[user24]

I think wikis and group chats help to recreate the water cooler feel.

I also want to chime in about sqwiggle: It was switched on all day at my previous job and I absolutely hated it. Might work if you live alone but having a camera pointing at you when you're hugging your wife or playing with your son for 5 minutes is horrible.

Not to mention the fact that you can be in mid-thought and suddenly "bing!" and someone's talking to you.

I did like the chat stream though.

[agentultra]

Sqwiggle does have a "do not disturb" button. I use it pretty frequently when I'm in the middle of something. I turn it off when I'm just checking emails or doing the rote work of updating information, catching up on logs or what-have-you.

The always-on camera can be an issue if you don't have a private work area separate from the rest of the house. I had that issue before I moved into a new home. My wife, daughter and I were all living in a two-bedroom apartment and my, "office," was in the living room. I'm sure there were a few awkward moments caught on camera. Things are better now with my own office and I hardly notice it's even on anymore.

That being said I'm a huge fan of sqwiggle. :)