Phil Simon

Article / Updated 08-14-2023

Just like in real life, you won’t always host a Zoom meeting. Sometimes you’ll participate in meetings with people from external organizations. Zoom makes it remarkably simple to join an existing meeting, whether you know the host’s PMI or the meeting’s URL. Joining a meeting using the host’s PMI Walter invites you to a meeting via email. His message includes his PMI as well as the meeting’s password. You can join his meeting by following these instructions: Launch the Zoom desktop client. On the Home screen, click on the Join icon. From the prompt, enter the host’s PMI. (Optional) Enter the meeting password. By default, Zoom began enabling passwords for all meetings starting on April 5, 2020. (You can uncheck this box to disable this option, but I recommend leaving it enabled for security purposes.) Enter your name or what you want others in the meeting to call you. (Optional) Indicate whether you want to disable your audio by selecting the appropriate checkbox. Zoom’s default option connects you to the meeting with your computer’s audio enabled. (Optional) Indicate whether you want to disable your video by clicking the radio box on the left. Zoom’s default option connects you to the meeting with your computer’s video enabled. Click on the blue Join button. (Optional) If you chose to join with your video enabled, then Zoom presents you with prompt that allows you to preview what other attendees will see, as shown. If you like what you see, then click on the blue Join with Video button; if not, then click on the white Join without Video button. Assuming that the host hasn’t enabled meeting waiting rooms, you’ll join the meeting momentarily. You’ll also have to enter a password if the meeting host required it. You have now joined the Zoom meeting. Joining a meeting via a URL Donnie invites you to a meeting by emailing you a URL. You can join him on Zoom by following these steps: Copy and paste the meeting URL into the address bar of your web browser and press the Enter key. Assuming that you installed the Zoom desktop client, your browser prompts you to open it. Click on the Open or Allow button — or the equivalent button in your web browser. Click on the blue Join button. If you like the video preview, click on the blue Join with Video button; if not, then click on the white Join without Video button. Joining via a URL eliminates the need to enter the meeting’s password because Zoom embeds the password in the link. Waiting for hosts to begin their meetings. Say that you have arrived early for James’s meeting, or he is running late. If James has turned on waiting rooms for his meeting, then you can expect to see a waiting room screen.

Article / Updated 08-14-2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked devastation throughout the world; in February, 2020, companies and individuals began turning to Zoom as a way to continue conducting business meetings (from individual home environments) and to stay connected with friends and family. Even many televisions shows have adopted a Zoom format for interviewing guests. A very brief history of coronavirus In late 2019, tens of thousands of Chinese citizens mysteriously contracted a severe respiratory illness and started dying. People with heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and generally weak immune systems were particularly susceptible to contracting it. Ultimately dubbed coronavirus, the outbreak quickly escalated to nightmarish proportions and every country in the world. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization did the inevitable and declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Since that time and as of this writing, the numbers have been nothing short of grim: According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 400,000 people have died across the globe. Nearly three million others became infected but have since recovered. Epidemiologists almost unanimously agree that a second wave is coming in the fall of 2020. When coronavirus hit the United States in earnest, it evoked images of the 1918 Spanish flu. To minimize the carnage and stress on their healthcare systems, state governments — some far more reluctantly than others — issued stay-at-home orders. COVID-19 did not just leave more than 100,000 dead bodies in its wake. It wrought psychological, social, and economic devastation as well. With respect to the latter, tens of millions of Americans lost their jobs. U.S. unemployment spiked to nearly 15 percent in April 2020. Most workplaces, parks, restaurants, schools, retail stores, and places of worship closed. Musicians postponed concerts, comedians canceled shows, and professional sports as the world knows them ceased to exist. Against this backdrop, hundreds of millions people needed to find new, virtual ways to work and, more than that, recapture some semblance of normalcy. In each case, Zoom was the most popular choice. How COVID-19 changed Zoom’s trajectory Starting in early February 2020, the company’s floodgates began to blow open. In a matter of weeks, oodles of businesses from mom-and-pop stores to large enterprises started getting Zoom religion. Examples of rapid Zoom adoption abounded during this unprecedented time. Here’s one of them. On March 19, 2020, California governor Gavin Newsom issued a stay-at-home order for his state’s citizens. As a result, thousands of California-based businesses needed to adapt to a new world — and fast. One such shop was Reeder Music Academy based in Danville, California. Within a week, the 28-employee company migrated roughly 70 percent of its classes online using — you guessed it —Meetings & Chat. Thousands of small businesses in just one state would have immediately shuttered were it not for affordable videoconferencing tools such as Zoom. And Zoom adoption quickly spread to decidedly non-corporate environments. As but one example during the height of frenzy, teachers from more than 90,000 schools across 20 countries began educating their students from their homes via Meetings & Chat. Beyond professional reasons, people needed a way to connect with their family and friends. Again, Zoom answered the bell. To say that Zoom’s user numbers exploded over a three-month period would be acme of understatement. By the end of March 2020, more than 200 million people participated in both free and paid Zoom meetings every day (Industry types refer to this number as daily active users, or DAUs.) By way of comparison, just four months earlier, Zoom had averaged approximately 10 million DAUs. The 2,000 percent increase was downright stupefying. And Zoom’s user growth didn’t stop there. During its first fiscal quarter of 2020 (ending on April 30), Zoom reported that its DAUs had climbed to 300 million — a 50 percent jump from only a month earlier. Many of those users decided to become proper customers. Company revenue in that quarter grew by an eye-popping 169 percent. Analyst Richard Valera of the asset-management firm Needham called the results “incredible.” (Read more about Zoom’s most recent financial results.) Fast-forward a few weeks. As of June 2, 2020, Zoom’s market capitalization exceeded a staggering $58 billion. If you had bought Zoom stock just a few months earlier, you’d be ecstatic. It wasn’t all puppy dogs and ice cream for Zoom, though. On the flip side, its viral consumer growth has led to some unexpected issues and a slew of bad press. For now, however, rest assured: Zoom’s management has taken its unforeseen challenges very seriously. The double-edged sword of sudden, massive growth Consider Amazon, Facebook, Google, eBay, Reddit, Uber, Airbnb, Twitter, Netflix, Craigslist, Nextdoor, and Zoom. What do they all have in common? Many things. Most important here, though, one is that their founders weren’t following tried-and-true playbooks that guaranteed success. That is, it’s not like these folks were starting Subway or McDonald’s franchises circa 2012. As such, they understandably failed to think about every possible use — and misuse — of their products and services along the way. From the onset, it’s essential to understand two things. First, Zoom is a not fundamentally insecure set of communications tools. Second, it is not a repeat privacy offender à la Facebook, Google, and Uber. Still, Zoom’s unprecedented growth unearthed some fundamental issues that its management and software engineers hadn’t considered, much less fully appreciated. You may have even heard of the most severe problem that the company has encountered to date. Zoombombing I often draw analogies and use metaphors to drive home my points, especially between Zoom communications and their brick-and-mortar counterparts. Here’s another one. Gordon is meeting with a group of Japanese investors in his office. Young buck Bud has weaseled his way into Gordon’s waiting room. (In case you’re curious, I’m referencing the 1987 film Wall Street. What can I say? I’m a cinephile.) After a while, Bud becomes impatient and storms into Gordon’s office. He starts screaming at Gordon about a high-stakes deal involving his father’s airline gone bad. Think of Zoombombing as the digital equivalent of this scenario. Unknown and unwanted intruders entered countless Zoom meetings and started bothering participants and acting inappropriately. Think of it this way: For years, one of Zoom’s most valuable features was letting people quickly meet with others all across the globe. Within a few weeks, you could argue that that feature suddenly morphed into a bug. Prior to March 2020, the term Zoombombing effectively didn’t exist. (To be fair, though, trolls have long crashed many other videoconferencing tools.) Don’t take my word for it, though. The figure displays a Google Trends graph that proves my point: Play around with Google Trends yourself. General trends are certainly informative, but by definition they mask individual stories. Tales of rampant Zoombombing pervaded local and national media precisely because Zoom exploded. For example, on April 6, 2020, the New York City Department of Education cited Zoombombing in its decision to ban its schools from using Zoom for remote learning. A few days earlier, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had issued a formal warning about criminals who were effectively hijacking classrooms across the country. A few litigious folks even filed lawsuits against Zoom. In hindsight, the advent and rise of Zoombombing stemmed from several interrelated factors. By way of background, at the end of 2019, 10 million people regularly used Zoom’s suite of communication tools. As former Bloomberg Technology cohost Cory Johnson used to say on air, “That ain’t nothing.” The vast majority of these people qualified as enterprise customers. That is, they happily used Zoom to communicate with colleagues, partners, subordinates, vendors, job applicants, and other businessfolks. Then, in late 2019, coronavirus shook the world. Despite adequate time to get ready for the inevitable, relatively few American institutions and companies were prepared for the end of normal life as they knew it. On the business front, even retail behemoths Amazon and Walmart experienced significant problems meeting customer demand. For its part, Zoom suddenly had to deal with two interrelated issues: A flurry of new users Fundamentally different types of users than those from its existing customer base There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen. — Vladimir Lenin It’s impossible to overstate the enormity of Zoom’s challenge. One day, Zoom supported 10 million people, almost all of whom were enterprise customers. A few months later, it was providing critical services to 20 times as many folks across the globe from all walks of life. Very few companies have experienced anywhere near that type of exponential increase in such a compressed period of time. The qualitative shift in Zoom’s customers and users was just as important as the quantitative one, if not more so. Enterprise tech and consumer tech are two very different types of animals, a fact that many people failed to appreciate. Unfortunately, some of Zoom’s most vocal critics disregarded this critical distinction: The communication needs of large for-profit firms dramatically differ from those of school teachers, religious organizations, and the countless other decidedly nonbusiness groups that adopted Meetings & Chat in droves. Sadly, social media and outrage culture don’t lend themselves to nuance and facts. Before detailing the specific changes that Zoom has made to date, it’s instructive to think about them in a different context. Interestingly and as an aside, Zoom’s tools held up just fine as its user base mushroomed. That is, its suite of tools experienced only a few minor hiccups. This remarkable achievement is a testament to Zoom’s modern technological underpinnings.

