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I am not embarrassed about this.
The plan was to do a private test that morning, using two burner Instagram accounts with no followers.
My sister is Vultures social-media editor.
This was, well, wrong.
I think that was the year we found it.
Im on it constantly.
Gotta love that sweet corporate Zoom account.
Background noise, especially if there are other people in the home, is really distracting.
Even simple things like cabinets and doors closing can get picked up.
Im sitting on the couch and my computer is on my lap.
My computer is stacked up on like fourEtiquettebooks right now to get to the right height.
You also want to think about where you are in the frame.
It makes you feel like youre a little in the same zone.
If I [backs chair away from desk] … Now I feel like youre looking in on me.
But if Im [shoves face into camera] … Nobody needs to see my pores that close.
[Posts dog walks into the frame.]
Great case in point.
You might want to put your pets, you know, in a different room behind a barrier.
I have places I could shut him, but hes so darn cute, right?
She comes up, she says, Dada, excuse me kindly.
And its like all the right combos.
Do you mind if I praise her and accept the interaction?
The next words out of her mouth are, Daddy, Aria is in the dishwasher.
Sure enough, Dan turns and his 1-year-old daughter had climbed into the dishwasher and was loading herself in.
Such a helpful baby.
Cleanliness is very important right now.I think people are being really forgiving about those sorts of things.
I think people are both laughing about it, having a moment with it.
If interruptions start happening repeatedly this is actually a great example behind me.
The dog is focused on the cat.
Its becoming more noticeable in the background, even though Im trying really hard to ignore it.
Is it okay for me to take a call from my bed?That depends.
Can I tell that youre in your bed?
If I can tell that youre in your bed, I probably wouldnt do it.
Those kinds of things make people understand whats going on.
But maybe dont be in your bathrobe.
I learned that the hard way.
Are you pro pants?I am pro pants, but Im pretty pro no pants too.
You just have to be sure youre not going to have to hop up and chase your dog.
Do what you think is best, but the idea has always been that we wear clothes at work.
You might also consider any compartmentalizing youre trying to do while living in a small space.
Im trying really hard to work in my office room and go live in my living room.
I think clothing is one way some people do that.
Can I eat while I Zoom?I do think that announcing it first is nice.
Or, Okay with you if I prepare dinner while we talk?
If I tell a joke, nobody laughs.
That sort of thing.If you use gallery view, you might see all the members of your meeting.
Its on people to show their facial reactions, to laugh or to nod.
Maybe give a thumbs-up, things like that help when youre muted.
I guess its also possible my jokes just arent that funny.Well all get better at this.
This is week one or two for most of us.
