Does anybody still remember what face-to-face meetings feel like? It seems like a thing of the past as people opt to meet virtually nowadays due to the pandemic. Even when active cases go down and restrictions loosen up; people are still reluctant to go outside and would instead rely on the convenience of on-screen meetings for work and personal get-togethers.
Of course, there are downsides to relying on virtual meetings. Apart from Zoom fatigue, it isn’t easy to express yourself without the context of body language. Presentations are limited to what you can share on your screen, not to mention that people are heavily reliant on the internet connection quality to have a smooth meeting. We can’t deny that meetings on-screen are here to stay despite all that.
Companies are trying to make integrations that would make our lives easier when using tools for virtual meetings. One such communication tool is Macro which is used on top of Zoom and enables the user to customize its user interface.
▵▵▵ Let's lift up the great humans @withmacro who've been building a better @Zoom ▲▲▲ via @ProductHunt: https://t.co/c5KO05kzR4
— John McGinn (@mcginnco) August 25, 2021
Re-envisioning social gatherings
Macro is filled with tools and filters to showcase your unique personality, making meetings fun and dynamic again. Once the program is installed on your desktop, the program will automatically launch whenever a Zoom link is clicked. Meaning for no additional steps required, you would be able to engage this program for your meetings.
There are two modes available when using Macro. One is where the participants are shown as small bubbles at the top of the screen. This is recommended to be used for collaborative or team projects.
The other mode in Macro is meant to be used for a more hands-on meeting. It changes the size of the speaker’s video and shows how many people in the meeting have participated. It also has the Airtime feature where the program ensures that everybody has a reasonable speaking time allotment to make sure participants don’t feel unheard and left out.
Another notable feature in Macro is the built-in space where users could list down their notes and questions during the meeting, which are automatically transferred into a shareable Google Doc. So, no need to switch between two programs.
building bonds one meeting at a time >:p pic.twitter.com/3tRZLlWUDm
— Macro (@withmacro) August 6, 2021
Having thousands of users already, Macro’s founders Ankith Harathi and John Kreck plan to expand this program beyond Zoom and tap other meeting platforms. They’re also aiming to add more features that would be helpful in going through the meeting’s agenda and workflow. Best of all, the tool is free, so for those who use Zoom a lot for their meetings, this is definitely something that you should try.
YouTube: With Macro
Photo credit: The feature image is symbolic and has been prepared by AS Art Media.