Article / Updated 08-14-2023

Zoom calls its impromptu virtual get-togethers Instant Meetings or Meet Now. To start a meeting, launch the Zoom desktop client. Click on the Home icon and then on the New Meeting icon. You are now hosting a live, one-person Zoom meeting, as this figure displays. Astute observers may notice several things about this figure. First, I clearly haven’t put my face on yet. Second, I love the band Rush and the 1995 crime movie The Usual Suspects. Third, in Zoom, background images appear inverted to hosts but normal to other participants. Trust me. I didn’t buy backwards posters. Fourth and most important for the purposes of this article, Zoom displays a series of icons from left to right when meetings begin, whether anyone has joined your meeting or not. The following table displays the menu icons that hosts see during their meetings. Zoom In-Meeting Menu icons Control the audio output from your computer. The arrowhead lets you tweak your computer’s microphone and speaker settings for this meeting. Let meeting participants see your visage. The arrowhead tweaks your computer’s microphone and speaker settings for this meeting. Manage your meeting’s security and privacy settings. Zoom added this new icon in April 2020 to make these features more prominent and easier to access. Determine who can do what during a meeting. For example, click here to quickly invite people to an existing meeting. Minimize the main meeting window and share your screen with meeting participants. Stop sharing at any time by clicking on the red Stop Share button that appears. You can also momentarily stop sharing by — wait for it — clicking on the Pause Share button. The arrowhead lets you invoke additional screen-sharing options. Record your meeting. You can also stop or pause recording once you’ve started recording. Add simple emojis for all other meeting attendees to see. You can host only one meeting at a time per device. How to invite others to your current meeting Unless you’ve got split personalities or imaginary friends, you’ve probably never held a meeting with yourself. Rather, you need to talk with your boss or some colleagues about an issue. Maybe you want to catch up with your friends via a virtual happy hour. (You can use Zoom socially in some neat ways.) After starting your meeting, follow these directions to invite others: Click on the Participants icon at the bottom of the screen. Click on the Invite button in the right-hand corner. Click on the Email tab at the top of the screen. In total, Zoom displays five options. The first three email-based invitation methods are: Default Email: Launches your computer’s default email client. It may be Microsoft Outlook or Mail. Gmail: Launches a Gmail window or tab in your computer’s default web browser, as shown: Yahoo Mail: Clicking here will launch a Yahoo Mail window or tab in your computer’s default web browser. After sending your email, wait for others to join. Say, however, that you don’t want to use Outlook or Gmail to invite others to your little shindig. No worries. Zoom provides two options unrelated to email: Copy Invite Link: Copies the meeting’s URL to your computer’s clipboard. Copy Invitation: Copies the words Join Zoom Meeting, the meeting URL, and the meeting identification number. If you choose one of the last two options, then you can paste the copied text into a message in Slack, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, or just about any program or app that you could imagine. You could even write it down and fax it to someone if you like. Send the message and wait for others to join your Zoom meeting. Once they do and assuming that all folks have enabled video on their end, Zoom displays something like the following. Note a few things about this image. First, the folks in the lower left-hand corner of have joined via Zoom Rooms. Second, when three or more participants join a meeting, Zoom meetings default to what it calls its Active Speaker layout. (See the upper right-hand corner.) In this mode, Zoom automatically switches the large video window based upon who is speaking. Say that your meeting consists of just two people, though. Your friend Roger and you are just catching up. In this case, from your perspective, Zoom displays your video in a small screen at the top, while Roger’s video takes a more prominent position below yours. (From his perspective, the opposite is true.) It’s even easier to hold audio and video meetings people whom you’ve already added to your Zoom directory.

