Recently, I overheard my parents talking about their work and how they communicate with their co-workers during the lockdown. Even though I don’t really have to worry about work at my age (13-years-old), I was interested in their conversation and decided to join in. We talked about different apps that we use to talk with others. After that conversation, I was inspired to write about the different applications that can be used to reach friends, relatives, and co-workers during quarantine.
The application my parents are using is Google Hangouts. Google Hangouts is part of the Google Suite or “G Suite” meaning it can be accessed by any Google-type application. A useful way it is used is to embed it into the calendar if you have a meeting for your job. It has the features you’d expect from these types of communication apps, such as texting and a video chat. However, it has a feature that can be considered unique to it, the ability to record the entire video of the conversation. The current limit is 25 users in a call and it is available for mobile devices and computers.
I’m sure many people already know of Messenger, because it’s one of the more used applications for communication. It allows people to text each other and also has a video chat. The unique thing about messenger is its variety of “stickers” to convey emotions and its video chat having the capacity of 50 people. However, the application requires strong WiFi for it to work consistently. If the WiFi isn’t strong enough it will often hang, freeze, or cut off the conversation.
A unique application which is the one that my friends and I use the most is Discord. Rather than being a simple texting app, Discord is separated into servers. These servers allow people to discuss different topics, meaning Discord is a communication app that can be for people with a variety of interests. It of course also has video calls and voice calls. Voice calls cancel out noises that are outside the general vicinity of the user, making chatting with others much more focused towards each other without worrying about background noise. However, it also has the same problem as Messenger, requiring strong WiFi for it to work properly.
I hope this article can help you choose what is best for you to communicate with others during the quarantine.
POP! Creators/ Iñigo Jose A. Carlos
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