The Covid-19 mitigation procedures of social distancing and self quarantine have thrust many of us into an unexpected isolation. It is surprising and at times can be very unpleasant. Fortunately one the easiest ways to feel a little better is to re-connect with people and internet video conferencing makes that easy.
When you set up a nice video conferencing station it makes it easy to connect, more fun, and effortless. Now is the time to make easy things easier, hard things a little more pleasant, and impossible things possible. Starting with a better video conference setup, as silly as it might sound is one way to get started.
There are lots of video conferencing platforms out there and they all seem to work fine (I’m a Zoom devotee if you are wondering) so I’m not writing about them. What I want to share is one example of making your experience pleasant and even fun, in particular with your smartphone
Holding your smartphone during a long video conference call is painful, has poor lighting, and makes the whole experience painful: taking away from the whole point in the first place. When you set up a simple video conferencing you will solve all of those problems and have a lot more fun connecting with people.
My setup is pretty basic. For shorter calls I have a little desktop stand. It sits next to my keyboard. The newer models have a tilting body but this one works fine.
My desk has a light next to it and if I’m not there I have a light on a tripod I can drag around if I want.
For longer calls I have the fancy setup. Actually it is pretty basic: there are a lot more interesting and flexible tools out there. They are really inexpensive now too.
This setup is useful because it does work anywhere, it has a light built in, and if you want you can turn it around and use it like a hand held recorder too.
So there you have a very simple setup.
If you have a personal favorite I’d love to hear about it!
Stay connected friends.