Community Download is a weekly discussion-focused articles series published (usually) every Monday in which we pose a single, core question to you all, our readers, in the spirit of fostering discussion and debate. For today’s Community Download, we want to know if you’d rather meet up with colleagues, friends, and family in a Zoom or Zoom-equivalent video call, or in an actual immersive VR app?
With the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) around the globe, the prevalence of video conferencing has dramatically increased out of necessity. As governments implement social distancing guidelines and businesses close their physical locations to comply with shelter-in-place mandates, human contact is at an all-time low for many people in both professional and personal life.
Zoom, a free web-based video conferencing application, has exploded onto the scene as a popular choice for many people and businesses around the world. But what if there was another (better, arguably) way to meet up and talk with others?
Using VR headsets, or a mixture of VR and non-VR devices, there are multiple free apps out there that let users join up together online, exist in the same digital space, have meetings, socialize, and play games together.
We ran a Community Download not long ago looking for suggestions of the best VR games to play during quarantine too, as well as a virtual podcast discussion about remote work best practices you can check out if you’d like. In the meantime, one app that I personally suggest for meeting up with people in VR (or even just through a PC) is VRChat. It’s a lot like a virtual, social universe full of custom-made worlds to explore. Or if you want to share your screen and/or watch something with others, Bigscreen is perfect.
Let us know what you prefer: Meeting through a video conferencing service such as Zoom, or meeting up inside VR?
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