Several weeks ago, due to the time we now live in, I wrote about online meetings. I even mentioned how many businesses, including medical, are starting virtual meetings.
This week we had a chance to test that out. My wife had a doctor’s appointment and due to the current state of the world, she was asked not to go to the office, but to meet virtually. Now, I am happy that she could, but for a geek, this was a gold mine to see how the other “half” lives. You know, people who are not geeks.
We got into the meeting with a few clicks of unfamiliar links and buttons. We were into the system shortly. My wife had her meeting with her doctor and all went well there. Ah, success in two areas.
The big surprise for me was the doctor was using Zoom (zoom.us) for their virtual meetings. I have written about that program several times in the past weeks. It was buried in several layers of security which are not normally found with Zoom but still, it was neat. It worked very well as it usually does.
I think Zoom is an excellent service. However, there are other ways to meet online. Zoom seems to be the one getting all the attention during this time. I have had people write and ask what other communication programs are out there to use. They are “fearful” of Zoom due to a week’s worth of security issues they read about recently. In my opinion, those issues have been resolved and should cause no concern. But I understand their thoughts. So, I am still a big Zoom user and like it.
The others I have experimented with are listed by my order of preference.
First is Google Hangouts, hangouts.Google.com. Until the recent weeks and the many meetings, I have been in this was my #1. However, it is now #2. I have grown to like Zoom the best of all. It also integrates perfectly with Google Calendar and email which is a huge plus. I published a “How To” combining Google and Zoom. If you are interested, go to DoubleClicksLive.com and register for a free account. You can view it there after Wednesday when it will be published.
Next, in my line is one you may have never heard of, Jitsi. It is found at jitsi.org. It has many things the other two above do but is new and does not have many users yet.
Next, is one favorited by many companies today. Mine is about the free version, not the corporate paid one. The free one is WebEx, webex.com. They have also rolled out some upgrades to the free version during the virus. It includes more time and people allowed into the free version.
I will mention Skype which used to be the only horse in the race. But I have never liked the way it has worked for me and have not tried it lately. However, it does have a huge following, skype.com. It is now owned by Microsoft.
Finally, Facebook Meeting, facebook.com/MeetingApplication, which has rolled out very recently. I have tested one time but not enough to recommend or exclude it. I expect it will be good since Facebook Messenger has for years. You do need a Facebook account to access the meetings.
Try them all out or stick with your favorite. There are many more out there I have never used.
