Inc. magazine to become virtual office for the month

Inc. magazine announced an experiment it’s doing: For a month it’s going to be a virtual business magazine.

It’s closing the offices and it’s staff will be working remotely, which is no easy feat considering a lot of what the staff does, such as passing printed pages back and forth.

Staff writer Max Chafkin writes on the Fresh Inc. blog: “The reporters and editors have taken surveys on our work habits, downloaded new applications onto our computers and smartphones, and created checklists to help us collaborate even when we won’t see each other face to face as we normally do. Most of us will be working from home offices for the month of February. The rest will be scattered among hotels, co-working spaces, and the occasional laptop-friendly cafe.

“As the experiment progresses, we’ll be blogging about our experiences here on a regular basis. We also plan to post video interviews with experts and consultants who study virtual work. Then in the April issue of the magazine, we’ll publish a definitive piece on virtual work — a look at pros and cons of running a highly-dispersed team (namely, ours), plus, tips on how to work virtually that any start-up or small business can use.

“As much as this is an experiment in remote work, it’s also an experiment in open-source journalism. Working remotely is never easy, and we may face particular challenges coming from an industry where it is still common for an editor, a designer, a photo editor, and a writer to gather around a table to look at a page proof.”