Solutions for keeping a team synchronized

I recently got a team of people together to create movies and such and I need a simple way for us all the stay in contact. The first solution I thought about was a mailing list, and then a forum, but I really don't know if there are any better options out there. It would be nice if I had something that would automatically inform people of new or updated information so that I don't have to worry about them checking their e-mails for visiting a forum. I really don't know what other options there are here, so I was hoping I could maybe get some suggestions from anyone here that may have experience in something like this. Any suggestions at all would be appreciated.


Thanks.

Try instant messaging?
You can do offline messages now with MSN and yahoo

I was thinking of something more centralized, something that everyone can join, like a group or something. Thanks for the suggestion though.


I think I also just answered my own question. Google has google groups! That might be perfect for what I need! I'll need to look into it a little more though.