Cohousing-L Mailing List: Technology Enabled Businesses

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

Does any community have a system of amplification for membership meetings that 
they like? 

Do you have one you avoid using?

Do you have difficulty with everyone projecting loudly enough for everyone else 
with reasonably normal hearing to hear them?

One of the major advantages of Zoom meetings is that for the first time, 
everyone can hear everyone else. We are discussing some system, including a 
pass along microphone, so we can begin meeting together with some people on 
Zoom — hybrid meetings. 

We are not wonderful with technology — sorting out all the connections, 
convenient and safe storage, clear instructions and training, etc., so 
personally, I am dubious. But I know nothing about the technology. 

When I say we are not good at it, I mean that the TV in the CH has been a 
decades long problem of the settings being changed so people can’t just go in 
and watch TV — they have to master the all in one remote and figure out what 
the last person was doing and switch from DVDs to Satellite TV. We got a 
projector to project both films and documents from laptops, it has taken years 
to get the attachments sorted out so it can be used without a 30 minute set up 
time unless it is the same person doing it each time. We speak pigeon-tech — if 
your laptop is like hers, you need the same square thing to connect. If not ask 
Fred to send you a picture of the one he uses. Or go through the side pockets 
and find one that fits.

We don’t have a technology hero who is devoted to keeping mics and things happy 
or to being available to set up all meetings using it. We have technology savvy 
people but they are high end and not so happy having the community dependent on 
them to conduct business or being spontaneously available. It’s their day job. 
The TV wrangler has mastered the TV but is not available 24/7.

We aren’t klutzes but learning the language and remembering the connections for 
technology that one only occasionally uses has been harder than we have been 
able to accomplish so far.

We are mixed, however, on whether to stay on Zoom meetings followed by in 
person potlucks, or return to some semblance of in person or hybrid meetings.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org