Co-Working Space, Hybrid Working, Working From Home
BlueJeans Spaces: Is A Corporate Metaverse The Way Forward?
Nov
Spaces is a new way for hybrid workers to get involved with their colleagues, through a corporate metaverse. Because even though some workers may be at home, they are still part of the team and need to be included. Spaces brings a breath of fresh air to video conferencing, updating it in a way most people wouldn’t think of. But with many ways to video conference at work, why and how does BlueJeans: Spaces benefit those hybrid working, and is it the future of meetings? [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
What Is BlueJeans Spaces?
So what actually is Spaces. Spaces is a metaverse for you and you colleagues to join and create meetings. Whether they are scheduled or last minute get togethers. Alongside being able to hold chats and meetings with colleagues you can immersive yourself into a virtual world for you and all of your colleagues. Simply click onto the Spaces icon and you can now walk around a corporate metaverse. And with Spaces you can easily join any meetings, without having to have a meeting code. You can click to join your scheduled meeting that you have or click any meeting that is currently running. Its as easy as that. No more wasting your time hunting for the email with the meeting code attached.
This new way of video conferencing calls for more collaboration and communication within the workspace. And with many people still working from home, Spaces tackles that challenge head on. It is a chance for people working from home to get back to the office. Virtually of course. But Spaces can allow them to feel a somewhat normal working day again. Lovers of BlueJeans can still use BlueJeans to hold their business meetings, but Spaces brings a whole new idea to video conferencing. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”30461″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
What You Can Do With Spaces?
When you log into your BlueJeans account you will have the option to view your meetings and view your messages. But now Spaces is apart of the mix. You can easily jump in to your office within the metaverse with just one click. With this you will be faced with a office layout with profile icons of your colleagues dotted around. These colleagues may be wondering around the metaverse or they could be in a meeting.
Spaces has been described as “One place to huddle, share files, brainstorm, organise and socialise”, and this perfectly describes what Spaces is all about. Its a way for hybrid workers to feel more involved, whilst being a fun and interactive way for colleagues to chat and hold meetings. Not only can you have your own avatar to represent you in the metaverse office, but you can also create layouts to suit your meeting type. So if you have just scheduled an important boardroom type meeting, you can go into spaces and create the virtual meeting room. Creating it to what you feel would work best for your meeting. Although on the flip side, if you were wanting to have a last minute brainstorming session with a colleague, you can do just that. Creating a space that is more relaxed for you to hold your creative session.
Not Just For Video Conferencing
Spaces isn’t just limited to video conferencing, you can use Spaces as a way to message and phone other employees. Letting you connect the way you want all while being in the metaverse world. And with having “over 82% of respondents admit to having less frequent casual conversations with colleagues”, BlueJeans Spaces could save, or rebuild, work relationships. By having a metaverse office, it lets home and hybrid workers bump into colleagues again. Giving them the chance to spark up a quick chat, even though you are in the office while they are working from home.
If you are in a large business with many colleagues in each department and each department likes to have a meeting with everyone. You may be thinking that the Spaces just isn’t going to work for you. However, BlueJeans has thought this dilemma through. That’s why Spaces supports up to 1,000 person meetings. To accommodate large businesses. Plus, you can create breakout sessions and the participants can select which session they would like to attend. A great way to get colleagues mixing with other colleagues they may have never spoken to. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][vc_single_image image=”30466″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Collaboration Board
Linking back to Spaces encouraging team creativity and collaboration. Spaces allows users to use their Collaboration Board. Working as a whiteboard, participants can use the Collaboration Board to share their ideas in another form other than talking. Bringing a new level of collaboration to the meeting. You have access to drawing tools and sticky notes to get your idea and thoughts across. If you use the Board to draw some analytical charts during a meeting. You can easily place a sticky note next to your drawing describing what the chart shows. You can also add images to the Board, this can strengthen your ideas while making them look professional. Furthermore, if you are in a meeting and someone decides to bring up the Collaboration Board to draw out their idea. You can easily screenshot the Board for later use, meaning you can stay focused on the point they are trying to get across without having to keep looking down at your notebook.
