[meisterbrendan]

I'm a designer here in SF. I'm VERY EARLY in exploring an idea. The problem: calls where I'm trying to catch up with more than 5 or so friends aren't great. If you think about an actual house party, there's a room with music playing where you hang out and don't talk so much, but there are also other spaces, like talking by the food table or going to get a drink and striking up a conversation. None of those constructs, where the space dictates the interaction, exist in video apps that I'm aware of. Basically I'm interested in making large, remote video events feel intimate and think that the concept of "rooms" that you can move into or out of, while still being part of the main event, are pretty key. Right now just starting with some user research. Any smart designers/engineers/product people--even if you just want to noodle about the problem for 15 min--are most welcome to reach out.

[propogandist]

So you want to build breakout rooms?

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206476313-Managing...

[meisterbrendan]

So the Zoom feature is cool. It's made for task-oriented things, like an activity divided into small groups and the person organizing it is the organizer of the event. It's highly structured. The analog version of what zoom has is a breakout session at a corporate retreat. The organizer of the event is in control and you retain your groups.

What I want to see is a user navigating rooms herself. The interactions I imagine are pretty different even though the functionality is superficially similar. This is early, I'm sure my thinking will change a lot. Thanks for the link though!

[eschutte2]

Does Sococo do something like this? https://www.sococo.com/why-sococo/

[kls]

So one of the remote contracts I worked used this tool, when I first saw and used it, I thought it was the dumbest idea ever. After using it for a while, I think it is one of the most brilliant remote collaboration tools out there. My only gripe was when someone leave your room, the app should notify you after a short period of time, that you have left your mic on. I did not like the idea of it being easy to leave a hot mic on.

[meisterbrendan]

Very cool! Wasn't familiar with them before. Thanks for the link! Same general space but I'm thinking about it from a social angle more than a work angle... might be the same problem and might not need separate tools. We'll see!

[tomrohlf]

This sounds super interesting, I've found the same thing in my interactions with various remote social apps. I'll DM

[cody3222]

I had this same concept in my mind when using the Houseparty app and thinking about what I'd actually wish it did!

[meisterbrendan]

Say more about that?

[lksslr]

Similar idea, early stage, but already a working concept: We are working on https://laptopsinspace.neesh.de

Edit: no mobile support yet

[meisterbrendan]

super cool. what are you doing with it? what are you trying to make?

[lksslr]

Thanks :) we have a couple of features lined up specifically targeted at (music) events, but are also putting some energy into making it suitable for artist talks and panels.

[gwehrli]

Discord has all of this. You can even use a bot like Groovy for Music.

[sjg007]

You're not the only one working on this.

[ejanus]

I would like to get involved.