Framery
It’s not easy to make video conferencing technologies seem sexy and futuristic. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck the planet, offices around the world were already beginning to normalize the use of applications like Zoom to make meetings between colleagues in different locations retain a sense of face-to-face camaraderie, even if it was just a digital imitation.
But the debate over remote work continues to rage on at companies big and small, and it is oftentimes punctuated by the limitations to video communication. “Zoom fatigue” is real. Video and audio glitches can easily interrupt the flow of conversation and force people to waste minutes repeating themselves. Many people spend more time looking at their own screen versus the speaker’s face, creating opportunities to simply zone out. It’s too easy to get distracted and pull up Slack or Gmail or other apps. And ultimately video conferencing simply can’t emulate the intimacy and charm of having a conversation face-to-face. As a result, critical information that can only be read in body language and other non-verbal cues can get lost in the digital translation.
When Finnish tech company Framery invited me to join them for a tech demo to test what they heralded as a solution to our remote work woes hosted by the Finnish consulate in New York City a few weeks ago, I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew the company specialized in acoustics, and was famous for its very sleek and impressive office phone booth “pods” that afforded privacy and pristine work environments while looking incredibly modern.