Article / Updated 08-14-2023

As former president Dwight D. Eisenhower once astutely observed, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” In the context of Zoom, convoking a spontaneous meeting makes sense in certain circumstances, especially when text-based communication just isn’t working. Taken to the extreme, though, any given person’s work life would be unmanageable and even downright chaotic if she couldn’t at least try to plan her days. To this end, Zoom makes it easy to schedule future meetings with others and to track attendee registration. What’s more, by scheduling meetings, you unlock additional features that can make your meetings more valuable for all concerned. How to schedule a Zoom meeting To schedule a meeting with an individual or group of people in advance, follow these steps: Click on the Home icon at the top of the desktop client. Click on the blue Schedule button. Zoom displays the Schedule Meeting window shown. Customize your meeting’s settings. You can change its Topic and description Date Start and end time Meeting ID Audio and video options Integration with third-party calendar tools, such as Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar Advanced options, including whether you’ve assigned any alternative hosts Selecting Generate Automatically for the Meeting ID means that Zoom will produce and distribute a unique, disposable number. In other words, you won’t be using your PMI for this meeting. When you finish, click on the blue Schedule button. You have now scheduled your meeting. Zoom displays a meeting-confirmation message with all the relevant information, such as the one shown here. From the meeting confirmation, you can perform the following actions by clicking on the related buttons: Open: Opens the calendar in your computer’s default calendar program. Close: Closes the window. Copy the invitation: Sends the meeting’s information to your clipboard. From here, you can paste it into an email or wherever you like. View your scheduled meetings by clicking on the Meetings icon at the top of the Zoom desktop client. Although you can host only one meeting at a time per device, you can schedule as many as you like in advance. Zoom also lets users schedule meetings via the web portal and through different browser extensions. How to edit your scheduled meeting Say that you’ve successfully scheduled your meeting. After thinking about it, though, you decide that you’d like to make a few changes. Sure, you can junk your meeting and wreak havoc with others’ calendars. A better way, though, involves editing your existing meeting — something that Zoom allows you to easily do by following these steps: In the Zoom web portal, under the Personal header, click on Meetings. Click on the name of the meeting that you’d like to edit. Zoom presents basic information about your scheduled meeting. Click on the white Edit this Meeting button in the lower right-hand corner of the page. Make whatever changes you like. You can change the following: Topic Date and start and end time Meeting ID Audio and video options Advanced options, including whether you have assigned any alternative hosts Click on the blue Save button. Collect participant input through polls Bruce has scheduled an upcoming meeting with members of his E Street Band. During the call, he wants to solicit everyone’s feedback. Sure, attendees will be able to both chime in and enter text-based comments in the chat window. This type of unstructured data is often valuable, but collating it is typically messy and time-consuming, especially with larger groups. Structured data is far easier to collect and analyze. To this end, A better way in many cases is to conduct a poll — one that immediately displays results. Zoom reserves polls for customers on premium plans. Enabling polling at the account level To enable polling for all members in an organization, an admin or owner needs to follow these steps: In the Zoom web portal, under the Admin header, click on Account Management. Click on Account Settings. Underneath the Polling section, click on the toggle button on the right-hand side of the page. It turns blue. Zoom displays a new window asking you to confirm your choice. Click on the blue Turn On button. Zoom confirms that it has updated your settings. You need to enable polls only once at the account level. Creating a poll for your scheduled meeting After you activate polls, you can create one or more polls for an upcoming meeting: In the Zoom web portal, under the Personal header, click on Meetings. On the left-hand side of the page, under Upcoming Meetings, click on the meeting for which you want to schedule a poll. Scroll to down the bottom of the page and click on the white Add button next to the words You have not created any poll yet. In the window that appears, enter the title of your question. (Optional) Select the Anonymous if you want to hide attendees’ responses checkbox. Type the name of your question. Indicate whether the question is single or multiple choice by selected the related checkbox. Enter the possible responses in the text boxes. (Optional) To continue adding questions, click on + Add a Question and repeat Steps 4 through 8. When you finish setting up your poll, click on the blue Save button. You can now view the poll, as this figure displays. Note that Zoom ties polls to specific users’ PMIs, a minor but important point. Say that Hank needs to set up a meeting with the other DEA agents in his office. He is weighing his two options: Using his PMI: If he goes this route, then he can access all of the polls that he has created under his PMI. Allowing Zoom to automatically generate a disposable meeting ID number: If Hank selects this option, then his poll applies only to that specific meeting. As a result, he would not be able to recycle them or transfer them to another meeting. Either way, at some point during the meeting, hosts can launch their polls. Do what you like, but I wouldn’t let the transferability of polls drive your decision to use your PMI or not. How to handle meeting registration While optional, requiring participants to register for future meetings confers a number of obvious benefits, including counting the number of heads in advance. Beyond that, a company or your manager may mandate attendance at certain meetings. Requiring others to register for your meeting Brandt is holding an important department-wide meeting and wants to ensure that all employees attend. As such, he requires registration by following these steps: In the Zoom web portal, under the Personal header, click on Meetings. Click on the name of the meeting whose registration information you’d like to view. Click on the white Edit this Meeting button. Scroll down to the word Registration and select the Required checkbox. Click on the blue Save button. Zoom returns you to the main meeting page. (Optional) To the right of Registration Link, copy the unique URL or click on Copy Invitation to view more detailed information about the meeting. Distribute the link or meeting information to all meeting attendees however you choose. Registering for a future meeting Brandt manages a staff of ten. He has required those folks to register for his monthly meeting. Further, he has distributed the link to attendees, maybe even via Zoom Meetings & Chat. When others click on that URL, they will see a form similar to the one displayed here: Viewing registrant data After attendees fill out and submit a meeting registration form, Zoom stores their information. You can access it by following these steps: In the Zoom web portal, under the Personal header, click on Meetings. Click on the name of the meeting whose registration information you’d like to view. Scroll down to the Registration tab and to the right of Manage Attendees, click on View. Zoom displays a window similar to the one shown. Click on the Edit button to customize your registration options even more.

Article / Updated 08-14-2023

As I write these words in June 2020, the global pandemic is in full force. At some point, things will go back to normal — although most likely in dribbles. Zoom’s suite of tools, however, will remain vital work and educational staples for the foreseeable future. Make no mistake, though: Hundreds of millions of people are using Zoom in remarkable and innovative ways every day. Weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, birthday parties, dance parties, and poker games have all taken place on Zoom. Cooking and eating meals Restaurants typically run on slim profit margins — often along the lines of 5 percent. Operating at 25-percent capacity doesn’t cut it. To this end, many have begun holding Zoom cooking classes and online tastings. Visiting sick friends and family members Faced with travel restrictions, many people are “visiting” their loved ones confined to hospital beds in Zoom. No, it’s not the same as the real thing, but checking in on a dear friend or family member via Zoom beats a simple phone call. Dating With so many bars, restaurants, and coffee shops closed, where do two people safely meet? How about on Zoom? Sharing a few drinks over Happy Hour I’ll cop to doing this a few times with my college friends. Again, I’d prefer to talk trash with them in person but. Left with no other in-person alternative, though, Zoom more than serves this purpose. Playing brick-and-mortar games I asked few of my former students if they used Zoom for social gatherings. Here’s one particularly colorful response: I play trivia games with my family in England every Saturday via Zoom. Sure, some games translate better than others, but you’d be surprised at how many games work reasonably well on Zoom. Playing video games You may not be able to use Twitch to play your favorite video game. If not, then give Zoom a shot. Watching movies and TV shows As a kid, I would routinely watch Jeopardy! with my family. I’d sometimes go an entire show without answering a single question correctly. Although I live across the country from my family, I can now relive that experience with them via Zoom. (At least now I can answer about 40 percent of the questions correctly.) In fact, plenty of folks use Meetings & Chat to view movies and binge-watch series. Performing stand-up comedy Few things beat the feeling of laughing in unison with complete strangers as a comedian tears it up. In the midst of a pandemic, fans cannot see Gary Gulman or Neal Brennan live. Until then, however, I might watch some comedians perform via Zoom. Learn more. Staying fit Since the age of 18, I have religiously gone to the gym. Broken fingers, the cold, and work-related commitments haven’t stopped me from getting my sweat on. Yeah, I’m a gym rat—and plenty of people can relate. Left without physical gyms, many people began working out over Zoom. Holding miscellaneous parties A Zoomie told me that her in-laws held a weekly dance party on Zoom. Virtual graduations, birthday parties, and other formerly physical gatherings are taking place via the world’s most popular videoconferencing tool.

Article / Updated 08-14-2023

Zoom offers a bevy of robust features for meetings. (Short version: Thanks to Zoom, hosts and participants can perform many useful tasks.) There’s a chasm, though, between could and should. Put simply, just because Zoom lets you enable or disable a feature doesn’t mean that you should do it. With that in mind, here are some tips on minimizing the chance that someone Zoombombs your meeting. More generally, follow the advice here to protect the privacy and security of your Zoom communications as much as possible. Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could they didn’t stop to think if they should. — Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm, JURASSIC PARK Keep your PMI private You wouldn’t give a stranger a key to your home. The same principles apply to your Personal Meeting ID (PMI). Giving it to your spouse or mother is benign. Sharing it on social media is a recipe for disaster. Use waiting rooms Yes, Zoom lets users with sufficient permissions disable waiting rooms for their meetings — and possibly for others employees in the organization. I’d advise against it, however, especially on a permanent basis. Visit this Zoom Help Center article for directions on how to effectively make your meetings less secure. Prevent removed meeting participants from rejoining John is acting like a putz during the company Zoom meeting, a fact not lost on the other participants. You have warned him a few times to knock it off, but he’s incorrigible. As host, you finally boot him from the meeting. Everyone applauds. By default, Zoom prevents John from jumping back in, even if he retained the host’s PMI or the meeting’s ID and password. Again, depending on your formal Zoom role, you can change this setting. Still, I’d leave it as is. What’s more, if you’re a Zoom account owner or admin, then you may want to lock this setting such that non-administrative members cannot change it for themselves. To do so, follow these directions: In the Zoom web portal, under the Admin header, click on Account Management. Click on Account Settings. Click on In Meeting (Basic). Slide the Allow removed participants to rejoin toggle button to the left to turn it off. Click on the grey lock icon to the right of the toggle button. Zoom displays a message asking you to confirm your decision. Click on the blue Lock button. Zoom confirms that it has successfully updated your settings. Limit who can control the main meeting screen Meetings & Chat offers a bevy of powerful screen-sharing features. If you want to dial back those options a bit, you certainly can. For example, say that you’d like to prevent participants from sharing their screens. Just follow these directions: Launch the Zoom desktop client. Start your meeting. Mouse over the bottom of the screen so that Zoom displays a menu. Click the up arrowhead (^) next to Share Screen. Select Advanced Sharing Options from the pop-up menu. Underneath Who can share?, select the Only Host checkbox. Close the screen and return to your meeting by clicking on the red circle in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Use your brain The history of technology teaches its students many important lessons. Perhaps at the top of the list is that even the smartest cookies cannot predict every conceivable problem that a software product, feature, or version may cause. First, the law of unintended consequences is alive and well. Second and just as important, bad actors are a clever lot. They invariably employ sophisticated tactics to circumvent even the most thoughtful security and privacy controls. In this way, Zoom has had to confront some of the very same challenges that have plagued Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, and other firms of consequence. All of this is to say that managers and software engineers can do only so much to mitigate the problems that invariably arise with massive usage. At least you always take with you one of your most effective weapons to combat attendee mischief and malfeasance. I’m talking about the organ that lies between your ears. Think carefully and critically about what you’re doing in Zoom and with whom. Always be skeptical. Exhibit a healthy skepticism Say that your son is a sophomore at a small northeastern university in a different part of the country. You and your spouse eagerly await your weekly Zoom call with him every Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. You shared your PMI with him a year ago and thought nothing of it. On Saturday, you receive an email from an unrecognized sender who purports to be your son. Still, something about the situation just rubs you the wrong way. This individual asks you to provide your PMI because he lost it. What do you do? Maybe nothing untoward is really taking place here. Maybe not. In this case, I would call your son or send him a text message explaining the situation. Based upon his response, your next step should be clear: Provide the PMI or report the email as the phishing attack that it appears to be. Phishing perhaps represents bad actors’ most effective means of obtaining sensitive information from their targets. They are often able to acquire others’ credentials and other pieces of vital information by fraudulently posing as friends and loved ones. Always err on the side of safety. If that means making it a tad more time-consuming for participants to join your Zoom meetings, then so be it. To quote a famous Russian proverb, “Trust, but verify.” Keep privacy in mind during Zoom meetings Regularly using your brain doesn’t just make it harder for hackers to wreak havoc; it can protect you from putting your foot in your mouth in front of others. Remember that meeting hosts can easily generate chat logs, subject to a few disclaimers. They just need to follow a few simple steps: Launch the Zoom desktop client. Start your meeting. Mouse over the bottom of your screen to invoke Zoom’s in-meeting menu. Click on the Chat icon. In the lower right-hand corner, click the ellipsis icon. From the prompt, click on Save Chat. For example, Michael Bluth is hosting a meeting with his brothers Gob and Buster. During the meeting, at any point Michael can produce a chat log file because: He’s the meeting host. Michael has enabled participants’ ability to chat. About five minutes into the meeting, Michael does this very thing. Zoom dutifully saves a simple text file to the default location on his computer. This file includes the following data from the meeting: All participants’ public chat messages. Any private chat messages that Michael exchanged with Gob and Buster Any private chat messages that Gob and Buster exchanged with Michael. Michael’s log file looks something like the following. Note that Zoom omits from these log files all private messages that participants exchanged with each other during the meeting that excluded Michael. In other words, Michael won’t know that Gob sent Buster a message calling him a chicken and Buster agreed with his brother. Against this backdrop, keep the following privacy-related facts in mind as you use Meetings & Chat: Unless a host actively hits the Record button during a meeting, Zoom does not store video, audio, or chat content. That is, Zoom records nothing by default. When the host begins recording, Zoom provides both video and audio notifications to all meeting participants. If participating on a recorded meeting makes you uncomfortable, then you can always tell the host as much. You can also exit the meeting. Think of each Zoom meeting as a quasi-private forum. If you want to slam your boss and or mock your colleagues mid-meeting, then have at it. Zoom can’t stop you from exercising poor judgment. No tool can. Just remember that meeting participants are likely to notice inappropriate actions. When they do, prepare to suffer the consequences. In this way, Zoom is just like Slack, Microsoft Teams, email, and any other contemporary communications tool. Whether you’re the host or not, think carefully about what you disclose both publicly and privately. There’s no guarantee that those messages from Zoom meetings will ultimately stay private. Say that you privately chat with colleagues, partners, customers, or other meeting participants. Someone could easily take screenshots of those private messages with a third-party tool and release them after or even during the meeting.

