Tech in the News | At Home with Tech

August 16, 2020

Why You’ve Got to Show Up for your Close Up

Our COVID-19 reality has created this unprecedented chapter of social experience driven by webcams. Here is why it’s more important than ever to fight your Zoom fatigue…

I have this crazy idea for a science fiction movie… One day, in the not-so-distant future, society’s social norms evolve in response to some deadly threat that forces everyone to stay at home for the next fifty years. Nobody is allowed to be in the same room with someone else other than existing family, and so all human interaction is restricted to video and voice communication.

The story focuses on how humanity adapts and how two young people find each other, fall in love and start a life together… physically separated.

All right, maybe I’m taking things a little too far. (It’s just a first draft.) But you get where I’m going.

Zooming is Here to Stay
As we all know, our interactions have suddenly required the increased dependence on Zoom and other video conferencing apps due to COVID-19. And as this situation continues, social connections, both at work and elsewhere will begin and develop… only virtually.

Sure, previously there have been many opportunities to work and interact with people in other locations via webcam or phone. But in-person moments have usually been more typical.

Now, regardless of geographic proximity, we have all been instantly separated…. and tethered together by the thin digital strands of webcam communication.

And when we eventually return to some new normal, I expect that much of the Zoom revolution will remain intact and continue on. That means our future calendars will always include some number of webcam meetings, both for work and family life.

If that prospect feels exhausting, you might want to carefully consider your next steps.

Fight your Zoom Fatigue
I think it’s fair to say that few of us enjoy sitting in front of our computer’s webcam all day. It takes a clear effort to be present for all of those virtual meetings. But I would say it’s no harder than being fully engaged with a room of people. That takes focus too.

During an in-person meeting, people will read any number of non-verbal cues that you’re projecting. They will likely glean more from those elements than from your words.

The same is true for Zoom meetings. People typically want to feel some connection to you, and to do that, they really need to see you.

That’s why you can’t let Zoom fatigue prompt you to turn off your webcam or worse still… leave your camera on but pay no attention to how you’re coming across in your shot.

Don’t be a Distant Voice
Now, consider this same equation when interacting with people you’ve just met for the first time via Zoom. A disembodied voice can feel surreal and so far away. Staring at someone’s headshot is better, but video will always come closest to an in-person interaction.

I think a hidden voice isn’t so disconcerting if you’ve already met someone and have a baseline connection. But moving forward, we’re all going to have to deal with a variety of virtual introductions.

Our webcams are going to be representing us… pretty much forever.

Welcome to the Future
The pandemic will eventually end, but many of the disruptive ways we’re using to stay connected will remain as new norms.

This all points to my favorite phrase of late… “You’ve got to show up for your close up!”

So, remember my video production tips for your next Zoom meeting:

And most importantly, don’t forget to smile every so often. Your virtual audience will always appreciate your positive energy, especially in times like these.

August 9, 2020

4 Ways to Upgrade your Day during COVID-19 with Technology

I put my technology to work and made these tweaks to help improve my family’s experience while spending more time at home.

Isn’t the promise of technology to improve the quality of your life? Well, now is certainly the perfect opportunity to make sure your tech is working overtime to help get you through COVID-19.

Here are four ways that technology helps me to maintain comfort at home and some sense of normalcy.

#1
Continue Ordering Groceries Online
Yes, I was one of those people who didn’t want to visit supermarkets while COVID-19 was spiking in the greater New York City area.

Sure, it was difficult to find open delivery slots from the usual online grocery choices, but I was able to hunt down enough openings between FreshDirect, Whole Foods/Amazon and Peapod to keep our refrigerator sufficiently stocked from March to June.

When news of COVID-19 began leading the headlines elsewhere in the country, more grocery delivery times in our neck of the woods gradually appeared.

And I kept ordering.

