Last year was a big year for Satan–he found love. And while his whirlwind affair with 2020 might be over, it left a lasting impact. Renewed and inspired, the Prince of Darkness resolved this year to find fresh new ways to foster his personal happiness through the relentless torment of humans. To start, he got…Read More
On Friday, Kelsey McKinney, a staff writer at the subscription-based sports publisher Defector Media, announced on Twitter that the worker-owned publication had created a specific set of policies to protect its employees from digital harassment. “We know that harassment is a problem, so we’ve taken this one preventative measure to make sure that [our staff]…Read More
Welcome to SHIFT Basics, a collection of tips, explainers, guides, and advice to keep you up to speed with mobility tech. I’ve been watching a lot of electric vehicle restomod videos on YouTube lately. There’s something quite cathartic about watching a rusted old heap transform into a zero emission beauty. The principles behind electric restomods are simple: take an old car, restore it aesthetically, remove the old engine, fabricate some custom mounts, and throw in an electric motor and some batteries. In reality, it’s never that simple. There are quite a few more vital components that need to be installed.…
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While Google is busy making identifying users harder within its ads business, the search giant is partnering with LiveRamp to bring the data company’s identity products to the Google Cloud. Top line Customers of LiveRamp, which offers ubiquitous identity products like IdentityLink and Authenticated Traffic Solution ATS), can now access those solutions through an interface…Read More
Welcome to First Things First, Adweek’s daily resource for marketers. We’ll be publishing the content to First Things First on Adweek.com each morning (like this post), but if you prefer that it come straight to your inbox, you can sign up for the email here. McDonald’s Champions Its Breakfast As the Best Meal of the…Read More
Google has removed a fake Netflix app from the Play Store that aimed to spread malware by automatically responding to your WhatsApp messages. Earlier this year, the security firm Check Point Research, found that an app named FlixOnline was assuming the look of Netflix, and promising two months of free subscription through WhatsApp messages. However, a link attached to these messages would redirect you to a site to just capture your details, including your credit card. Here’s how the malware worked. Once you installed the FlixOnline app from the Play Store, it asked for mainly three types of permissions: screen overlay,…
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Or just read more coverage about: WhatsApp,Google,Netflix
On this episode of Beyond the Pledge, Jai Tedeschi, R/GA’s vp, global executive director, culture & operation, sat down with Marla Kaplowitz, CEO of the 4A’s, and Sean Lyons global CEO of R/GA to discuss the importance of data transparency when it comes to creating a path toward an anti-racist society. The 4A’s have come…Read More
2020 offered valuable lessons about how and why technology business leaders need to future-proof their business models — whether we liked it or not. The pandemic sent normal operations out the window and forced companies to take huge leaps forward in adopting and advancing new technology. Now, it’s time to harness the lessons learned from this pivotal year to create lasting changes to strategies and infrastructure. During the pandemic, I worked closely with chief nursing officers and healthcare technologists to implement virtual care solutions. As hospitals scrambled to keep up with an unprecedented number of patients and medical staff tried…
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If you’re wondering what Apple’s visual design language is going to look like in the coming years, we may now have a solid idea — and it’s all down to some new iOS icons. Go on, have a look at the updated design for Apple Music for Artists app: This new iOS icon was first spotted by Reddit user DimVl. It appears to mimic (or echo, if you’d prefer) some of the design choices we saw appear in Big Sur. Specifically, the emphasis on icons with greater depth, as you can see the shadowing of the double quaver giving the new app…
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Or just read more coverage about: iOS,Apple
It’s time to get serious about how we show up in remote meetings.
For a year, we slogged through it, but it was exhausting. Not only did we feel lousy at the end of the day, but other people rarely saw us at our best.
Now that it’s clear that the nature of work and meetings has changed forever, perhaps this is a good moment to embrace what’s possible.
I’ve put together a rig in my office that is noteworthy for two reasons:
Here’s a short sample.
And here’s a photo of what it looks like from my side.
Here’s how to do it.
First! It’s free, it takes about one minute and will change the way you feel at the end of the day. In Zoom, find the button for HIDE SELF VIEW. (Here’s a link). What this means is that as in real life, you won’t be able to see yourself. It turns out that looking in the mirror all day wears us out. You’ll have to change the setting at the start of every meeting (this should be high on their list of things to fix) but it’s pretty easy.
By hiding your face from your screen, you can focus more on everyone else in the meeting.
Second, also free: rearrange your workspace so that light is not coming from behind you.
The next steps cost more in setup and money, and I’ll cover them from easiest to most involved. Part of the magic of video meetings is that without a commute or fancy equipment beyond a phone or a laptop, people could join. But it’s become clear that it’s possible to deliver more fidelity and impact by investing in some tech.
Just as we don’t hesitate to buy a new outfit for a big meeting, or pay $500 for a plane ticket, these are investments, and in the scheme of your career, they’re pretty reasonable–and your boss should pay for them:
Get some LED lights. They’re incredibly cheap now (here’s a sample, but shop around.) Set them up to the left and right of your screen, a few feet behind it.
Get an external DSLR camera and hook it up to your Mac or PC. This is a much bigger commitment, but the difference it makes is startling.
You’ll need a camera, a tripod, and a capture box. Again, all three have alternatives, feel free to shop around. I use this capture box, but your mileage may vary. (And scroll down to the end of this post for a camera alternative)
How it works: The camera goes on a tripod and sits just above and slightly behind your computer screen. The HDMI output goes to your capture box and then into your computer. In Zoom, change the camera from your computer to the camera. Done. It also pays to get a power cable for your camera so it doesn’t run out on you. (You can add a microphone while you’re at it).
And then, there’s one last step, which has been the biggest leap for me since the self-view insight.
When you look at the camera in a zoom call, you’re not looking at the person you’re talking with. You’re staring over their head if you’re looking at the camera, or, possibly, you’re looking at them, but it appears to them that you’re looking at your keyboard. Either way, there’s no eye to eye connection.
This is unnatural. You’d freak out if you had a real life meeting with someone who never made eye contact. And it’s really tiring, because you end up spending your time not doing something humans evolved to do, which is look at each other.
The alternative? A beam splitter.
These are used for teleprompters. It’s basically a piece of fancy glass, at an angle, on top of a monitor or screen. Behind the glass is the camera.
You can look directly at the glass, and the camera behind it, but instead of looking at the glass and the camera, what you’re actually looking at is the teleprompter or the stuff that’s on the screen.
It’s magical.
This setup is now far cheaper than I expected. Here’s a typical beamsplitter with hood and mount, and here’s a monitor that should fit with it. Total cost under $300.
[or if you’ve already got a late-model iPhone or iPad along with a Mac, there’s a new app called Reincubate Camo, which is a much better product than the name implies. It allows you to skip buying an external camera and use the device tethered to your Mac instead. You’ll still need a tripod, still and you can probably make it work with the beamsplitter…]
The entire setup, all of the things that I’ve listed above, comes to less than $1,000–less than half of that if you already have a camera or use Camo. If you go to a meeting a day, that’s a few dollars a meeting over the course of a year.
It’s not for everyone, but if you are looking for the tools to be more productive, I hope it helps.