Article / Updated 08-14-2023

No one forces you to enable video during your Zoom meetings. You can always join via audio only. Still, from time to time you’re going to want the world to see you. Looking your best in Zoom A seldom-used Zoom feature called Touch Up My Appearance purportedly helps smooth out the skin tone on your face. No, it won’t transform me into Brad Pitt or Idris Elba, but think of it as the equivalent of putting on some digital makeup. Follow these directions to enable this feature: Launch the Zoom desktop client. Click on the Settings icon in the upper-right hand corner. Zoom displays your settings. On the left-hand side, click on Video. To the right of My Video, select the Touch up my appearance checkbox. Refrain from looking at other devices and screens during your meeting, especially if you’ve enabled video. Others will quickly pick up on your lack of concentration. Presenting a professional appearance in Zoom Kerry Barrett runs a full-service, media-prep, training, consulting, and camera-readiness firm based in New Jersey. She is a 20-year veteran of the broadcast news industry and an Emmy-Award winning TV news anchor, reporter, and producer. People often ask me, “How can I make myself look as good as possible on my Zoom meetings?” Here are a few simple tips on improving your shot. By following them, you will subtlety encourage meeting participants to engage with you. Lighting: If you sit in front of a bright window or lamp, then you’ll be in silhouette. Likewise, don’t sit directly under a bright lamp. Always place light directly in front of you. Webcam: Place it at or slightly above eye-level. No one needs to see your nostrils, half of your face, or your kitchen ceiling. Framing: TV stations deliberately shoot anchors from the mid-chest or mid-torso. By doing this, viewers can see the anchors’ eyes and begin to establish trust with them. The same idea applies to your Zoom meetings. Also, remove the dead space around you. Place your head slightly below the top of the video box. Finally, sit front and center in front of your computer or tablet. Your body should fill up the video screen. Personal appearance: Avoid wearing red and white colors during your meetings. The first two notoriously cause lighting issues. Instead, consider a brighter hue that makes you pop against your background. Wear company-branded apparel if it fits into those parameters. Background: Viewers tend to find neutral backgrounds less off-putting than dark ones. What’s more, they provide invaluable contrast. (Gangster move: If possible, hold your meeting in a room with light gray walls.) If you take my advice, then you’ll look your best during your Zoom meetings. To enable video during on Zoom’s desktop client, you need to use your laptop’s internal webcam or an external one. Projecting a more professional visage isn’t hard — in other words, to avoid the nostril-cam previously mentioned. Just prop your laptop up on some books. If that doesn’t work for you, then consider purchasing a proper laptop stand. For years I’ve happily used an inexpensive AmazonBasics ventilated one. As for external webcams, arguably the hottest one on the market now is the Logitech BRIO. How to optimize sound quality in Zoom Of course, how you present yourself to others represents only part of the meeting experience. The other side is how you sound during your meetings — and, for that matter, how other participants sound to you. At a high level, a good deal hinges upon the quality of your computer’s audio components. Contrary to what you may think, newer computers don’t necessarily ship with better hardware in this regard than older ones did. Plenty of folks aren’t satisfied with the sound emanating from their computer’s native microphones and speakers. If you find yourself in this boat, you can tweak your computer’s audio settings. Still disgruntled? Then consider purchasing an external microphone. I’m a fan of the Yeti Blue. As for headphones and speakers, I have found tremendous variation among Bluetooth devices. Some models work seamlessly, while others cut in and out throughout meetings. Ask a trusted friend for honest feedback on A/V situation. Finally, don’t expect first-rate audio and video quality during Zoom meetings if your Internet connection is spotty. Zoom can only do so much. If you’re having a tough time hearing others and vice versa, consider disabling your video. Ask others in the meeting to do the same. Your overall audio and video quality during Zoom meetings stem from a number of factors. If you’re experiencing problems, use the process of elimination. For example, try to connect to a friend’s network when taking Zoom meetings. Does performance improve? Use a family member’s computer instead of yours. Eventually, you’ll figure out what’s causing your issue.