No, I didn’t like the idea of someone else picking out my food, but I was willing to ignore my ‘hunting and gathering’ instincts because of the extraordinary circumstances. But a funny thing happened along the way… I realized that I was indeed able to get the majority of what I wanted without showing up to a market. And it didn’t really cost that much more.

Other than the original challenge of finding open delivery slots, online grocery delivery has become an amazingly convenient way to stock our house.

I know it’s not like this shopping option hasn’t been available for years. But I never gave it a chance. (I considered it an unnecessary luxury.)

But the truth is… it’s a real time saver. And you know what they say about time…

#2
Buy a Chair with Ergonomic Support
Sitting all day can be a punishing experience for your body, especially your back. In the early days of COVID-19, I found that my lower back was stiff and achy. And I knew that the culprit was my old home-office chair, which wasn’t designed to provide sufficient ergonomic support. And it clearly wasn’t made to sit in all day.

So I decided that it was time to upgrade.

The choices for a better chair are endless, and they can get crazy expensive. (A Herman Miller Aeron, the gold standard, can set you back $1,400.) While the opposite side of the shopping spectrum is under $200, you should consider that you get what you pay for.

That said, there are solid chairs out there at more reasonable price points. I eventually zeroed in on the well-reviewed $349 Autonomous ErgoChair 2, which I bought direct. (Autonomous began in 2015 on Kickstarter.)

Compared to my old chair, it’s a dream to sit in! It provides all of the right supports to help keep me aligned throughout my day. And my lower back is incredibly happy with the proper lumbar support. (You can’t put a price on that!)

#3
Set Up an Outdoor Movie Night for your Friends
You may recall that I launched the Lester backyard movie night series earlier in the summer, which mimics the idea of a drive-in movie, but without any cars parked in the middle of my backyard!

I bought a Nebula Mars II Pro, which is a small but powerful battery-run projector. I popped it on a tripod and taped a white sheet onto our backyard fence.

Then, it’s showtime!

You can stream Netflix directly from the Mars II Pro or you can hard wire it to your smartphone to access an almost endless supply of movie choices. You can also connect to the Mars II Pro via Bluetooth, but not all movie services will let you stream through to the Mars II Pro via a smartphone.
(Once you figure out these irregularities, you’ll look like a wizard having so easily turned your backyard into a movie theater!)

The Mars II Pro has two 10-watt speakers, which is impressive for this product category. That said, I’ve found that the summer nights have become increasingly noisy with various insect beasts proclaiming their existence. The last time we tried our outdoor movie night, the roar of crickets overwhelmed the entire experience. So, it was clear that I needed a louder portable sound system to work with.

So, I bought the AOMAIS Go Bluetooth speaker ($70.99 on Amazon) which projects 40 watts of power, and you can really appreciate the boost in sound.

It’s simple to pair the AOMAIS Go to the Mars II Pro. And even though it’s easy to carry the speaker around, it ironic that it’s about twice the size of the projector.

There are more powerful portable speakers out there, but they’re more expensive. The AOMAIS Go has enough oomph to do the trick for me.

#4
Order More Bandwidth for your Family’s Streaming Needs
I imagine that you too may have faced a barrage of complaints from family members that your home Wi-Fi network can’t handle the increased load of endless Zoom meetings, online learning and Netflix streaming.

It’s probably not your Wi-Fi. It’s your Internet service plan. So, go check it and then upgrade your bandwidth to the next level. That should do the trick!

I was paying for the base plan of 100 Mbps. So I spent $10 more a month to double it to 200 Mbps. That stabilized things really quick.
(There are faster plans, but I say only buy what you need.)

As part of my review of our Internet plan, I also decided to buy a compatible modem with my Optimum service. Then, I returned the modem that I was renting, which will save us $10 a month.

I’ve effectively doubled our bandwidth without spending more on a monthly basis! Now, everyone at home is having a better online experience throughout their day.

