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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column][vc_column_text]Here’s the video I made on how to install Zoom:
Zoom
Zoom was founded by Eric Yuan, who worked for WebEx.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/21/zoom-founder-left-job-because-he-wasnt-happy-became-billionaire.html
After the English Language was changed forever by Zoombombing becoming the word for people crashing unprotected Zoom meetings, they did three things to fix it. And in doing so, saved not only face but also the company.
- Hired Alex Stamos to fix the security issues https://www.zdnet.com/article/former-facebook-cso-alex-stamos-to-join-zoom-as-outside-security-consultant/
- Hired Luta Security to help find new bugs https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/zoom-crypto-and-bug-bounty-experts/
- Acquires Keybase to help improve their end-to-end encryption https://www.zdnet.com/article/zoom-acquires-encryption-startup-keybase/
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Mythbusting
Myth: Don’t use Zoom, because they route all traffic through China!
Answer: It did, temporarily, by mistake https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/03/zoom-calls-routed-china/
Another concern, is a three main coders are based in China, which means it’s susceptible to Chinese Government Interference.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
New Library Offerings
Stuff we do
- Classes held on a variety of video conferencing platforms
- StoryTimes via Facebook Live
- We increased Hoopla borrow to 15 a month
- We curated a list of virtual resources.
- Started allowing people to get library cards remotely.
- Purchased CreativeBug, a how to craft resource
- Collected pictures/stories from patrons to help capture daily life during the pandemic
- After we reported back, Curbside delivery
Stuff vendors did
- Ancestry.com allowed us to offer remote access
- Freegal allowed unlimited streaming
- Kanopy offered credit free viewing
- Tumblebooks, a kid-centric eBook company, gave us access to TumbleMath, AudioBookCloud, and TeenBookCloud
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Zoom Competitors
Google Hangouts > Google Meets
Google Hangouts is the Free software for Video Chat. Google Meets is the paid version you get with G Suite. It’s also got more functionality and allows for more people in the chat.
There are a lot of different video chat offerings from Google, here’s a breakdown of each type: https://zapier.com/blog/google-hangouts-meet-guide/
Microsoft Skype > Teams
Skype is like Google Hangouts, Teams like Google Meet.
Here’s a good write-up of the differences between these apps: https://dispatch.m.io/microsoft-teams-vs-skype-for-business/
The next three are more like Zoom than the first two. They each have their own look, their own controls, and their own quirks. No one is “better” than another (including Zoom) but rather it’s just personal preference.
This is the first video conferencing service I ever used. It’s owned by Cisco, a major player in network hardware.
I see this one used more and more by Vendors looking to sell their products to the library.
This is the newest one, to me. MVLC actually has a subscription we used before we got in the Zoom game. Smaller libraries who can’t afford Zoom are able to offer virtual programming thanks to MVLC’s subscription.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Social Media Options
While not a video chat, it does allow people to react (think hearts and thumbs-up emoji). It’s a way to “be” in the same place at the same time with someone. The library uses this for Storytimes to great success!
Since Instagram is owned by Facebook, it was only a matter of time before they rolled out the Facebook Live equivalent. This is that. It does, however, require an IGTV app. You can’t do it from the Instagram app. This limitation is par for the course for Instagram; you can’t upload new posts from a computer, only from the app on a smartphone or tablet.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Food for Thought
The first Video call was made by AT&T (ah, Bell Labs) on something called, creatively enough, a PicturePhone. The year? 1956.
See the history of video conferencing, which starts in 1870, here:
https://www.lifesize.com/en/video-conferencing-blog/history-of-video-conferencing[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]