We are therefore going to be making some changes in the very near future, the most significant of which is the introduction of a new conversation leader (the term editor will go away). I am very happy to announce that Giovanni Rodriguez, who some of you may know from his blog The Good Seed, will be leading discussions going forward. I will remain as a contributor, as will most of our current contributors.

I have known Giovanni for about a year and a half now, after "meeting" him in the PR blogosphere. He is a principal at Eastwick Communications, a Silicon Valley PR firm. Since the beginning, I have been impressed by the depth of his thinking, as I think you will be as well. Giovanni is very interested in social media and emergent organizations, and will be sharing his thoughts and experiences on this topic. I'll let him tell you more in a following post.

As for me, my focus these days is on corporate transparency/ethics and digital identity. You'll find posts from me here about how those topics impact future of work issues going forward. I look forward to our conversations.

I am very pleased that several of the Future of Work corporate members (Forest City Covington, Agilent, Boeing, and IBM) and the Business Community Center^tm concept that Charlie Grantham and I are promoting are mentioned in the December 12 issue of Business Week ("The Easiest Commute of All" - paid subscription required to access), now available online and scheduled to be in print on newsstands everywhere on Monday, December 5.

The interview is titled "Managing Teleworkers--at home, at work, at Starbucks." It is available online right now by clicking here.

Check it out - it's not the most profound thing we've ever said, but it's nice to see the stuff we all care about getting more recognition in such a great publication.

We're well along in conducting our first round of interviews with interested and experienced thought leaders and leading practitioners. It would be premature to report findings, but I've picked up an interesting pattern that I thought might provoke some useful conversation.

One of the questions we ask each interviewee is, "What resources do you depend on for information about developments in distributed work?"

The answers have been all over the map, from naming specific market research firms and industry analysts to relying on personal networks of friends and colleagues. But what struck me this week is how many people have answered "Google" or "my RSS newsfeed."

Maybe that's not surprising, given today's technology and our increasing reliance on the Net, but I found it interesting that there don't appear to be any definitive or consensus sources (other than Future of Work and FutureTense, of course!)

So, other than Google, where do you go? What websites, blogs, analysts, or professional associations do you find helpful in sorting out trends, data, and conflicting perspectives on the future of work? I'm seriously interested in hearing from you. Where do you go? And Why?

"Read "The Rise of the Freelance Class" and find out how your experience compares to that of your peers. Is the story that emerged your story too?"

"Freelancers are creative, independent, entrepreneurial people. Many are fiercely dedicated to the freelancer lifestyle. Survey respondents said things like, “I’ll freelance till my fingers bleed.” “Never say never, but I
don’t think I’ll ever work for a corporation again.” Could these be your words? Come to our new message board to talk with others about your freelance life and attitude."

"Freelancers are politically engaged and coming together as a group. Almost all have voted in a national election. About half feel that they belong to a freelancer community, and they think that’s important. Do you agree? Let us know what you’re thinking. Participate in our message board
and help build our freelancer community." (But where's the Freelancer's BLOG??)

"Freelancers are getting the word out about who they are and what they need. They’re no longer content to be politically invisible and entirely on their own fending for benefits like health insurance and retirement. Do you know any members of the press? Share The Rise of the Freelance Class
with them and help spread the news. Freelancers are on the rise. And people should know."

Sending an update to Elisa at Healthy Concerns who linked to my initial post.

Ode To My Desk by Tatiana Vasilieva

My old desk, at which I write
An old and faithful friend.
Just like a mule, that bears its load
And doesn't bow or bend.

Sometimes at night, when I can't sleep
And find I need express
The feelings in my heart, so deep,
It gives me happiness.

Just seeing my familiar things,
Pens, papers, books and such,
Creates ideas and I try
To say what means so much.

There is a feel of magic here
Beside this desk of wood.
What stories lie within its drawers,
To tell you if it could!

[Note: The research was done by the Tomorrow Project and the Economic and Social Research Council , but I couldn't find a direct link to the report or, in fact, any information on it on either of the websites.]

The issue of course, is that private ISP's are fighting the whole concept of low-cost municipally managed WiFi - they see it (correctly!) as a serious threat to "their" franchise. -- jim ware

The study, reported yesterday in FM Express, an Australian website, was conducted by researchers George Mylonas and Jane Carstairs of Macquarie University, and presented at the Australian Industrial and Organisational Psychology conference last week.

[accessing FMExpress requires a subscription; however, there is a 21-day free trial available - and it's easy to sign up]

Here's a brief excerpt from the study:

"A new report has completely debunked the purported link between open plan offices and improved productivity, and says scientific research actually shows the exact opposite is the case."

For a somewhat longer excerpt, please visit the Future of Work blog.

* Yankee Group study shows that nearly 50 million US workers are mobile. That is nearly 40% of all US workers.

* Free agents satisfied? 87% say "yes," according to this Kelly Group survey. (This is not an independent survey, so be aware Kelly likes these results, being a staffing company).

It's a little funny: this area (near Marseilles) voted strongly against the EU constitution at the end of May. And now they are getting thousands of new jobs and an influx of people from across the world. I heard a mayor of one of the small villages nearby on the news last night. He was happy about the economic benefits, but wondering how their little village would absorb so many new people (many of whom will be from Russia, Japan and other nations).

* What Really Ails Europe (and America): The Doubling of the Global Workforce by Richard Freeman. "Most people still have not come to grips with the most fundamental reality change in the current era of globalization — the fact that the global labor force has virtually doubled in size in the last 15 years."

* The Future of Work: "it's life Jim, but not as we know it": "...like it or not, the shape and definition of the "workplace" has changed radically in little more than a generation."

* I found a couple of articles on municipal WI-FI referencing Philadelphia, which is moving forward, and Orlando, which is shutting down.

* Agility: The Next Talent Management Imperative by Tony DiRomualdo of Next Generation Consulting. "There are many organizational and cultural reasons why companies constrain talent. Performance obsessed managers are often reluctant to give up the people resources they feel are needed to achieve ever more challengingly goals and performance objectives. This short sighted behavior is reinforced by management and incentive systems that reward business results but not development of people."