Video meetings are going to be a part of what we do for several years to come and in some cases, will be a permanent feature. The pandemic ushered in a new era of communications and the hybrid working model, which has prompted companies with the technologies, to come up with new features that make the interactions better.
Google has updated Google Meet, with some tweaks that will make it easier to notice when someone has their hand raised, using clearer animation. The feature will help with keeping meetings orderly, especially when the number of attendees is high.
The tweaks
On the bottom left corner of the meeting screen, a hand icon will extend to display the name of the attendee who is raising their hand to speak. The update also lets participants move tiles of people with raised hands to be more visible on the group meeting grid.
Google Meet will have an audio notification for all participants when the first raised hand is raised. There is also a clickable notification that will show the number of attendees with hands raised, including links to an ordered queue of all those who’ve raised their hands.
Who gets to use it?
The feature is only available to users with Google’s Business Workspace accounts. It is not available to customers using personal Google accounts. It will be availed to users with Workspace Essentials, Nonprofits, G Suite Business, Education Fundamentals, Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Essentials, Business Plus, and Business Standard. It is not available in meetings organized by someone on Google Workspace Business Starter, personal Google accounts, or G Suite Basic.
Microsoft is also doing the same refinements for its Microsoft Teams while adding the number of tiles that can be displayed on the screen. Zoom is also working on similar features for group meetings.
11 hours ago