Article / Updated 08-14-2023

Screen-sharing and annotation tools have been around for decades. In fact, if Zoom had failed to include these valuable features, many people would rightfully consider them glaring omissions, including yours truly. Meetings & Chat is more than up the task. You can share your screen with others and even allow them to control your computer’s mouse and keyboard. What’s more, you can allow others to mark up your screen — and vice versa. Share your screen with others As the meeting’s host, you can easily share your screen with participants by following these steps: During your meeting, drag your mouse to the bottom of the screen. Zoom displays the in-meeting menu. Click on the Screen Share icon. Zoom displays all your computer’s currently open programs, as you can see here. If you’re using multiple monitors and programs, then expect a wide array of choices. Click on the specific screen, desktop, or application that you want to share with meeting participants. You can also select Zoom’s whiteboard or your tablet or smartphone if you've connected them to your computer via cables. (Optional) If you want to share your computer’s sound and/or optimize your screen-share session for playing videos, then select the corresponding checkboxes in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. Click on the Advanced tab at the top of the screen to do the following: Share a portion of your screen Share music or computer sound only Content from a second, external camera Click on the blue Share button in the lower right-hand corner. Zoom adds both a green You are screen-sharing notification and a red Stop Share indicator to the bottom of the in-meeting menu, as shown. Zoom also places a green enclosure around the specific screen that you are sharing as a subtle reminder. Just because another meeting participant can control your screen doesn’t mean that you are at his mercy. That is, you can still move your mouse, type your keyboard, and perform other normal computer functions. Understand exactly what you’re sharing Zoom’s robust screen-sharing options can confound newbies and even experienced users. To eliminate this confusion, refer to the first figure in this article. Why did Zoom display all of those screens? To answer this question, I need to supply some background information about how I work. My current computing setup includes a MacBook Pro and an ASUS external monitor. At the time that I shared my screen, I was running nine different programs on my computer. Taken together, you now understand why Zoom offered me so many different sharing options. (When it comes to screen-sharing, Meetings & Chat doesn’t discriminate.) For the sake of simplicity, I’m highlighting only four of them: Desktop 1: If I select this option (A), then I share any and all programs running on my MacBook Pro’s screen. Say that I hit Command+Tab on my Mac to toggle to a different program. (PC users use Alt+Tab to do the same thing.) Because I previously chose Desktop 1, all participants would continue to see everything on my Mac’s screen. Note that Zoom places a big white “1” on the left-hand side of my screen to remind me that I’d be sharing this desktop. Desktop 2: If I select this option (B), then I share any and all programs that I have pinned to my external monitor. When I hit toggle to a different program, then participants continue to see everything that I’m showing that monitor. Note that Zoom places a big white 2 on the left-hand side of my external monitor to remind me that I’d be sharing this desktop. Zoom’s whiteboard: Selecting this option (C) means that I am sharing my Zoom whiteboard only with meeting participants Microsoft Word: Selecting this option means that I’m sharing Microsoft Word (D) only during my meeting. As a result, when I switch to a web browser or Spotify, then Zoom automatically pauses screen-sharing for all meeting participants because I have effectively moved Word to the background. That is, it is no longer the active program on my computer. There’s nothing absolute about Zoom’s screen-sharing options. Your specific choices will hinge upon your hardware and the applications that you’re running. A simple example will illustrate my point. Samir works at Initech and uses a Microsoft Surface and does not connect an external monitor to it. He’s currently noodling with both a Microsoft Word document and an Excel spreadsheet. This figure shows a crude mockup of Samir’s screen. It’s time for Samir’s weekly meeting with his boss Bill. Samir shares only Microsoft Word with him. In specific this case, the term screen-sharing is a bit of a misnomer. In other words, Samir isn’t sharing his computer’s entire screen. Rather, he is sharing only one specific program: Word. If Samir wanted to share Excel with Bill, then he would have to end his new screen-sharing session and initiate a new one. Of course, if Samir shared his entire desktop, then he could have concurrently shared both programs with Bill from the start. Sharing a desktop with meeting participants can be very different than sharing a specific program. When sharing your desktop, by default you cannot share the Zoom application itself. You can change this setting by following these steps: Launch the Zoom desktop client. Click on the Settings icon in the upper-right hand corner. Zoom displays your settings. Click on Share Screen on the left-hand side. Select the Show Zoom windows during screen share checkbox. Perform different tasks while sharing your screen Of course, you may want to do more than just share your screen. Zoom allows you to perform the following related functions during an existing screen-sharing session: Pause your screen-sharing session Stop sharing your screen altogether Share a different one of your screens with users To perform these options, follow whichever of the following directions you like: If you want to temporarily stop sharing your screen, click on the Pause Share button. Zoom displays a message that reads, “Your screen sharing is paused.” If you want to share a different screen with meeting participants, click on the New Share button. When you want to stop sharing your screen, click on the red Stop Share button underneath the in-meeting menu in the center. Those who don’t exercise caution when sharing their screens run the risk of embarrassing themselves and even losing their jobs Let meeting participants control your screen Peter works in IT, and he’s helping Bob diagnose an issue on the latter’s computers. For many reasons, Peter may want to control Bob’s screen remotely: It’s just a more efficient way of working. Peter doesn’t want to keep barking orders at Bob. (This reason is my personal favorite for granting others the ability to control my screen.) Bob doesn’t care to know the exact steps required to solve it. He just wants Peter to take care of it for him. Say that you want a meeting participant to control your computer. To let any current meeting participant drive (as the kids say), follow these steps: During your live meeting, drag your mouse or cursor to the bottom of Zoom. Zoom displays the in-meeting menu. Click on the Share Screen icon. After you share your screen, click on the Remote Control icon. (Optional) Select the Auto accept all requests option. To let a specific individual control your computer, follow the same steps but instead select Give Mouse/Keyboard Control to: and click on the name of the participant to whom you want to give control of your computer. Advise others in the meeting that they can control your screen if they request access. Say that you don’t want to automatically accept all requests. When you see a participant’s request to assume control, click on the blue Approve button to grant her control of your screen. Request control of a host’s screen The following steps apply to meeting participants who would like to request control of the host’s screen: Move your computer’s cursor to the top of the Zoom desktop client window. When you do, Zoom presents View Options menu. Click on the View Options menu and choose Request Remote Control from the menu that appears. Zoom indicates that you are requesting control of the host’s screen. Click on the blue Request button. Zoom displays your request to assume control on the host’s screen. At this point, the host needs to approve your request. Regain control of your computer If you’re the host and want to resume control of your computer, follow these steps: Return to the Zoom meeting. In other words, control the mouse and tab over from whatever other program or screen you were sharing. Mouse over the in-meeting menu Click on the red Stop Share button. How to annotate your screen Zoom lets meeting participants do far more than just share their screens with each other. With a few clicks, you can annotate others’ screens. In so doing, you can provide specific feedback, make insightful suggestions, or pinpoint a problem in a way that words alone often fails to do. Using a dedicated whiteboard Odds are that you’ve seen a physical whiteboard at some point at work. Using markers, people in the room can sketch any number of diagrams on dry erase boards. They can document business processes, redesign org charts, mock up logos, write code, or just about anything else. Why should Zoom be any different? After you do, Zoom displays its whiteboard in the following figure. The following table displays the whiteboard’s menu items and describes what they do. Zoom Annotation Options Name Description Select Creates a box that engulfs your other annotations, allowing you to easily move them as a group. Text Enter text over any part of your screen. Draw Draw whatever you like with your mouse or touchpad. Zoom also lets you insert a number of basic shapes. Stamp Place different types of stamps. Examples include an arrow, checkmark, X, star, heart, and question mark. Spotlight Makes your computer’s cursor more visible. You can turn it into a red circle or a rightward arrow. Eraser As its name states, clicking on this button allows you to erase prior annotations or parts of them. Format Clicking here lets you change the color, weight, and font of your annotation. Undo Reverse your previous annotation. Redo Repeat your previous annotation. Clear Invoke three options: clear all drawings, clear your drawings, and clear viewers’ drawings. Save Saves the entire screen markup as a local file on your computer. Say that you lose track of Zoom’s the annotation tool menu. Just click on the Annotate button in the in-meeting menu. Zoom once again brings its annotation tools again to the front. Zoom’s annotation tools are available only during screen-sharing sessions. After you launch the communal whiteboard, others may want to add their own notes to it If you’re a participant and want to add notes to a communal whiteboard, follow these steps: From the desktop client, move your computer’s cursor to the top of the Zoom desktop client window. From the View Options menu that appears, choose Annotate. You can now add whatever annotations to the whiteboard you desire. Note that everyone in the meeting can annotate at the same time. Annotating a screen Zoom doesn’t force meeting hosts and participants to use a dedicated whiteboard to make annotations. Everyone in the meeting can mark up a regular screen and the program running on it. The possibilities here are limitless, but here’s one common example. Geno is developing a new version of a website for his client Jerry. Geno invites Jerry to a Zoom video meeting and follows these directions: Share your screen with others. Click on the Annotate button in the in-meeting menu. From here, pinpoint design elements and changes in a far more specific way than mere words would allow. Returning to the previous example, Jerry can now show Geno exactly where he wants to move a picture or the logo in the header. Invoking other meeting options Hosts can invoke a few other options to control their meetings. Follow these steps to invoke these options: Launch the Zoom desktop client. Start a meeting and enable your video. Click on the Participants icon on the black in-meeting menu at the bottom of the screen. Zoom displays a new screen on the right-hand side. In the lower right-hand corner, click on the More button. Zoom presents the self-explanatory choices in the following table. Additional Meeting Options for Hosts Action Directions and Results Mute Participants upon Entry This feature does exactly what you expect. If you select this option, then Zoom prompts with you an additional window in which you can allow them to unmute themselves. Allow Participants to Unmute Themselves If you only want participants to listen during the meeting or part of it, then disenable this option at any point. Note that this feature is useful when an unknown participant is generating distracting background noise. Play Enter/Exit Chime This option lets you enable or disable the sound that Zoom plays when these events take place. Allow Participants to Rename Themselves This small but important feature means exactly what you think it does. Changing Lawrence to Larry is one thing. Think carefully about whether you want people to represent themselves as someone else entirely during the meeting, though. Lock Meeting This option prevents new participants from joining the meeting, even if they know the PMI, meeting ID number, and/or password. Clear All Feedback If you have enabled nonverbal reactions, then Zoom allows the host to wipe them out in one fell swoop. Note that Zoom greys out this option if participants haven’t provided any feedback. Enable Waiting Room Selecting this option means that participants cannot enter the meeting, even if they know the PMI, meeting ID number, and/or password.

