A design firm created a concept that can change how we do videoconferencing in the future. Square is an artificial window that lets you work ‘beside’ a coworker, even if you’re really not in the office. The Square works like a window, as Fast Company details:
When you raise the shade, you can see a coworker, or two, working right there next to you. You can strike up a conversation, or ignore them. You can gossip, or hold a productive meeting. Just like a real office.
“This isn’t just for a conversation, this is a desk mate,” says Rolston.
“The amount of human emotion this thing could convey would be great,” adds chief creative technologist Jared Ficklin. “There have been a lot of reports lately about the energy effort and stress to engage our cognitive senses in telepresence. It’s exhausting. One reason I’d postulate is that you’re missing the nonverbal feedback.” Cognitive researchers agree that this so-called Zoom fatigue actually exists. A mere second delay in answering someone on a typical video chat—which would be perfectly normal in person—can be perceived as a slight, or as a sign of lack of mental engagement. As impressive as Zoom is, we’re all on edge during these video chats in a way that a more naturalistic window to someone else might mitigate (even if it’s completely simulated through technology).
image screenshot via Fast Company
It was awful, but for technical and bureaucratic reasons.