LiveHive Inc recently introduced the LiveHive solution which has been designed to drive collaboration by bringing different kinds of content into one visual and accessible workspace [...]

LiveHive is launching as a new cloud service designed to enable end users to collect, organize, share and discuss work. The collaboration tool looks to be aimed at SMBs right on up through to larger enterprises, with three pricing tiers available [...]

Welcome!

I am proud to present LiveHive. CaptureToCloud was originally created to help solve how people organize content, be it files, web content or whatever you’re working on. However, as the company and product evolved, we felt that the name no longer fit our broader vision. We wanted to do more than just help you manage and organize your content; we want you to be able to collaborate and work more effectively and efficiently.

Please take a look at the totally redesigned LiveHive and give us your opinion, in the comments, Tweet us or email us at feedback@livehiveinc.com. We hope you like what you see and that you find value in what we’ve created. We’re proud of LiveHive and we would love your feedback.

Welcome to LiveHive!

Kindest regards,

Ramon Nunez

CEO, LiveHive, Inc.

LiveHive (collaboration platform) Launches. MyPOV: I like that rather than just being another Facebook clone using a chronological based activity stream, LiveHive (formerly known as Capture To Cloud) is taking a more FlipBoard or Pinterest like approach [...]

Social and visual workspace provider, LiveHive, Inc has announced its LiveHive solution, a cloud-based enterprise collaboration platform [...]

Visual Workspace Collaboration Across Web, Tablets and Smartphones Drives Engagement and Builds Business Memory 

San Jose, Calif. — March 12, 2013 —LiveHive Inc. today launches LiveHive, a solution that enables anyone to seamlessly collect, organize, share and discuss their work from anywhere at anytime. LiveHive uniquely redefines collaboration for the cloud generation by bringing content, team members and discussions into a single place while driving team engagement and building business memory. LiveHive can be accessed via web browser, tablet or smartphone making it easy for the right people to stay current and productive regardless of location.

To open a free LiveHive account, click here: http://bit.ly/X0xvP6

LiveHive allows users to create visual and social workspaces with any type of file or document, including Google documents, desktop documents, webpages, videos, audio files and more along with associated team conversations. Any workspace or item within may be shared with appropriate team members or kept private with the option to exercise granular control of role permissions for anyone invited to the workspace.

“Whether it’s e-mail, files in the cloud, desktop files or photos on your mobile, content today is consumed in many different forms and lives in many different places which can prevent companies from efficiently collaborating,” said Ramon Nunez, CEO of LiveHive. “LiveHive takes inspiration from some of the best consumer apps on the market to make collaboration a visual and engaging experience.”

LiveHive’s activity stream feature allows anyone with access to a workspace to join a conversation in order to add posts or feedback about an item as well as track back through time to view notes at any point in the history of the workspace. The activity stream offers users a way to tap into the conversation around a project that isn’t normally accessible, versus having to scan through disconnected emails.

In addition, LiveHive is built around today’s normal workflow, allowing users to add and capture content whenever inspiration strikes while leveraging the commonly used tools and sources ranging from webpages and Google docs to videos. LiveHive excels at fostering collaboration for ad hoc projects that arise when an individual or team needs to gather content from different sources.

“Today, the content we use for collaboration is stored everywhere from e-mail, social networks, cloud storage, desktops and mobile devices,” says Terri McClure, Senior Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. “LiveHive’s approach to bring all of our content together into a uniquely visual and accessible workspace should be a welcome solution that increases workflow efficiency and caters to the growing BYOD trend.”

LiveHive Features:

• Add anything (webpages, documents, links, videos, email, Google Docs, chats, audio files, etc.) into a workspace while keeping original form and structure
• Share workspaces and control how sharing is done including the ability to sever links and set permission levels for others invited to the workspace
• Collect items through drag and drop, webpage capture or linking
• Google Apps integration including Google Docs and Google Contacts
• Dropbox and Google Drive files can be accessed and included in your workspaces
• Access workspaces from any Kindle, Android or iOS device
• Capture webpages from any mobile device and add them to workspaces from anywhere

Pricing and Availability

Anyone who signs up for LiveHive receives three workspaces with up to 300 items free for life.

LiveHive also offers three pricing plans:

• Personal: Up to 400 workspaces for $8.95 per user per month
• Business Pro: Up to 500 workspaces and administrative controls for $9.95 per user per month
• Business Max: Unlimited amount of workspaces and administrative controls for $15.95 per user per month

About Live Hive Inc,

Based in San Jose Calif., LiveHive Inc pioneered LiveHive, a visual and social workspace that enables teams and individuals to collaborate on plans and projects across any device. Formerly known as CaptureToCloud, LiveHive was founded in May 2011 with a mission to create a work management/collaboration solution for businesses. The company raised $4.7M in funding from investor Acero Capital in July, 2012.

