Coral Springs, FL (June 6, 2008) – Home Office Highway, the digital road show and contest that this summer will showcase how consumer electronics and small business technology can empower the digital lifestyle from within a recreational vehicle, has partnered with RV Sales of Broward.

“From a compact camper to a luxury motor coach, RVs are a perfect way to have fun and work efficiently during a road trip,” said Jeff Zbar, the show’s creator and host. “Smart technology, tools and creature comforts can enable productivity from the road.”

“This promises to be an exciting, educational adventure that will highlight how the RV lifestyle and road warrior workstyle can coexist,” said Gigi Stetler, owner and CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based RV Sales of Broward, and creator of the Riding Gigi Style line of RV linens. “Jeff and his family will show how an RV can be an ideal office.” Read More »

Do you like to work when you play? How about work from ‘anywhere’? A study from Citrix Online revealed that for a growing number of American workers, the traditional office is becoming more of a touchpad than a daily destination, or one of several places we do our jobs.

And one of those places increasingly is while away on vacation or any of the popular shorter mini-vacations Americans are taking.

The study, “Web Commuting & the American Workforce,” notes that people are performing at least part of their jobs virtual – and from anywhere, at any hour of the day. How? They’re tapping various technology that allows them to “take their office with them” wherever they go. These remote workers, termed “telecommuters” in the 1980s and 90s, today are called “Web commuters” for their growing reliance on the Internet.

The rise of this ‘Web Commuter’ is changing how people view work. It’s not a place, but a result. It’s not about time, but productivity. As one saying goes, “It’s output, not hours-put.” Among the stats:

– 23% of American workers (and 41% of small business owners) regularly work from home or another offsite location, relying on Web technology (e.g. the Internet, e-mail, or programs that allow them to remotely access their office computers or meet with colleagues online).

– 62% of those who do not have this ability said they would like to be able to do so.

– 14% preferred the ability to work remotely or away from the office at least some of the time as a perk over stock options (13%) and on-site child care (11%).

– 70% of American workers aged 18-34 were most excited about working remotely and would welcome the opportunity.

Products like VPN, or Citrix GoToMyPC, enable people to access their computers from any Internet-enabled destination. That can include a cyber café, or your Verizon wireless broadband aircard. Today, that means work is a thing – regardless of place…

Coral Springs, FL (May 30, 2008) – Home Office Highway, the digital road show that this summer will showcase how personal electronics and small business technology can empower the digital lifestyle from within the comforts of a recreational vehicle, has signed Verizon Wireless as a presenting sponsor.

“Verizon Wireless is an ideal sponsor because its communications products are vital to any road warrior or digital consumer,” said Jeff Zbar, the tour’s creator and host. “People who work from the seat of a car or a tech-laden V must be able to reliably log on to the Internet or communicate with their wireless hone. It’s essential to working and living in the Digital Age.”

“Home Office Highway is a great new concept that relates to such a large part of today’s mobile society,” said Chuck Hamby, public relations manager for Verizon Wireless in Florida. “We’re glad to have the opportunity to show off a variety of our wireless technologies that meet the dynamic lifestyle wishes to work and play while on the move.” Read More »

Each summer, my family leaves the home office and road trips for two weeks. And each summer, I find myself gathering up the must-have tools to make my road trip successful.

There’s my laptop and my USB flashdrive with all my most current docs backed up. There’s my Gmail account, through which all my email flows — so I have every email sent or received out there close at hand.

There’s my USB mini-light to illuminate my keyboard or documents, for when I’m working in the early morning — but don’t want to wake the family. I also carry a small Monster power strip to turn one electrical outlet into five — to my laptop, Blackberry, digital camera, iPod (with the Monster cable to broadcast my tunes on the minivan’s stereo) and my family’s phones and accessories can recharge overnight. And there’s our Hampton Inn guide book, so we know where our favorite haunt is along the highway.

And they’re all packed away in my laptop backpack — neatly stashed and close at hand.

Unless the goal is to unplug completely from work, road trips shouldn’t kill productivity. I strive to be just as effective a soloist from the road as I am in the home office.

What’s your Digital Didyaknow? How do you make your travels a time of peak productivity — at least at those times that you want to scratch out a few moments of work? As I gear up for our vocation vacation, I want to learn more.

Let me know…

Coral Springs, FL (March 31, 2008) — Think you can’t take a month-long holiday and still keep your business or family finances from taking a permanent vacation? Think again. This summer, Home Office Highway: A Digital Adventure – will hit the road to prove vacation and vocation can travel hand in hand.

Setting off July 4th weekend in a recreational vehicle packed with the latest small office technology, Jeff Zbar and his family will showcase just how productive the modern family can be when traveling the nation’s highways. Wife, Robbie, will manage the family’s home finances. Their kids will stay connected with friends. And Zbar, a widely published technology columnist and author, will chronicle the adventure each day in blogs and videologues as the RV travels from up the Eastern Seaboard – and back again.

“We take a family road trip each summer, so I’m used to mixing vacation and work. This year I got the idea to share my experience with others, and show that through technology, you can leave home for vacation and take the office with you,” said Zbar, creator of the site ChiefHomeOfficer.com. “That’s how Home Office Highway was born.” Read More »

Are you a mobile home officer? Think you need to work from a home office 9-to-5 to qualify? Think again…

If you run a business from home, then you can be a mobile home officer. If you telework — working a few days each week or month from a home office for a boss someplace else, you can be a mobile home officer.

If you just want to take a stress-free vacation — one that gives you the ability to do a little work comfortably from the road — then you can be a mobile home officer.

Home Office Highway isn’t just for home officers. It’s for anyone who uses technology to improve their workstyle. It’s about laptop computers and wireless broadband connections. It’s about checking email from a campsite in the Smoky Mountains, or working at dawn while watching the sun rise over the Jersey Shore.

It’s about taking the family on the road in a vacation all can enjoy — while mom and dad work a bit and feel less guilty about their getaway.

A marketer recently commented that their audience isn’t “home office,” so Home Office Highway wasn’t for them. This tour isn’t just about entrepreneurs who work from home. It’s about anyone who wants to work and live from the road — doing a little work, journaling about their adventures, even paying their bills online and staying connected with family — from an office on the road.

I just happen to work from home. And this summer, my home — and home office — will be on the road…

The Tour Route: The show will leave from South Florida soon after July 4th Weekend and wind its way through Orlando, north through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine.

The Roaming Home Office will stop at popular tourist destinations, resorts, business development centers, campgrounds and retailers along the route.

At each location, visitors will be able to peek at a mobile home office — a fully functional workspace, including laptops and wireless Internet, webcams and headsets, and all the tools you need to work from home. Even if the home is motoring down the highway.

Check back to learn more…

It was a dark and stormy night. Literally. The family minivan was rolling down Interstate 26 in South Carolina.

The hour was late, the weather was mean and we were in need of a hotel room. Stopping in this downpour was just not going to happen. Instead, in the passenger seat, Robbie had commandeered the laptop from the kids, paused Shrek playing on the laptop’s DVD drive, and began surfing the Internet to search for hotel rooms along the highway. The laptop was plugged into the 110 converter and powered by the car’s cigarette lighter, I mean, power port. And the Verizon wireless “aircard” was plugged into the computer’s USB port. Combined, we had non-stop broadband access to the information superhighway. Read More »