The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines collaborate

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When everyone is working together in the same building, the meaning of common and together seems to be more clear. For example, when Gina needs to collaborate with George, she can simply walk to his office or cubicle and borrow his time for a few minutes; the collaboration usually happens immediately.

If Juan wants to get some input on a problem, he might bolivia mobile database gather three or four people (or have a quick meeting in a conference room) to create a collaborative moment. But if the person you want to work with is in the same city, another part of the country, or even around the world, it may not be that easy.

People have long viewed collaboration through the lens of:

Real-time interaction
Meeting Room
Whiteboard or flipchart
PowerPoint slides or other ways to share materials
While all of the above points can be replicated in a virtual environment, most people find that virtual collaboration is more difficult than face-to-face collaboration. Collaborating face-to-face undoubtedly has its advantages (our historically virtual team always looks forward to the occasional physical meeting). However, remote conferencing can also have positive, and often unexpected, advantages.

The mindset of “we must meet in order to collaborate” has at least three shortcomings.