For more information:

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- Pinterest: here

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LiveHive is a registered trademark of LiveHive, Inc. All other trademarks and product names are the property of their respective companies.

Email’s time has come. It hasn’t kept up with how we communicate and conduct business. We function as slaves to the inbox: we keep email open in one tab and we always have one eye on it, regardless of what we’re doing. If our phone beeps with a new message, we have to check it right away. 28% of the workweek is spent managing email. What exactly are the problems with our dominant form of communication in the business world and what stands to replace it?

The Problems with Email

Lost Knowledge

Emails are pushed deeper into the inbox or deleted, leaving no long-term knowledge. When an employee leaves and their inbox is forgotten, whatever completed work they had left behind disappears from institutional memory. If the CEO ever asks to see the past work on a subject, no one can find the work, as it lies dead in some long gone employee’s inbox. Many emails are simply responses to quick questions, which have been previously answered. Since there is no central place to store the answers, time is wasted responding with information that should be available across the company.

Security

Email is not a safe way to send sensitive information. Once an email is sent, the recipient can then forward the email onto anyone, without the original sender having the slightest idea. Spam is unavoidable as 97% of all email sent is unwanted. We spend far too much time sorting through it, as well as running the risk of downloading a virus.

Information Overload

We can’t keep up with email. Organization and control is not possible as email is organized by date received, not importance. Messages can easily be lost or misplaced. Did you remember to CC the right people? Email is a constant throughout our day and information overload is estimated as a $650 billion drag on the economy due to lost productivity and innovation. There has even arisen a charter demanding the end of email as message after message continues to pile up, killing our time and productivity.

Document Destruction

Files are a pain to send via email: they’re often too large or your recipient may fear a virus. When working on a document, no one knows who has the latest version. Multiple copies are sent around and updated, making merging changes more difficult.

What do you think will replace email?

We continue to use email because it’s easy, we’re used to it, and it’s what we’ve got. However, a new solution has been coming to the forefront. With the rise of the cloud, workers have been able to collaborate more easily than ever. The solution is social software.

Social software allows workers to connect from anywhere, anytime, in a controlled environment. Workers are looking for a social, central place to keep knowledge and work, which can be referred to in the future. Work is more secure when access and sharing are controlled. Time is no longer wasted as work is searchable and continues to grow. Business memory is created and maintained long after employees leave.

How long will email remain? As workers experience email overload, social software will stand to be the likely replacement. Social software will continue to grow in popularity and usage as businesses realize how much time can be saved and productivity can be increased with its use.

 

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Think back to a time when you were so completely absorbed in something that you were working on that you lost track of time.This deep concentration that you were in is now identified as being in a state of flow. Although flow is highly effective in the workplace, did you know you could also apply the same concept to your daily life outside of work? Here are some of the best reads about flow:

Finding Flow
This in-depth look into the book written by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains the concept of flow and how you can use it in your daily life.

Finding Your Flow
This article focuses on how and where children find flow. This helpful chart advises you on how to help them achieve a state of flow.

Nine Elements of Flow
Did you know you could break down flow into nine elements? Dr. Wright explains the nine elements of flow and how it can benefit your lifestyle – both mentally and physically. Definitely a great checklist on how to achieve flow.

Lose Yourself in Flow
Physical activity can help you achieve flow and motivation. Find out how fitness can lead to happiness and a state of flow. It’s a great way to attain your workout goals!

Flow: An Introduction
Learn about flow and what simple steps that you can take in order to achieve flow at work or your everyday life.

 

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Have you ever been so concentrated on an activity at work that you forgot about everything else? Or perhaps you’ve been so immersed in a creative process that it felt like time stopped? If your answer is yes, you’ve experienced a state of flow.

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What is flow?

In 1990, Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi released his seminal work titled, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience where he outlined his theory that people are happiest while enduring a state of flow or effortless concentration.

In other words, flow is a positive mental state in which someone is completely absorbed, energized and focused on the process of an activity. An example of someone experiencing a state of flow could be a pianist while composing a new melody – he or she is completely focused, motivated and immersed in the keys without distraction and aligned with the task at hand. Another example could be a soccer player who reaches a state of flow during a game, completely focused on the field and only interested in what’s going on in the moment. Flow is really the epitome of the phrase “lose yourself.”