Make those Tech Tweaks
Sure, our world is feeling a bit out of control these days. It’s more important than ever to do what you can to maintain a smooth home operation. Used most effectively, your technology can help you to do exactly that!

August 2, 2020

Don’t Skip these Steps when Sharing Video Clips during a Zoom Meeting

To prevent Zoom from dooming your day, here are three ways to help you successfully share video content during your next Zoom call.

How many Zoom meetings have you been in over these months? More than a few? I hope by now, you’ve decided that you need to show up for your close up and take the necessary steps to improve your video shot. But you’re not done. Not by a long shot.

That’s because you may decide that it’s time to attempt the more advanced step of “sharing your screen” with your audience. And that’s an even trickier task to do properly, especially because it looks so easy.

If you believe that brain-busting audio feedback caused by an unmuted microphone is the most likely culprit to sabotage a Zoom meeting, then welcome to the unstable art of sharing your screen.

That said, the basics of sharing your screen are indeed relatively simple. You click on the ‘Share Screen’ tab and then you choose the open window on your screen to share. Simple. Right?

I have found the complexity lies in properly sharing the content. And for me, that content is often video.

Here are three easy steps to take to help ensure your success the next time you want to share video content during a Zoom meeting.

#1
Don’t Forget to Also “Share Audio”
First off, the biggest challenge in sharing a video clip on a Zoom call is making sure that your viewers can hear the clip. That’s because you always have to remember to click that bleeping little box on the bottom left that says “Share computer sound” before you select the correct window with your video to share.

That should be easy, right? But let me tell you, it’s also really easy to forget, because you’re mostly focused on finding the right open window to share. And then you’re not aware of your gaffe until someone writes in the chat section that you’re a Luddite.

It’s a maddening experience, especially when you know to look out for the problem.

Note to Zoom:
Please make your “Share computer sound” box sound more prominent. Or at least capitalize the words! Right next to “Share computer sound,” there’s a little box that says, “Optimize Screen Share for Video Clip.” Those words all begin in caps… why not offer the same level of grammatical importance to the audio box?

Isn’t it clear by now that so many have a hard enough time remembering to mute and unmute themselves when talking on Zoom. Please don’t make it even harder to activate the audio from the video clips we’re trying to share.

(User rant is now complete.)

#2
Make Sure All of Your Audio is Balanced
You should test all of your audio sources before you show up for your Zoom meeting. You might find that the output from your microphone is louder than your video clips. Or the reverse could be true.

If you set up a test Zoom session ahead of time and use a second device to hear how it all sounds, then you’ll be able to preview your viewers’ experience. And if necessary, you can adjust your audio levels.

It’s just another example where audio can be your Achilles’ heel during your Zoom presentation.

#3
House All of Your Video Clips in One Window Using Google Slides
During your Zoom meeting, if you want to share more than one open video window, you’ll likely begin to feel like you’re spinning plates on sticks.

It’s not that straightforward to switch between multiple windows. (There’s a reason why in the TV studio production world there’s a professional technical director dedicated to quickly switching between multiple video sources.)

So, the simple fix is packaging everything you want to share into one window. You can try to jam all of your visual elements into Word or PowerPoint, but that can get clunky with video.

I’ve found that Google Slides is a much more efficient way to house video. It’s easy to create a new page in Google Slides and then insert a video file.

Click ‘Insert’
Choose ‘Video’

But there are two limitations:

You can only upload video from Google Drive or YouTube. (You’re actually linking to the video.)
Other ecosystems are not allowed.
If you’re using Google Drive, you can’t change the default video freeze frame that Google chooses as the image in your slide deck. So, when you click on your Google Slides page that houses a video, what you see is what you get before you click it to play.

Be Prepared
If there’s one common thread here, it’s that you should begin your live presentation prepared. You want to feel confident that Zoom will support you and not doom your day.

You’re effectively running your own multi-source live shot. A little practice and testing will go a long way to help you hit it out of the park!

Category: Tech in the News

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: