Zoom rhymes with boom (and doom of course but more on that later!). So, zoom, zoom rhymes with boom boom and just lately I have felt like a demented foxy puppet whose main occupation annoys anyone and everyone who comes within five miles radius! I know its vital for everyone, especially creative souls to keep in contact with other likeminded people but I always thought the odd email would suffice. Wrong, wrong, wrong on every count. If like me, you belong to society and a community then it happens that you must contribute in some way to said community. As a glass artist I belong to many (too many) glassy groups who love to stay in contact with their members by technology which involves speaking to people through their computer. I don’t understand this so does this make me a lesser mortal? That’s true and it’s on this basis that I have avoided all contact with others via the computer other than vague emails and Facebook messaging. My wife, Janice has a laptop which enables her to connect to family members through visual splendour of a screen which is wonderful especially when we can’t all meet face to face in person. I understand that the word “Zoom” is a trade name in the same way as “Facebook” is and what its all about is social media etc. etc. So hence my nervousness was based on my first interaction on social media with so called live people dancing in front of the camera and relayed to me via the internet. It transpired that those dancers were (or they seemed to me) drunk uncles have a far more enjoyable time than me miles and miles away who was just watching them. I don’t think that was the so-called interaction that people are raving about. So it happened that I had to attend a meeting in place of a person unable to attend and oh I was so looking forward to traveling to the meeting first class and staying in a real plush hotel. Argggggghhh it was on Zoom!!! But of course, as a loyal friend I accepted the invitation, forwarded the email to Janice who said yea no problem you can “enjoy meeting on my laptop. So where were the complimentary drinks, food and rubbing shoulders with colleagues?

The real shock that I enjoyed it and was impressed by the professional way the meeting was managed. I learn how to raise my hand when I wished to speak. I learnt how to mute and unmute myself and even leant how to switch the camera on and off. I wish I could have learnt how better to apply my make up and comb my hair, so the bald bits didn’t show!

My next Zoom meeting will involve a PowerPoint presentation. That another subject for another day but again as with Zoom I learnt a lot at quite enjoyed it. The positioning of photos to make an attractive slide is almost creative. I say “almost” but of course it can never be 100% creative. Or can it? Like Zoom all this IT stuff does have some artistic merits and I will have to persevere and stay switched on as well as being tuned in!