[troupe]

While Zoom may be kind of terrible, there are ways to make video conferencing work a lot better. Having a separate big monitor for the video conferencing with the camera above where you see the people is a good start. Having multiple large screens where the participants are spread across at a resolution where you can see facial expressions is even better. These are easy things to optimize and aren't even very expensive to make remote work better than the horrible zoom meetings that the author describes.

I do like being in person with people, but, like you, I also like being remote. But sometimes it feels like there is an effort to not use the things that could improve remote work just so there is an excuse to go back to the office.

[wpietri]

For sure. I think we're very early on in our understanding of how to use technology to enable remote work. And how to adapt as people to the technology at hand. Like you, I tend to put Zoom on one big screen and put it in Brady Bunch mode so I can see expressions. I also tend to turn off viewing myself, as I find that's a big part of my Zoom fatigue.

[troupe]

I know Cisco Tendberg and others have really invested a lot of money in trying to create "telepresence" and create setups where the technology is as transparent as possible. But I don't see that companies have worked very hard to get that type of tech into people's remote environments.

[spc476]

The one thing that makes remote meetings at work barely tolerable is that no one bothers to use the camera. Everyone has their camera turned off.

[troupe]

So the in person equivalent of everyone coming in with a bag over their head or standing in the hall and dialing into the phone bridge in the room. :)

[wpietri]

Nah, more like a classroom or an auditorium, where you just don't expect to see everybody's faces, but they can still raise their hand and speak.

[troupe]

When I speak in a classroom or auditorium, I always expect to see people's faces.

[wpietri]

Truly?

Imagine you're in an audience. Somebody two rows behind you raises their hands and asks a question. Do you leap to your feet so you can turn around and stare at their face?

Most people certainly don't. Ditto if the person is otherwise hard to see. They just listen and it's fine.