Chances are if you did any virtual happy hours or work meetings this past year, you did them on Zoom. Over 200 million people now use this video conferencing app. It was a lifeline for families and businesses alike during the pandemic.
Many people started working from home. Students around the world started going to school remotely. Families and friends have used it to stay in touch and see familiar faces.
Like anything new, there was some good and some bad. Here are some of the lessons we’ve learned from Zoom this year.
Security Is Important
As more people set up a home office and started to use Zoom to work from home, the convenience of the program became evident. People could use the app for free and they could access it directly from their web browser without downloading any additional software.
However, it also became obvious that there were massive security flaws in the system as well. A weakness in the system allowed malware to take over our video cameras.
In what became known as “zoombombing” people were able to infiltrate meetings and bombard them with inappropriate material. Trolls disrupted everything from business meetings to school classrooms to AA meetings.
While the initial security breach caused many of us to ask how to delete zoom from mac or windows, in the end, it wasn’t necessary. Zoom responded quickly to update its security architecture. They made waiting rooms and passcodes for meetings the default option.
Simplicity is Key
Regardless of if you used the app to access Zoom or join from a browser, one of the major benefits is the ease of getting into a meeting. Just click on a link and you could participate!
Other videoconferencing systems require you to create an account and add other contacts before you could join a call. Or you needed to be a member of an organization to access their videoconferencing app.
But with Zoom is completely accessible to anyone with access to the internet. No downloading software, no joining a group. And although there is a paid app with additional benefits, anyone can join a meeting for free.
What the Industry Learned From Zoom
Zoom became the success it is today because it went in a different direction from everyone else. Videoconferencing software wasn’t new when Zoom came onto the scene. In fact, many people felt the industry was quite established.
But Zoom didn’t want to do things the way everyone else did. They set out to find ways to do things differently and better than other videoconferencing apps. They let people use their site for free and don’t require fees (although membership options are available).
They focused on user experience. The quality of calls on Zoom is often much better than most of its competitors. Part of the reason is they eliminate the problem of calls dropping by creating a system that could switch between mobile and the computer.
Zoom Is Here To Stay
Despite how anxious many people are to get back to meeting in person, distance learning and remote work are going to be part of our life going forward. As we continue to move forward and learn lessons from Zoom, we can better navigate the online arena to make it safe and accessible for everyone.
Explore other articles on our blogs like How to Use Zoom and Best Practices for Small Business.