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Why is flow important?

To begin, Csíkszentmihályi found that achieving a state of flow resulted in increased productivity and happiness. In order to study the phenomena, he developed a research tool called Experience Sampling Method, in which his study subjects carried pagers for a week at a time. Each subject would be beeped eight times throughout the day and after each beep, the subject would make a note of what he or she was doing and feeling at that exact moment.

What Csíkszentmihályi found was that the subjects weren’t necessarily happy at times they expected to be, like while lying in the sun or watching their favorite TV program. Surprisingly, subjects reported being happiest while pursuing a challenging activity either in the workplace or while engaging in a hobby. When the subjects reported their emotions at the time, they reported that time flew by and they lost a sense of self. In conclusion, Csíkszentmihályi realized that the best moments are when our bodies or minds are challenged to capacity.

Most importantly, being able to achieve flow is important because it allows you to be more productive, happy and confident in everyday activities.

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How can you achieve flow at work or in your everyday life?

1. Open your mind: Having a positive attitude when it comes to beginning an activity is the first step. No one can achieve flow if they have mentally shut themselves off to the idea of success. You have to be open to the idea of giving the task your best shot, and simply go for it.
2. Find a challenging activity: As mentioned earlier, most people experience the most distinct feelings of happiness while pursuing something challenging. It doesn’t have to be climbing Mount Everest, but watching five seasons of Friends is most likely not the answer either.
3. Set attainable goals: Although achieving flow can increase feelings of confidence, there are some things we just simply can’t expect ourselves to do right off the bat. It’s important to set realistic goals that allow you to strive, without being impractical.
4. Seek feedback often: While attempting to achieve a state of flow, it’s important to seek feedback on your progress often in order to adjust your course accordingly.
5. Eliminate distractions: In order to achieve a state of flow, you should eliminate all possible distractions because flow can only be achieved when you’re purely concentrating on the task at hand and can be completely absorbed in it. Distractions like the phone or television will interrupt a state of flow.
6. Don’t think too much: It sounds strange, but allowing your mind to slow down and just letting things unfold naturally can actually help you achieve flow. Overthinking while attempting to achieve flow can act more as a distraction.
7. Practice: Achieving flow is more of an art than a science – it takes time to truly master. Make note of times where you feel you’ve experienced flow and what you did to bring about the state. Eventually, you’ll be able to predict which activities are best suited for you to get into flow.

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In today’s digital age, where information spreads around the world instantly, every second counts. Whether you are an executive or an intern, managing your time is essential to making deadlines and staying organized. If you’ve ever spent all day working and felt like you’ve made no progress, try utilizing some of these easy tips to get more work done in less time!

1. Take five

Take five minutes at the beginning of your day to organize your thoughts and make a list of tasks to do before the day ends. Prioritize the tasks you have to complete and assign each a time limit. By defining the importance of each assignment, you can allocate your time more accurately. Make your work more manageable and less intimidating by breaking it up into smaller chunks.

2. Don’t let your emails stack up

Once you open an email, deal with it immediately. Staying on top of your emails will keep you from drowning in your work. Whether it’s dealing with paying bills, responding to colleagues, or deleting spam and ads, make sure you address each email as it arises. Productivity specialist, Merlin Mann, called this idea Inbox Zero. Inbox Zero is a mindset that approaches email as a digital to-do list: each email should represent a specific task to be completed. The ultimate goal is to maintain a level of zero unread emails in your inbox.

3. Use a calendar

Keep smaller tasks from slipping through the cracks by entering all your responsibilities into a calendar on your laptop or phone. Having a comprehensive calendar with all of your dates, appointments, and deadlines will keep you on time and in control of your work. Google Calendar is an excellent tool as you can access it from any device with internet access through a free Google account.

4. Plan for interruptions

Keeping a flexible schedule and being able to adapt to changing situations is an essential skill that will keep you on top of your work. If you anticipate disturbances, you won’t panic when you have to put aside what you are doing to tend to rising interruptions. The key is managing your schedule and not letting work pile up (think Inbox Zero!); interruptions that arise during the day won’t be as daunting.

5. Block out distractions

If you are easily distracted, there’s an app for that! SelfControl is a free application for Mac users that lets you block certain websites for the amount of time of your choosing. Blocking out time-wasting sites like Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter will keep you on task whether you like it or not. PC users should be sure to try a similar app called Freedom.

These are my five go-to tips for balancing my work and school work. How do you manage your time?

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