Article / Updated 08-14-2023

This list provides some quick advice on getting started with Zoom, maximizing its benefits, and minimizing the issues that you experience with it. No, the following pages do not represent a comprehensive list of what to do and not to do, but I have condensed my suggestions into a snackable list. Try Before You Buy Just about every popular software vendor has embraced the freemium business model to one extent or another. Zoom is no exception to this rule. As such, anyone can begin using Meetings & Chat and many of its features within minutes and at no cost. Employees can unlock additional goodies when their employers upgrade their plans with useful add-ons. Consider Grohl Records, a fictitious company new to Meetings & Chat. I can see Grohl’s rationale to kicking the tires, especially on a small scale. For example, Grohl purchases a few licenses for employees in its sales department. For whatever reason, though, the sales reps and customers struggle with Meetings & Chat. (Remember that no technology sports a 100-percent success rate.) After a few months, Grohl can then search for another videoconferencing tool with minimal cost and disruption. Consider Upgrading Your Firm’s Existing Zoom Plan To be sure, Zoom’s Basic Meetings & Chat plan offers robust features and generous limits on call length, the number of meeting participants, and more. Plenty of individuals and businesses find this plan sufficient for their relatively limited needs. I don’t fault them if they choose to take advantage of the company’s no-cost Meetings & Chat offering, especially in difficult economic times. For two reasons, there comes a point for most companies when upgrading just makes sense. Zoom’s additional features often more than justify their nominal costs. Companies on the Basic plan cannot use roles, user groups, and IM groups. They also lack the ability to record meetings to the cloud, receive meeting transcriptions, and tighten up security. Although many garden-variety Zoom users may not fully appreciate the significance of these features, IT folks worth their salt certainly do. If that argument doesn’t sway you, then perhaps this one will. By upgrading, you cease being a Zoom user and become a Zoom customer. Trust me: The difference is more than a matter of semantics. By way of comparison, if you consider yourself a Facebook customer, then you’re sadly mistaken — unless you pay the social network to advertise on it. Google Hangouts, Facebook’s new Messenger Rooms, and other free videoconferencing alternatives may seem sexy. Just remember, though, that if you pay nothing for a company’s product, then its product is you. You are merely a means to an end. Take Security Seriously I’ll be the first to admit that many of Zoom’s security- and privacy-related features add friction. That is, they collectively make it harder to sign in, communicate, and collaborate. For example, enabling 2FA takes time, as does having to find and enter a six-digit verification code when you log in to the Zoom web portal. Ditto for enabling meeting waiting rooms and requiring meeting passwords. Zoom doesn’t compel its users and customers to enable many of these features, including the preceding three. Depending on your role in the organization, someone above you may have already set those options globally, ultimately making moot your choice to activate them. Brass tacks: You and your colleagues would be wise to err on the side of caution. Your business and personal communications are far too important to do anything else. Unfortunately, far too many people have historically acted as if hackers would never care about them, only to find their sensitive messages and photos on 4chan or the Dark Web. Whoops. To paraphrase Cher, “If they could turn back time.…” Keep Zoom Updated In the mid-1990s, software vendors typically released new versions and upgrades once every year or so via snail mail no less. Installation involved inserting floppy or compact discs into your computer. The manual process could take an hour or more. Today, it’s a much different story. Software vendors routinely release new versions, upgrades, and patches at lightning speed. (This trend has made writing For Dummies books challenging, but that’s a conversation for a different day.) Bottom line: It’s incumbent upon Zoom users and customers to keep abreast of software updates. Ignore those red badges on your devices at your own peril. Create a Personal Zoom Account Chuck is a partner at HHM, a prestigious law firm based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. HHM has purchased a Zoom license, and Chuck uses Zoom frequently to hold videoconferences with clients when he has to work from home. Could Chuck use HHM’s Zoom account for decidedly non-HHM matters, such as when he holds video chats with his ex-wife Rebecca and his brother Jimmy? Sure, and he may even get away with it. Still, it would behoove him to create a separate Zoom account for his personal use. Zoom admins and owners can easily run a variety of member-usage reports. Historically, many firms have terminated employees for using company property and services for their own personal ends. I’m no labor lawyer, but you’re unlikely to find a sympathetic judge if you use Zoom’s services in this way. Measure Twice and Cut Once Say that you’re about to noodle with Zoom functionality with which you’re not familiar. Perhaps it’s a large group meeting or your first Zoom webinar. In both cases, a trial run is in your best interest. Case in point: In April 2020, I held a webinar for my alma mater Carnegie Mellon University on remote work. It went smoothly for a few reasons. First, after I agreed to do the webinar, I connected with webinar emcee Melissa Turk. Over the course of a few weeks, the two of us exchanged basic information via Slack and Google Docs. (She shares my aversion to incessant email threads.) Second and most germane here, a few days before showtime, we held a trial webinar for 30 minutes in Zoom. (Turk’s knowledge of Zoom webinars is extensive.) We worked out the audio, video, and screen-sharing logistics and kinks beforehand, not in front of hundreds of attendees. Develop a Contingency Plan for Important Meetings Better to have, and not need, than to need, and not have. — FRANZ KAFKA Say that you’re going to be using Zoom to interview for your dream job. Maybe you’re pitching a prospect on your own company’s products and services. For good reason, you don’t anticipate any technical issues. After all, in your experience, Meetings & Chat has been remarkably reliable for such a popular tool. Would you bet your life, though, that your call will take place without incident? More specifically, what happens if you lose power? What if Zoom isn’t available, or the call latency is surprisingly high? How about if a key call participant can’t figure out Zoom or her computer crashes? What do you do? Think quick. The clock is ticking. After hundreds of Zoom calls, I’ve yet to experience any of these catastrophic scenarios. If they ever do occur, though, my blood pressure won’t double because I’m already armed with a suitable backup. Long before I started using Meetings & Chat in earnest, I relied upon Free Conference Call, an (obviously) free service that lets its users hold individual group audio calls, record them, and save and distribute them at will. (By the way, plenty of similar tools exist.) Make no mistake: My default preference these days is to hold all of my audio and video calls via Meetings & Chat, and not just because I’m researching Zoom. It’s downright silly, though, not to have a backup communications tool at the ready in case things break bad. I always keep my credentials for the service Free Conference Call handy just in case. Expect Some Resistance to Zoom at Mature Firms If I’ve learned one thing in my years around enterprise technology, it’s that people typically hate change. Say that your work at a large, successful, and conservative pharmaceutical company. Call it Hogarth Drugs. Its 40,000 employees have used Webex as its primary videoconferencing tool for a decade or more. Immediately forcing all of them to use Zoom because Hogarth purchased an Enterprise license is likely to ruffle some feathers. Odds are that Roger, Syd, at least a few other curmudgeons will find a minor difference between Webex and Zoom and make a fuss about it. Organizational politics at its finest. Should Hogarth hold off on Zoom because a few squeaky wheels have made some noise? Of course not, but its management should expect at least a little employee disaffection. Avoid Zoom Fatigue Zoom has simplified and improved the process of holding videoconferences. Coupled with its innovative tech, robust features, and superior call quality, you may be tempted use video for every meeting and conversation with your customers, colleagues, friends, and family members. Don’t. Dr. Jeremy Bailenson is a bestselling author, virtual-reality expert, the founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, and an overall smart dude. His extensive research suggests that defaulting to videoconferences results in what he terms nonverbal overload. (Read his insightful Wall Street Journal op-ed.) Occasionally, unplugging your webcam gives your brain a much-needed respite.

