Haha, yes! I don't need to see the picture of a random beach you have behind you. I live in the Western part of New York State. It's winter. I know it's winter. Seeing your beach background makes me not like you. :)
Oh, the West Country of the UK is grim in the winter. We are the first landfall for the weather you send us! We're only just starting to see the first signs of spring, and stay above freezing overnight.
Our company is very much a camera on kind of business but then most meetings we have are quite small until we have a town hall scale meeting, with UK, US and APAC online at once. That's when there may be a few names and no faces.
The start of meetings like this is always quite entertaining, as people scurry to get their microphones working, we are better now than early 2021 and fumble our way less!
Neurodivergence is me all over, I am not typical in the slightest!
I think when meetings get to a size that not everyone is going to be able to get a chance to speak, then having one's camera off is probably acceptable. If nothing else, the bandwidth required would take out my village's Internet connection!
I'm gonna need a picture of the monitor with sticky notes. :)
I remind myself to smile. I have resting down-turned mouth face that makes me come across crabbier than I really am. :)
I'm thinking about the camera off scenarios. In my last company, we had too many calls/meetings. There was "zoom" fatigue for sure. But there was also meeting fatigue. Too many calls with too many people. (It was a problem of silos.) There is something about having the camera off. I start to think - "are they paying attention?" (Probably not).
Re: Avatars - I use the avatar you see here. It is a pretty accurate representation of myself. I get a LOT of positive reactions to it. People love it. Its funny. I think its because its not a mug shot and that the avatar is smiling.
Maybe I'll include a photo of the monitor in my next post...
Rafting faces are not the most welcoming or attractive on anyone I fear! Thank you for not using the rather more common, and quite sexist, term.
Meeting engagement is hard enough in real life, virtual is next level though...
I like your avatar. I wonder if there is more conveyed in a drawing than in a photo. The style, the choice of features to include or leave out, the location and accessories present. Perhaps we see more of you in this avatar than we would with a simple photograph.
Now you have me thinking about screens. :) I also get distracted by people who blur their backgrounds. Some apps do this better than others. I was on a video call yesterday with people with blurred backgrounds. What are they hiding? That adds another layer for me. Glad that they are on camera and engaged but my brain goes to wondering what they are covering. :)
Yes, I find the blur distracting. I also wonder what people are trying to say when they put an image up behind them. I'm certain their choice will be leaking something.
I have to confess that being possibly nuerodivergent myself I feel comfortable hiding behind my avatar as a silent participator in onl ok ne meetings. I have never really thought about it from another perspective. Your article has encouragef me to switch the camera on more often.
It is an interesting problem; who's comfort should be catered to? Perhaps there is a compromise where people enter with cameras on and say hello, then turn their cameras off unless they are talking.
Do you find you are more easily distracted away from the meeting when your camera is off? Or maybe it doesn't have an impact?
Haha, yes! I don't need to see the picture of a random beach you have behind you. I live in the Western part of New York State. It's winter. I know it's winter. Seeing your beach background makes me not like you. :)
Oh, the West Country of the UK is grim in the winter. We are the first landfall for the weather you send us! We're only just starting to see the first signs of spring, and stay above freezing overnight.
Our company is very much a camera on kind of business but then most meetings we have are quite small until we have a town hall scale meeting, with UK, US and APAC online at once. That's when there may be a few names and no faces.
The start of meetings like this is always quite entertaining, as people scurry to get their microphones working, we are better now than early 2021 and fumble our way less!
Neurodivergence is me all over, I am not typical in the slightest!
I think when meetings get to a size that not everyone is going to be able to get a chance to speak, then having one's camera off is probably acceptable. If nothing else, the bandwidth required would take out my village's Internet connection!
Same here and we’ve one or two home workers along our street!
I'm gonna need a picture of the monitor with sticky notes. :)
I remind myself to smile. I have resting down-turned mouth face that makes me come across crabbier than I really am. :)
I'm thinking about the camera off scenarios. In my last company, we had too many calls/meetings. There was "zoom" fatigue for sure. But there was also meeting fatigue. Too many calls with too many people. (It was a problem of silos.) There is something about having the camera off. I start to think - "are they paying attention?" (Probably not).
Re: Avatars - I use the avatar you see here. It is a pretty accurate representation of myself. I get a LOT of positive reactions to it. People love it. Its funny. I think its because its not a mug shot and that the avatar is smiling.
Maybe I'll include a photo of the monitor in my next post...
Rafting faces are not the most welcoming or attractive on anyone I fear! Thank you for not using the rather more common, and quite sexist, term.
Meeting engagement is hard enough in real life, virtual is next level though...
I like your avatar. I wonder if there is more conveyed in a drawing than in a photo. The style, the choice of features to include or leave out, the location and accessories present. Perhaps we see more of you in this avatar than we would with a simple photograph.
Now you have me thinking about screens. :) I also get distracted by people who blur their backgrounds. Some apps do this better than others. I was on a video call yesterday with people with blurred backgrounds. What are they hiding? That adds another layer for me. Glad that they are on camera and engaged but my brain goes to wondering what they are covering. :)
Yes, I find the blur distracting. I also wonder what people are trying to say when they put an image up behind them. I'm certain their choice will be leaking something.
I have to confess that being possibly nuerodivergent myself I feel comfortable hiding behind my avatar as a silent participator in onl ok ne meetings. I have never really thought about it from another perspective. Your article has encouragef me to switch the camera on more often.
It is an interesting problem; who's comfort should be catered to? Perhaps there is a compromise where people enter with cameras on and say hello, then turn their cameras off unless they are talking.
Do you find you are more easily distracted away from the meeting when your camera is off? Or maybe it doesn't have an impact?