Yahoo has announced it is taking measures to ban its staff from “remote” working. After years of predicting working from home as the future for everybody, why has this high tech company taken this step? “Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.” says the memo from the Yahoo! HR department. Virgin entrepreneur Richard Branson, who spends much of his time working on Necker Island in the Caribbean, was quick to respond calling it a “backwards step in an age when remote working is easier and more effective than ever”. I like to think of us at *UP as pioneers of remote working with over 130 people working remotely around the world – so we know a thing or two about it. I used to spend up to three hours a day in my car driving to and from work. I’d sit in an office with a large number of other people who had all done pretty much the same commute. It dawned on me that there had to be a better and more productive way of working in this new digital age. I’m truly baffled by Yahoo’s! announcement – I think they’ve lost their way. Maybe they should change their logotype to Yahoo? It seems a very odd move, for a supposedly high tech company’. What makes *UP so different? You won’t find any fancy offices or executive creative directors. *UP works with distributed project teams, assembling senior level ‘doers’ to meet each client’s needs after a careful input and evaluation session. Team members may be located in the client’s home city, or halfway around the world. One of the keys might be that the majority of *UP people have worked together in the past either at agencies or as clients. We’re extremely selective and careful in who we allow to join and having a past shared experience better enables us to work successfully without sitting in the same physical room. *UP There, Everywhere is already working with a number of clients in the US, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, USA, UK and Switzerland. Global Connected Co-operative Communities We believe that Connected Co-operative Communities working through the cloud will make major changes to the working patterns of people around the world. *UP There, Everywhere is one of the very first of these to be put together in such an organised and truly international fashion. Our mission is to help change the way the world works. It’s a big mission, but we believe one that is now possible with the tools we have available. And if that new way could address CO2 emissions and its effect on climate change, then all the better. *UP There, Everywhere has emerged as part of that totally new way of working. The dream of teams of people working remotely has been around a while, but only now, with today’s technology and applications, is that dream becoming a reality. The focus at *UP is on delivering creative and brand services that helps clients, especially those in “high involvement” or ”considered purchase” areas, to develop brand strategies, identities and communications that reflect today’s global market, digital communications and cross-cultural thinking. At *UP we form client teams based on needs, location, language, market experience and other factors. *UP members use online technology, including project management tools through sites such as Base Camp, Drop Box, Skype, iChat and Facebook groups. Without the overhead of offices and formal employees, *UP has developed a completely new business model, while offering a highly experienced, diverse team of experts with international work experience. About *UP *UP is working with a number of international clients, such as The Nobel Peace Prize Concert, the branding assignment for the city of Oslo, Dako Cancer Diagnostics and Science magazine in Washington DC among many others. In its first full financial year the company passed a million euros in sales and is growing strongly.