a weak internet connection. While we like Skype, we sometimes feel it’s not as good as it should be. We plan to try other software to see what fits us best (Google Hangouts, Facebook Video chat, etc.). But for now, Skype seems to get the job done. If you have any recommendations of a good software, let us know.

Technology has allowed our team to make progress. And progress is the one thing we expect will help solve Jodi’s case. We thank you for your continued support and we hope you check back to this site often and join in on the dialogue in the forum and in the comments section after each post.

Information sharing could be the most valuable asset we have in solving this crime.