Article / Updated 07-14-2022

Ideally, you’ll already be discovering a lot about Slack after you first begin to use the application. Hopefully, your head is spinning — in a good way. That is, you are thinking about innovative and interesting ways to use Slack at work and maybe even at home. Still, it’s difficult to learn every feature of a robust and dynamic collaboration and communication tool — especially one like Slack that consistently releases exciting new features. To that end, this article offers resources for you to expand your knowledge of Slack, stay abreast of new developments, and deal with issues as they arise. It’s folly to think that they never will. Slack online support From time to time, you’ll need to open a case with Slack support. Perhaps you’re experiencing a technical issue, or you’re not sure about how something works. There aren’t too many people who enjoy the back-and-forth with tech support folks, but at least Slack makes getting help easy. Contacting Slack This is where you start if you want to report a bug or chat with a Slack support rep. Browsing the Slack support site The Slack support site is clean, intelligently laid out, and remarkably robust. Opening cases or making suggestions within the Slack app Start a message to anyone or in any channel by typing the following in Slack /feedback This invokes special functionality designed to quickly contact Slack support within the app. You can submit feedback to Slack by sending a message in a channel or group message as well. Your message goes to Slack, not the others in your channel or user group. Just remember to start your message with /feedback. Only members of the Enterprise Grid plan qualify for real-time phone support. If you’d like to learn some more ways to save time and do cool things, head to Slack’s tutorial page. Here’s also ten great Slack tips to get you started. Submitting Slack feature requests You can certainly use /feedback to report bugs or ask questions in Slack. This feedback ultimately makes Slack better. Perhaps the defining characteristic of contemporary technology platforms is that the number of people using it improves its utility for everyone else. Slack is no exception here. If you thought of a way to make Slack better in some way, then the company wants to hear it. Simply start a message with /feedback and detail your suggestion. Other online Slack resources Unfortunately, if you’re looking for additional help with Slack, you’re confined to the limited resources that have already been covered. It turns out that there’s really nowhere else to go. Just kidding. Official Slack resources Each of the resources you find here falls under Slack’s corporate umbrella. That is, Slack sanctions them. Slack App Directory: To be sure, Slack’s native functionality by itself helps employees be more productive. Power users understand, though, that you can do a great deal more by taking advantage of others’ complementary creations. The Slack App Directory lists the most popular and newest ways to extend Slack. Slack webinars: Slack offers many live and on-demand webinars. Each delves deeper into topics such as security, shared channels, and administrative controls. Slack’s official blog: Several People Are Typing is the name of Slack’s blog. Here you can read articles, case studies, product announcements, and other goodies designed to help you get the most out of Slack. Slack’s official YouTube channel: Slack publishes a slew of informative videos, customer-success stories, and conference highlights here. Slack on Twitter: Follow this account for product announcements, blog posts, and general news. Slack Status on Twitter: Slack uses this account to appraise customers of network outages and other technical problems. Note that tweeting at @slackstatus does not open a support ticket. You’ll need to use an alternate method described in this article. Slack Platform Community: If you like to build things and are interested in the future of work, then this is the place for you. Chapters are popping up all over the world. Unofficial Slack resources The following independent resources lie outside Slack’s corporate umbrella. This doesn’t mean that they’re not helpful. Far from it. It just means that they operate independent of Slack. Online training: You can find a variety of Slack-specific courses on sites such as Udemy, Lynda, Coursera, and YouTube. Reddit for Slack: If you’re looking for vibrant discussions, you could do much worse than going to r/Slack. Note that redditors can be a feisty bunch if you violate a Reddit norms. Make sure to read the rules for each subreddit. Existing Slack workspaces: Depending on your interests, you can find many existing private social networks and collaboration spaces. You may want to connect and interact with fellow marketers, HR folks, entrepreneurs, musicians, fathers, or even Star Wars Slack developer resources Here are a few technical resources if you’d like to learn more about building your own Slack apps: Head over to slack.com to find oodles of developer documentation looking to build your own apps. You’ll find information on all of Slack’s APIs. Slack runs a rich blog specifically for developers. Find technical announcements, tips, discussions, and more. Slack’s newly enhanced Block Kit allows developers to expedite the process of creating Slack powerful apps. It offers app templates, a message builder, and other neat features. In-person resources for Slack The world of work has significantly changed since the Mad Men days. People perform plenty of tasks electronically that used to require a physical presence. Although you can learn just about anything you like over the Internet these days, sometimes you benefit going old school. Yes, this actually means attending an event in a physical building. Thankfully, Slack and its community offer plenty of options here. Slack conferences Slack holds its own conferences and makes its presence felt at industry-wide galas. The following describes how to meet Slack folks in person. Frontiers Slack’s annual Frontiers conferences feature oodles of breakout sessions from everyday users and proper developers. You can learn how employees in different industries are using Slack. If you’re technically inclined, you can learn how to build your own Slack apps. Spec Spec brings together Slack’s global community of developers, partners, and customers. The conference features sessions tailored for people who Already create custom integrations for their organizations. Want to know more about extending what Slack can do. Build their entire businesses on Slack. It’s no understatement to say loads of smart cookies are developing cool apps for Slack. The energy at Spec is downright infectious. Miscellaneous tech conferences Like many software vendors, Slack often rents booths at popular tech events. These conferences typically take place in large cities, such as Tokyo and London. Check out a current list of the Slack's official events. Slack Meetups Over the years, millions of people have attended Meetups all across the globe. Meetups are informal get-togethers for just about every conceivable interest: politics, tennis, book clubs, hiking — you name it. If you want to meet fellow Slack users in Paris, New York, or wherever, then this is just the ticket for you.