Top 2 Video Conferencing Apps to use in BY HECTOR GARZA
2020
Since the start of the pandemic, the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) team has relied on video conferencing to hold committee and board meetings, share ideas, and check in with each other. TIPA has tried a couple video conferencing apps, so I can share some helpful information that could potentially save you time and money on deciding which video apps your team (or farm) should consider. So gather around y’all, for the best video conferencing apps in town. There are many features in a great video conferencing app and it has to do with more than showing your face to the world. Creating a meeting link or dial-in number and sharing it with others should be the basics. Turning face-time into collaboration time, such as screen sharing, annotating or white boarding and live chat are must have features to make your virtual meetings as productive as they would be in person. Otherwise, you might as well be using the phone. In considering which apps will help you accomplish these essential functions, I have chosen two that will help you do exactly that. If you’re part of a committee, then you’ve probably heard of Zoom. It’s one of the most popular video conference apps mainly because it just works. Once you install the Zoom app on your computer or on your phone, you can host a 1-to-1 video call with no time limit and group calls with up to 100 people for a max time of 40 minutes. If you purchase the paid plan, the time limit is removed and you can have up to 1,000 people at one time. Even if your internet connection is not the best, Zoom will keep your video going at a lower quality level, but at least you are not disconnected completely. Everyone is able to chat with each other, either as a group or with individuals through private message features during the video conference. And you can share your screen, which is probably the best feature when interacting with the group. Just select what part of your screen you wish to share, whether it is the whole screen or a single window. If you want to try Zoom, visit https://www.zoom.us for the free plan, or there is the Pro plan starting at $14.99/month which will allows you to record the video and audio of the conference. ( TIP: If you are recording, be sure to select the option to save it on your local computer.) Another favorite is Google Meet. If you have Gmail as your primary email, then you probably saw this feature added to the side panel of your inbox. Google Meet automatically adds a link from your scheduled video conference calls to your Google Calendar whenever you create a meeting, and your meeting attendees can click to instantly join a call. No need to worry if your coworkers, clients, or customers have the right accounts or software. Google Meet works entirely on the browser (the icon you use to surf the web, i.e. Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge) so there’s no download or adding programs issues. If you want to use your phone, download the Meet app from Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. In the middle of a call, you are able to share files from Google Drive and share them in the chat portion. Live captioning is a great feature already included which works fairly well in English but is not able to detect when another language is spoken. Google Meet is free for up to 100 participants and a max of 60 minutes; and $6/month to extend the limits as part of the G Suite for business teams. For more information visit https://meet.google.com With many more video conferencing apps out there, and not enough space and time to speak about them all, I’ll mention these additional note-worthy three: GoToMeeting has a lot of professional features and is $14/month (https://www. gotomeeting.com). Join.me is from the same software family as GoToMeeting, but much sleeker, starting at $10/month (https://www.join.me). Lastly, Cisco’s Webex is famously known in the business realm and focused for large-scale collaborations, starting at $13.50/month (https://www.webex.com). Communication in business and family is critical, and using video conferencing apps helps bridge the gap created during social distancing. So stop texting and emailing. Try some of these apps, close that gap, and remember what it’s like to see someone’s face when you’re talking with them. 18
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