Tools for Your New Virtual Lifestyle: Communication

Since the onset of COVID-19, most of us find ourselves transferring many parts of our lives to a virtual space. For some, this change is easy. For others, it can be harder to adapt. So how do we accomplish our everyday tasks and capture our existence in this new (virtual) reality? In this five-part blog series, we'll explore tools for making various aspects of your new virtual lifestyle a success! Welcome to our first blog! Today we're covering an essential tool: communication. 

Social distancing has tasked us with the ironic responsibility of staying apart, while remaining connected. Here are some tools for making the communication aspect of your lifestyle a success, virtually!

Group FaceTime 

If you're an Apple product user, Group FaceTime just became your best friend...or at least the easiest way to stay in touch with your best friends! Apple has outlined a helpful, step-by-step process for creating and/or joining a group FaceTime call on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. With the capability to add up to 32 people, this is a convenient, user friendly way to connect with family members, friends, and/or co-workers who use Apple products. 

Facebook Messenger video chat

Are you one of Facebook's 2.5 billion active monthly users? If you have the most recent version of the Messenger app, you can video chat your Facebook friends! Here's a how-to from Facebook themselves. This is a great option for Android users and is accessible to most everyone.

Google Hangouts/Google Duo

If you've got a Gmail account, you can use Google Hangouts for instant messaging and video chat with one or multiple Gmail users. Hangouts is simply in the sidebar of your email account. Google Duo also offers quick and easy video chats for both Android and Apple users, but it is strictly one-on-one. Google hosts many other messaging and video apps -- some of which require a paid subscription. Here is a helpful article that compares all of Google's options. 

Zoom

Whether you're looking to host a personal happy hour or a business meeting, Zoom offers a simple interface for virtual meetings. With the free plan, users can add up to 100 people to a call. Users can join via computer, smartphone, or call-in, enjoy a live messaging/chat feature, and even share screens. The only catch? Meetings are capped at 40 minutes. Learn more about Zoom's featured plans and which might best fit your needs!

These are just a few of the resources out there to help stay in touch with those closest to you during this #stayhomestaysafe period. It's important to keep in mind that we're all in this together -- a virtual lifestyle might not be something we planned on, but it is something we can adapt to in order to remain connected and see each other through!