37signals is nearly ready to release another useful collaboration tool called Campfire a simple group chat for business. I had the pleasure of giving it a test drive before launch via this blog post. Don't let the the Campfire logo fool you since Campfire has nothing to do with camping or FeedBurner.
Campfire is the re-invention of the instant message chat rooms that we have all become well aware of. Campfire is more than just simple chat though, it is chat with bells and whistles that lend themselves nicely to business collaboration. For example, you can upload images directly to a post and their is some sort of audit trail keep track of the conversation which could come in handy later. Of course not all of the features were turned on when I was able to preview it while load testing. I assume Campfire will be wrapped into 37signals project management software called Basecamp. I did take this screen shot though to give you an idea of what it looked like in the preview load testing phase but please keep in mind that this is not the full product.
So what could you use Campfire for? That really is up to you but decided to come up with 12 ideas to help you out. They are as follows:
1.) business collaboration - less paperwork, more collaboration
2.) fantasy sports drafts - with the 7th pick I'll take Vlad Guerrero
3.) blogging collaboration - what's do you think of that Somewhat Frank post this morning?
4.) educational collaboration - what do you think about the Panalba case study?
5.) spying or other top secret collaboration - secret agent man...secret agent man!
6.) chatting with friends - last night was so crazy ... lol :)
7.) chatting with family - so Mom, what's crackin'?
8.) meeting people - for a good time meet me at the Campfire at 10pm
9.) project collaboration - that sounds great but can we have more cow bell please!
10.) getting engaged - was it something I said, or the way I said it?
11.) negotiations - yes, they need two live panthers to guard the dressing room or they won't perform!
12.) selling goods - sorry I cannot go any lower, this pet rock is nearly priceless
OK, I have had enough fun but please feel free to submit more creative Campfire uses by commenting to this post and don't forget to give Campfire a try when it goes live. With all these ideas you have no excuse not to. Finally, for a more in-depth look at the technology behind it.check out the post about Campfire by Carlos Pero on his new blog prodEdgy.
