There's a lot to be said for Skype, e-mail, instant-messaging, Webcasts and video conferences but nothing beats talking to someone in the same room. We (most of the b5media management team) just wrapped up five days of strategic planning and operations meetings in Toronto, and covered a tremendous amount of ground that would not have been possible if we hadn't been together. It's the ability to brainstorm, propose new ideas, discuss and even argue while being able to read another person's body language is what makes real-life meetings so much more productive. Of course, it also helps to have several whiteboards to help people visualize and capture all the ideas being tossed around. As a virtual company, b5media lives and breathes Skype but nothing beats getting together. Note: Being together also let me tap Darren Rowse for blogging tips, including the use of my new, favourite blog publishing tool, ecto.