Plantronics, the Santa Cruz maker of headsets said last week that it plans to cut 18 percent of its workforce, or about 900 jobs, “effective immediately”, the same day that it warned that its sales for its fiscal 2009 third quarter would be about $184 million, lower than the guidance range it had previously given of $205-$220 million.
The company blamed the shortfall on Read the rest of this entry »
Last month, I served as one of several judges for the TeleWho? contest being held by Plantronics. The idea was to solicit ideas for a term to replace “telecommuter” with something that reflected the way the digital era had changed our work habits.
Today, Plantronics announced the winner: Cloudworker!
According the Plantronics press release, the winning submission defined a “cloudworker” as:
“somebody who uses on-demand technology and collaboration tools, such as unified communications, to work anywhere and anytime, and uses the resulting freedom to enable a my-size-fits-me career path and lifestyle. The metaphor of the cloud extends well beyond cloud computing and software as a service applications to include work environments, distributed teams, and communication tools.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Maybe you fancy yourself a closet marketing genius. Maybe you’ve been watching all those episodes of “Mad Men” and have been dreaming about trying your hand at marketing. Or maybe you just need a fun distraction from the economic Armageddon that threatens to return us to the Stone Age.
Whatever your motivation, Plantronics, the Santa Cruz company best known for its mobile headsets, wants your help. The company is launching a contest today asking folks like you to come up with a new term to replace “telecommuter.” Apparently, that phrase dates from the early ’70s and has become a bit tired. According to Plantronics:
“We’ve come a long way in the last 35 years. In today’s increasingly dispersed and globalized workplace, telecommuting encompasses so much more than replacing a daily commute with telecommunication. So how should we be referring to the tens of millions who telecommute?”
Here’s how it works. Go here to register and submit your idea. The deadline is October 24.
On Oct. 30, Plantronics will post the best submissions for public voting. Who will pick the finalists? According to Plantronics, “Our panel of distinguished judges will determine the finalists.” Those judges include me, your humble columnist.
Even if you didn’t submit a phrase, you can still vote on the best ones through Nov. 7. Plantronics will announce the winner on Nov. 18.
Ready? Then get started.
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