This week we have one lone term, but it’s loaded: The Cloud.

At the very least, you probably have heard the term dropped at a meeting or two. Or, you may just be chin-deep in the cloud, scrambling to find a way to use it to break your company’s Microsoft-branded shackles.

If you are one of the former, who know it’s there but don’t know much more about it, the top tech publications have your back. Ars Technica and Informationweek recently published (almost) everything you need to know about cloud computing. Here’s a rundown:

Level 1, Working knowledge of computing: If you know of the cloud but nothing more, read Ars Technica’s intro piece. It’s a rich, informative primer that covers everything from the history of client-server computing to the rise in popularity of the grid and “utility computing.”

The article, written by Jon Stokes, also touches upon the unfortunate name that seems to have stuck.

“It doesn’t help that the image conjured by the word is of something vaporous, flimsy and fleeting—,” he writes. “Whatever cloud is, it doesn’t sound like the kind of thing you want to entrust critical business functions to.” This brings us to the next article:

Level 2, C-level exec with computing knowledge but more concerned with selling the idea: The cloud is supposed to revolutionize the way we work. It promises to end to waste and redundancy in the enterprise, lower costs and produce happier workers. But when it comes to what it’s called, the name doesn’t fit the face. (Think of the whole “swine flu” vs. “H1N1” debate.) Read more…

Jenny Sweeney Cloud Computing Ars Technica, Bob Evans, H1N1, Hewlett Packard, InformationWeek, Jon Stokes, Mark Hurd, swine flu

I cannot say if productivity was a watchword 10 years ago, when salaries were fat and perks were plenty. It’s definitely on everyone’s minds these days though, when many companies have smaller staff and employees have fatter workloads.

Throw social networking and other electronic communications like e-mail and instant messaging into the mix, and productivity becomes a greater challenge for employees.

In particular, the study found that those who IMed frequently with their bosses were more productive than those who didn’t.

Well, that’s what conventional wisdom says.

MIT and IBM present a different case. In a study published in April, researchers at the two institutions found that instant messaging and other forms of constant communication actually increase employees’ productivity levels. Another win for Chatty Cathy. (For Win 1, see the post “Facebook Addicts + YouTubers = Sharper Employees?“)

According to an article by Jacqui Cheng of Ars Technica, the researchers analyzed the e-mail traffic, buddy lists and social networking friends of 2,600 IBM consultants over 12 months. They compared the consultants’ communication patterns against their performance in billable hours. Those who maintained constant communications averaged an increase in revenue of $588 per month over the average, while those who did not produced $98 per month less than the average. Read more…

Jenny Sweeney Outsourcing, ROI, Worker Productivity Ars Technica, FACEBOOK, IBM, Jacqui Cheng, MIT, Mobile Devices, YouTube