We didn’t know we needed a Zoom replacement… until we found Around. And now that we are official converts, we thought we’d share a few of our favorite Around features! If your team is suffering from Zoom fatigue, you’re sick of people seeing your messy room in the background of Zoom meetings, or you just like trying new things, read on!
The Lobby
Because our team is fully remote, we don’t get the opportunity to just peek our heads into one another’s offices and see what’s up. Around’s Lobby shows us when team members are in one of our team rooms, giving us the chance to pop in and say hi! (You can also lock a meeting if you don’t want to be disturbed.)
Floating Mode
Have you ever tried to work on something in Photoshop while in a Zoom meeting? It’s infuriating. Either you need to have Zoom open on a separate display or you have Zoom in minimal mode and can only see one person at a time. Around’s Floating Mode gives you back your precious screen real estate, allowing you to be fully in your meeting while also working on whatever you need to work on, Photoshop files included. (If floating mode takes up too much screen space, switch to minimal mode!)
Campfire Mode
Need to focus on your meeting? Switch to campfire mode to see meeting participants “seated” around a campfire on your screen. Click the fire in the center to keep it alight!
Vibes
Kill the awkward silence & set the vibe with Around’s built-in playlist of mood music. Does your meeting need a pick-me-up? Cue synthwave. Getting ready for game night? Cue retro arcade.
Notes
This is an underrated feature of Around, in my opinion. Around’s Notes feature is a collaborative memo pad where all participants can take notes right from the meeting. Around then emails the notes to all participants after the meeting ends. Even if you don’t use the Notes mode, Around will email any shared links to all participants after the meeting, too, so if you drop a link in the chat, rest assured it will be delivered to your inbox soon.
It’s just so fun (GIFs, sound effects, games)
What we love most about Around is that it’s just so much fun! The chat bar doubles as a search engine for GIFs. There’s a bank of fun sound effects. There are built-in games like Snake and Codenames (our favorite). We’ve never had more fun in virtual meetings than we do on Around. I mean, look at these screengrabs and tell me this doesn’t look like a blast!
And we don’t just use Around internal meetings! Since Around is so fun, we’ve started using it to host a monthly happy hour where our team meets on Around just to hang out, catch up, play a game or two, and listen to music together. We also use Around to host events and workshops because GIF parties are too fun to keep to ourselves.
Sound like fun? Try Around.
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