Zeroing In On Zoom

I wonder what my mother Ruby, who at 97 years of age could hardly believe the reality of the Internet, would think of Zoom calls today?

“Talking to and seeing my kids and grandkids from all over the country ‘alive’ on one screen? How can this happen?” she would surely ask.

How Did Zoom Happen?

In 1994, a young Chinese man told his girlfriend, who lived 10 hours drive away, that he would someday invent a way that they could see and talk to each other or to a group of their friends, from a distance.

That young man, Eric Yuan, fresh out of college, also heard a speech by Bill Gates about the Internet that inspired him to come to the U.S. and fulfill his dream to start a teleconferencing company. After eight failed attempts to get a visa, Yuan finally got one, and the rest is history.

Yuan got backing, implemented his creative ideas, and Zoom was started in 2013, well before the onslaught of the coronavirus. Zoom has now grown to a $35 billion company, and Yuan’s personal wealth was recently listed at $16.7 billion. Quite a story from the monetary success standpoint. But let’s look at the rest of the story.

What Did (Does) Zoom Do For Us?

Since the onslaught of the coronavirus, many of us have been led, inexorably, to one Zoom meeting after another.

It almost seems that someone who has not been in a Zoom meeting is like someone who has never eaten ice cream– bordering on being an oddity.

My guess is that in this era of the coronavirus, Eric Yuan gets a great deal of personal satisfaction knowing that his creation is helping people all over the world to get together with their families, conduct business, fellowship with church and other groups, and just keep in touch — all from the cozy atmosphere of their own homes.

(To enlarge the photo, click on it.  To return, click on the arrow at the top left of your computer screen.)

A screenshot of one of my recent family Zoom meetings.

Zoom has greatly helped us communicate with each other, maintain our psychological health, and reduce the stress of tangling with the virus. Thanks a heck of a lot, Mr. Yuan!

And, oh, I forgot. Zoom has also provided us with quite a lot of humor, on what could be pretty dreary days. Let me tell you what I mean.

Are We Zoomers Funny, or What?

So many of us are using Zoom, that it wouldn’t be far fetched to refer to us as Zoomers, or Zoomies (I prefer Zoomers).

Having been involved in several Zoom meetings, I’ve watched us Zoomers carefully, and have gotten several good laughs.

So let me tell you about the different types of Zoomers I’ve met, some of whom may be me.

The Far Sighted Zoomers: Those who sit so far from their screens that one can only guess that they are there — a small blot in the distance, causing others on the call to go for their telescopes.

The Near Sighted Zoomers: Those who sit so close to the screen that their images are distorted, like they would look if they were primping in front of a magic mirror.

The Shadow Zoomers: Those sit just the right distance away from the screen, but are perplexed because they appear to be almost in total darkness, oblivious to the idea that it would help to turn on a light.

The Half-There Zoomers: Those who slouch down in their chair so far that only the top half of their face shows on the screen. Either they are trying to remain incognito, or can’t “see themselves as others see them.”

The St.Vitus Dance Zoomers: Those who can’t sit still, always moving around on or off their chairs for no apparent reason. They, like their distant ancestor who had St. Vitus Dance, simply need to be always on the move.

The Gorging Zoomers: Those who pile on calories the whole time — always snacking during the meeting. Others wonder why they always have their meetings at this Zoomer’s mealtime.

The Mostly-Muted Zoomers: Those who never turn off their mute button until their fellow Zoomers all stare at them and cup their hands to their ears.

The Chatty Zoomers: Those who spend 80% of the meeting writing chat notes to people at the meeting, while ignoring what the meeting is all about. Sometimes these Zoomers are asked to take minutes of the meeting.

The Tardy Zoomers: Those who can never get to the meeting on time, taking an extra 10 minutes beyond the start of the meeting to find the meeting invitation and click the right place to get into the meeting. These Zoomers often ask, “What are we talking about?

The Otherwise-Involved Zoomers: Those who don’t really want to attend the meeting, and so they spend the whole time with their image blackened out, while they work out on a treadmill. These Zoomers would tell you that they are good at multi-tasking

The Loud Zoomers:  Those who somehow feel that they have to shout to be heard by all those people on the Zoom call. The resulting effect is that ear plugs often have to be passed out at meetings.

The Self-Conscious Zoomers:  Those who keep taking a peek at themselves to see if everything is alright with their image on the screen.  Sometimes they try to disguise the peek by looking out out the corner of their eye, but it’s still a peek.  The solution is to push Stop Video so no one can see you.

I’m sure you recognize some of these Zoomers and have met others I’ve failed to mention. For example, the last two categories above were suggested after this post was published by my daughters, Sue and Sara, and I felt they just had to be included.  Surely we will find other recognizable types of Zoomers as time goes on, but as of now, that’s us!

So What’s The Bottom Line on Zoom?

Would you have believed, even a year ago, that people all over the country would start off 2021 spending countless hours each week in Zoom meetings?

And don’t be embarrassed if you feel a little like my mother would, scratching your head and asking, “How can this happen?”

So here we are — the Zoomers! We are getting better at the game, and will undoubtedly cull out any bad Zoom habits as time goes on.

My advice to you during this Zoom trend is “If you can’t lick it, join it (and enjoy it).” And don’t expect it to be obsolete any time soon!