In the age of TikTok, instant messaging, and video calling, many of us have taken our conversations with others online. Over the years, many of us have embraced technology and new social networking websites and have substituted real life social interactions for online ones. In today’s society many of us are used to communicating via emojis, slang, hashtags, and even GIFs. Whether for business use or for leisure, many of us are discovering that technology and online communication is very useful to use for many different things. Here are just some apps and tools that you can use for business and leisure to help you stay connected when you are at home.
Staying Connected: For Business
As well as self-motivation and a good office space, there are many other things that you really need if you are working from home. If you are working from home, there are many useful tools that you will need in order to stay connected with the outside world. You might need to rely on technology for sending emails, for video conference meetings, or for contacting your colleagues.
Zoom
One of the main Zoom features that you can use when working at home is the video meeting facility. It can bring together a number of remote participants and is an excellent way to have face-to-face communication, even if it might be virtual. The gallery view enables all participants to see each other at once, so it feels like everyone’s there in one place – almost like you are in the office anyway! If your meeting is more laid-back, then there are also many fun virtual backgrounds for Zoom meetings that you can use to show off to your colleagues.
Slack
Ever needed to ask a colleague a question but don’t want to ring them or send them an email? Then Slack is the perfect communication tool that you can use. Slack is a collaboration app that facilitates the efficient running of projects or tasks and this is done by organising the app communication into ‘channels’. You might use a channel for a department, a team, or a specific project. This app helps you to communicate with others to ensure that you keep up to date with work progress, tasks and deadlines. The messaging system also allows you to send emojis, GIFs, and attachments, and also allows video calls – making it perfect for both formal and informal office communication.
Facebook Messenger
While Messenger might often be used for personal use, it can also be used by businesses to keep in touch with their customers. For businesses, the main feature of the app used will likely be to reply to messages from customers rather than using emojis, video calling, or group chat features. However, employees could also use the app to participate in group messages to communicate with other colleagues. As a free app, it’s a useful and accessible tool for business to use to help their company run smoothly.
Even if a business is operating from home, a company shouldn’t neglect their online social profiles. Most businesses have a Twitter account that they use to communicate with potential customers, share company updates, and tweet about their products and services. It’s a great way to maintain a company’s presence and communicate with a wide audience. Many businesses can also take advantage of the hashtag feature to post relevant content for their audience and to get their tweets noticed by many users on the platform.
Staying Connected: For Leisure
If you have a day off or are chilling out at the weekend, there are many apps today that can help you stay connected with others from the comfort of your own home. Using features such as emojis, hashtags, and GIFs, are a common occurrence in modern day online communication. As of March 2020, there are over 3,304 emojis in the Unicode Standard that can be used – smiling face with heart-eyes, face with tears of joy, raising hands, and thumbs up, are all popular ones used by many! Whether you are chatting with friends, or commenting on someone’s social media post, emojis are a major feature in online communication today.
IGTV
Want to show off your singing skills? Or do you want to show off your new ASOS haul to your followers? There are many reasons why a lot of Instagram users have started using the new app feature, IGTV. Rather than posting pictures on your profile or updating your Insta-Stories, your followers can interact with you in real time through live video streaming. Once the live video is streaming, audiences can interact and engage through comments. IGTV has also become a popular feature for celebrities, chefs, athletes, and singers, to interact with their fans.
Houseparty
Stuck at home and want to chat with your group of friends? Then the Houseparty app is one fun piece of technology that you can enjoy for hours on end! While the app has a standard video calling feature, it also has a few game options you can play with others too. Fancy a game of Quick Draw or Heads Up? Or how about a trivia quiz? You can test your skills with your friends and families with Houseparty. Whether you live next door to each other or miles apart, this app can help you communicate and have fun with others with ease from the comfort of your own home.
Netflix Party
For years, Netflix has been a popular piece of technology for people to use at home to watch their favourite TV shows and films. However, if you don’t fancy watching something on your own then the Netflix Party feature for Google Chrome can help you watch with your friends! Netflix Party enables remote users to watch Netflix content together so you can all watch your favourite shows. It also has a useful chat feature that enables party-goers to post comments as they watch.
WhatsApp is best known for its secure messaging feature, but it’s also a great tool for video calling too. Whether you are checking in on your friends or family members while you are at home, WhatsApp is a great tool to use to regularly stay in touch with others. The app is quick and easy to use and you can send messages, videos, voice messages, and even documents to your contacts. The app is available on Apple, Android, and even on web and desktop, so that you can easily keep in touch with everyone.
