With cafes, restaurants and other social spaces closed to the public meet ups, to combat the spread of the Coronavirus, as a community we are being asked (and in some cases, required) to practice social distancing. Members of the public are being advised to avoid gatherings in general, but this seemingly constant state of quarantine, however, is beginning to take its toll on people.
During self-isolation, many of us are now sitting at home 24/7. But fear not, extroverts, because getting your social-butterfly fix is still within reach - keeping in touch via remote technology is becoming a crucial aspect of the wellbeing of isolated individuals, greatly helping with morale.
Quickly gaining traction amongst workplaces and groups of friends alike, is an app called Zoom, which can be readily utilised by socially-starved, housebound folks, offering users the ability to catch up with their friends.
If you're stuck at home for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it's certainly worth getting a lot more comfortable with this Corona-hack!
HOW DOES ZOOM WORK?
For those who weren't familiar with Zoom prior to the pandemic we are experiencing, Zoom is video conferencing app. Essentially, if you’re the one initiating the call, your guests don’t even need to create a proper account. Here's how to launch a meeting in Zoom:
1. Start by creating an account on Zoom (this process is pretty straightforward).
2. On the homepage, hover your mouse over the "Host a meeting" tab, then click the "With Video On" option.
3. Follow the prompts to bring up your Zoom meeting screen (this will also turn your camera on).
4. Click "Invite Participants", which will allow you to either copy the meeting URL, or send an email link to your friends. If you want your meeting to be more secure, select "Copy Invitation", which means Zoom will generate a meeting link, a Meeting ID and unique password for the meeting.
HOW DO MY FRIENDS JOIN THE MEETING?
To join a meeting, your friends can either simply go to the Zoom website (or click on the link in your meeting invitation), where they'll be prompted to run the Zoom app, which they can install via the zip file that automatically downloads.
They will then be prompted to enable your audio (which thankfully means no accidentally turning on video when you're not quite camera-ready). To connect the video, they can then click the Start Video camera icon.
DOES ZOOM HAVE FILTERS?
An important question if you're keen to make yourself look, you know, a little better than you possibly do after day four of your PJ's-on-the-couch look. Yes, Zoom does have a filter option. The "Touch Up My Appearance" option smooths out your skin tone, and can be selected in Settings > Video > Touch Up My Appearance.
CAN I USE ZOOM ON MY PHONE?
If you don't have access to a computer at home, you can still dial into Zoom from your iPhone or iPad. When you click to join the meeting, you'll be prompted to download the free app from the App Store. If you're in a larger conference call, though, you likely won't be able to see every participant on the screen at the same time, and will instead need to scroll through to the next screen in order to view everyone.
As we don’t know how long these social distancing practices will remain in place, for many people it’s particularly important to stay in touch with friends and family during such an uncertainly time, and this is certainly a great way of doing it.
So settle in with a cup of joe, and get Zooming!
Keen to keep on enjoying a cafe quality cuppa whilst working from home? Our reusable coffee pods for Nespresso (OriginalLine / VertuoLine), Aldi K-fee, Caffitaly and Dolce Gusto will help keep you caffeinated!