Be A Professional Zoomer - Or, Just Look Like One

Zoom. Now that most of us are staying at home, and trying to practice our professions in front of a computer, it is problematic to meet and talk to our clients and colleagues. The best videoconferencing alternative out there is probably Zoom, which is seeing an exponential increase in users and subscribers. Easy to use, with plenty of features, it is the go to app for these times. You can sign up for free, and have up to 100 participants for meetings up to 40 minutes. For a $15 a month subscription, there is no limit on time. I have spent my career avoiding meetings, when I can, and it is a popular topic for #WhyIAmASolo. But, desperate times call for desperate measures, and I find myself using Zoom a lot more, if only to attend the exploding number of webinars on every topic you can think of. I wish that all meetings were limited to 40 minutes or less; but, I realize that when you add in the technical hiccups inherent in any technology presentation, an hour is probably a better length. That said, any photographer will tell you that we spend a lot of time on our subject in a photograph and not enough time on the background. The same goes for videoconferencing. So, learn about virtual backgrounds, and spend some time creating one that you can live with, and that prevents your viewers from seeing your pets, children, spouses, and general clutter from being seen. You have been warned.