Tag Archives: Andrew McLuhan’s DEW Contest

Zoom, Intimacy, and Cat Cams

So, as I said, I’d be talking a lot about how screwed up things are right now. And like, yeah, that’s easy enough to do. But what about the good things that come out of that? If Zoom’s done one good thing, it’s letting people let their guards down.

There was a hot minute back in the spring where everyone had this idea of Business As Usual. You were expected to come into calls dressed up as you would’ve been in real life, and keep all the manners and social norms of that bygone era.

As summer and fall passed, I noticed something: there were fewer and fewer cameras on in Zoom calls. And when they did come on, people were often dressed comfortably, some in pyjamas outright. Our rooms are on display, clean or otherwise. We’re vulnerable, but at some point, our camraderie in this hellish year overcame old world formalities.

I mean, really. I’ve spent the past eight months getting sneak peeks at my profs’ homes and housemates. It’s surreal.

And while I have a whole lot of feelings about whether or not people should be obligated to show themselves like that, one pleasant consequence has been that everyone’s showing off their pets. Sometimes by accident. Many a cat has walked across some unfortunate soul’s keyboard.

As someone with two cats, I’ve been that unfortunate soul many times. But also, it gets a laugh out of people and it’s a nice reminder that there’re still good things in this world.

In fact, sometimes, when I don’t feel up to appearing on camera, I put my laptop on the floor in front of one of my cats. With the seasons changing, they tend to relax in front of space heaters and on top of vents, so they’re great for still footage.

Heck, it’s just nice seeing what people will put on camera in general. Folks get creative! The other day, I was on a call, and when one of my friends went to do something, she put a Kirby plush in her place. It was adorable.

One of these suckers.

Overall, don’t get me wrong, I hate just about everything going on right now, but at least we find things to smile about.

The 2020 Workspace

So, as I mentioned in a recent post, Andrew McLuhan is holding a contest for a Distant Early Warning playing card set. And all we had to do was write all about how fucked things are.

Here’s one of many posts about that. Introducing… my 2020 workspace.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “There’s a lot going on here.”

And, yeah, you could say that. But I swear, every little item here has a purpose.

For example, that entire shelf about my laptop? Fidget toys. A whole bunch of fidget toys. I have squishies, fidget spinners, worry stones, and a whole bunch of other things that keep my hands occupied while I’m on a call. See, I’m neurodivergent, in case you haven’t noticed, and one thing about this is that my body craves movement. Throughout the day, I often get up and pace around my room, letting my thoughts run wild. It’s a lot of fun.

But it’s also not very socially acceptable during Zoom calls. So I fidget.

Below that, you can see my laptop, which is now my central hub for all work, play, and academia. On the left you can see my mic, which I bought to use for recording music and the like but now use every day to talk to my peers, a notebook for notes, and also a little SFU sheet, just so I don’t forget that, yes, all these hours spent with talking heads are academic work.

To the right are my physiotherapy weights and a glass of water, because health is important. I have some joint inflammation, and do daily exercises to keep my wrists functional. I also try to stay hydrated. You can also see my agenda in this shot! Which is, as always, obscenely packed.

Speaking of, I have another call to get to. Until next time!

PROCESS POST: Zoom Manners 101

So, Andrew McLuhan was our guest lecturer today. You know, McLuhan. As in Marshall McLuhan.

Did I geek out? You could say that.

But besides my being a comms student and finding all of that to be inherently very cool, he was also just a really neat guy to listen to and have in our call!

Also, expect a lot more posts this next week and a bit. He said there’s a raffle of sort, and I can enter by making posts about how, in his words, “fucked” things are.

Great news. I’m really good at that.

The prize, for the record, is a copy of McLuhan’s Distant Early Warning playing card deck.

Do I know any card games beyond Go Fish? Absolutely not. But oh, who wouldn’t want a copy of the DEW cards?

dew line 4
Speak it, Marshall.

So, as the title here implies, this first entry is about Zoom ettiquette. Really, it’s about the acknowledgement of it. Humans are social creatures, so we’re quick to create social norms, but isn’t it strange how many new norms a new form of media gives us?

Because really, Zoom is a new medium. Sure, we’ve had Skype and the like, but Zoom holds a whole other connotation. It’s for academics, work, and casual calls alike. It’s not something you do after hours; it’s where you SPEND those hours.

And that comes with a whole bunch of new social rules and norms.

For example: camera on or off? I have some friends whose profs make cameras compulsory. Most of my classes, meanwhile, are our prof speaking to the void, save for maybe one or two brave souls. My prof for this class compared us having our cameras off to “closing a shutter” on her. Which is fair. But also, doesn’t it feel oddly intimate to show everybody the innards of your personal space?

Like, for one example: I’m an out lesbian, but there’re some occasions where I’ll keep that to myself. You know, because homophobia still exists. While in class today, I at one point moved my laptop to the floor to capture footage of my cat (I’ll do a whole article about Cat Cameras later). As I moved, you could very clearly see the pride flag I have on my wall.

I don’t know why, but that kind of struck me. That’s what made me realize, “Oh hey, these people are totally in my space. That’s weird.”

There’re definitely worse things to have accidentally appear on camera, but still.

Anyways, I actually already wrote a whole article about students and cameras, so these are just some of my thoughts. I wonder what we’re going to do when we can meet in real life again. Will it feel strange, total strangers having an unrestricted view of us? I think so.

But hey, c’est la vie. I’m already hyping myself up to be perceived by others again.

Umtil next time.