Kickin’ and Screamin’

April 3, 2020

I finally did it.  I set up my first meeting on ZOOM.  I’ve attended ZOOM meetings before, and several a week over the last three weeks, but I’ve never hosted.  Most of these meetings have been through a large corporation or a judicatory who have paid staff who understand the intricacies of on-line creation.  My staff is me.  If I get in trouble, I can also turn to Melissa to get me out of the jam.  She works as a techie and understands a lot of what needs to be done.  In the past I always relied on her to accomplish whatever I need.

Things are different now.  I still rely on her to do a lot of problem solving but I also know creating an on-line presence is time consuming.  I have noticed in the past whenever an issue came up where she didn’t know the immediate answer, she would query on-line.  To plug into ZOOM I went to their web page and asked, “How do I schedule a meeting?”  An instructional video along with written instructions came up to walk me through the process.  I’ve also been having trouble with my sound when I connect to the second monitor.  I opened my browser and typed, “How do I get sound to work?” Since I wasn’t on a web page, it offered several options.  I clicked on the one that seemed closest to my problem and again it took me to a video and written instructions to walk me through.

I realize none of this is rocket science but prior to a month ago I really had no desire to find out what information is stored on-line.  Having worked as an Historian I find comfort in having written material in front of me.  I limited my on-line experience to communication (and playing my game).  I had taken a virtual sabbatical through the Holy Land several years ago and was amazed by the depth of resources available.  When I enter the world of virtual reality now, I am blown away by how much we have developed.  I hope this ZOOM meeting works.

THOUGHTS:  Just like everyone else, I’m being drug kickin’ and screamin’ into the 21st century. Ten years ago, I took a seminary class in creating virtual community.  I found it both fascinating and disturbing.  I was fascinated by the length people could go to create community.  The virtual relationships I saw were just as close and meaningful to participants as face to face was to me.  What I found disturbing was my own fear of losing “real” contact.  In the midst of self-isolation I worry about those who are not on-line or technically savvy.  We need to find ways to ensure no one is left outside in the new reality we face going forward.