Finding a way to effectively work online is vital to any enterprise that relies on an internet connection for communication instead of in-the-room face reading expression.  Boles University used to use Google Sites for online communication, but a month or so ago we permanently moved up to the Basecamp for-pay service — we’ve been back-and-forth on the free/paying/free Basecamp plan since the service started five years ago — to better serve our online private portal work needs.  Here’s what our Basecamp Dashboard looks like.  I’ve box blurred the names and titles of private projects throughout this review.


The Basecamp sidebar shows you all your active projects.  Click on the hotlinked title of your project and you’re inside your separate work portal. 

We currently use Basecamp for managing the Boles University online learning courses, the 11-site Boles Blogs Network, the Hardcore American Sign Language teaching portal and my work as a script doctor under the Script Professor banner.  We are adding new projects every day.

Creating a new project is as simple as clicking on the “Create a new project” button you see below:

 
Basecamp runs on the Amazon S3 service, so your data is securely served at a quick rate.

Creating messages is simple, seamless, fast and fun:

Switching between projects is easy-peasy as clicking on a menu picker:

Basecamp even allows you to keep watch on those in the portal with you.

It looks like some Boles Blogs Network people are not checking in on a regular basis!

Creating and assigning To-Dos is fun and easy to track:

Milestones serve as calendar-centric duties and Basecamp makes them super-quick to model and mask:

In the Message list view, you can see how effective the color-coded visual interface is when it comes to looking for information, linked files, and who said what when. 

Teaching ASL online was never simpler or more beautiful:

Yesterday, Basecamp celebrated its fifth birthday — so join us today in honoring a really great company that knows how to provide expert insight in a simple, seamless service to help you brand and create the ultimate online work portal experience!

12 Comments

  2. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    We are very pleased that The Gordon Davidescu checks into the portal on a daily basis! We need his insight and spirit!

  3. ANNE – I live and teach on the upper West Coast of the United States. My interests are Philosophy, English, and Social Communication.
    ANNE says:

    I think I like this. Is it secure? Does it cost a lot?

  4. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    Hey Anne!
    I like it, too. You can create your own URL. You can upgrade your account to include HTTPS. The cost is quite cheap. There are several levels of service you can choose to use based on your needs. You’re never locked in to a contract. You pay month-to-month.

  5. ANNE – I live and teach on the upper West Coast of the United States. My interests are Philosophy, English, and Social Communication.
    ANNE says:

    That is helpful. HTTPS is good for security. The free test is also helpful. Thank you for the good review.

  6. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    Basecamp makes it easy to love the system, Anne. You can play around for free as much as you like and only pay when your projects warrant the upgrade.

  8. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    I agree, Gordon. The web interface is much richer than just getting email updates. As the Admin, one can also turn off the email update feature to push people to interact in the web version. I can now see a benefit in doing that…

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  10. Hi David,

    I’d love to hear your opinion on Apollo: http://www.apollohq.com
    Apollo covers both project management and CRM. It has cases&deals, calendars, timers, and tons of extra tools for effective collaboration.

    If you liked Basecamp and also used Highrise, Apollo is definitely something to look into!

    Bye,

    Merc.

    1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
      David W. Boles says:

      We just upgraded to the 37signals suite. How does your software compare?

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