The vice president of product management at BlueJeans has said that hybrid work is here to stay. So most office jobs have had to adjust to the new lifestyle. With the Collaboration Board it allows easier collaboration for people in meetings, as 25 participants can share their ideas at the same time. 25 people being able to draw, write and add sicky notes at the same time. With this feature ideas are endless. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
In Meeting
Spaces can do so much more than offer a metaverse office and meeting space. During a meeting in the virtual space you can hold Q&A’s, start polls, share screen in meetings, have separate chats with participants, and raise a hand to be out on the virtual stage. These in meeting features are a great way for hosts to break the ice and get everybody comfortable in the meeting. Alongside this by being able to raise a hand to get on the stage, it allows you to be front and centre to present you plans. And you can record events held in the Spaces. This goes back to the idea of letting you stay focused on what is happening in the event instead of looking back and forth between your notebook and screen. Furthermore, with having the event recorded it allows you to watch it back and come up with new ideas, give new spins on old ideas and resurface any old ideas you may have forgotten.
If you are holding a meeting with many participants, it can quickly become a mess. With people talking over each other and others patiently waiting their turn, people can easily miss out on sharing their ideas. Furthermore, stopping colleagues from having that back and forth. Although with Spaces, holding a large meeting is as easy as a one on one. If you can see you meeting falling apart, easily create breakout rooms for a set amount of people, putting the participants into small groups. Now you can simply chat and hear everyone’s ideas without any over talking. Plus if some people are not really into public speaking, breakout rooms can ease any worry or anxiety they may be having.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Virtual View
Immersive is one way to describe Spaces. With the 2D view you will see a floor plan of the metaverse office with icons of your colleagues in the office. This is a great view to have if you are just popping into spaces to see who’s in a meeting, but you really want to get that immersive experience. That’s why you can also view Spaces in a 3D view. In the 3D view you will see things as your avatar will see things, seeing other colleagues avatars and actually taking you into the space you are in. Making Spaces more virtual and immersive, making you feel like you are actually in the meeting space. To make it feel even more real, BlueJeans will provide spatialized audio. This is a benefit to everyone in the Spaces meeting, but is obviously a bigger benefit to those home workers as the audio of other colleagues talking will match the position your avatar is in. Again giving home workers a more immersive feel.
Taking virtual to another level. Spaces is compatible with VR headsets and partnering with Google Glass, means for a realistic virtual meeting. This would work by participants wearing the VR headset while using Spaces. So when you turn your head, you will see what your avatar will see. However, Spaces and he opportunity to use Spaces with the VR headset with Google Glass. Will not be released at the same time. This gives people a chance to get to know and love BlueJeans Spaces and virtual meetings before the chance to really immersive themselves.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”30462″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Customisation
Fully customise your meetings the way you want. Not only can you change your meeting room space to suit the type of meeting you are having. You can fully customise your avatar. Letting you adjust your avatar so it looks just like you. Even though BlueJeans Spaces is made for business meetings, they have included a flare of creativity to make meetings fun again. And this is much needed, especially if half your workplace is working from home. It can help home workers get out of the rut that many fall into while working at home. These video meetings can become tiresome and unmotivating, so this allows them to get excited about meetings again, bringing them the motivation to collaborate more as they can fully customise their avatar and the meeting space. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
How Can Spaces Benefit Home Workers?
Working from home can take its toll on people, especially if it has been their situation for months on end. Having a corporate metaverse office at their finger tips can majorly improve their situation. Because for some, business meetings may be the closest form of human contact in the day. And with turning video conferences into a virtual world, letting home workers have a better human interaction. Even though it may still be through a screen. It allows them to have quick one on one relaxed chats again with colleagues again all while being able to jump to a professional meeting in a few seconds. Its everything in one place for workers to work efficiently.
The vice president of product management at BlueJeans has said that hybrid work is here to stay and by the looks of it, they are probably right. Many other video conferencing apps have adjusted their platforms to meet home workers needs and BlueJeans is no different. This meeting solution is basically made for home workers. It can obviously be used by people in the office but people from home will have a much bigger impact on their work life by using Spaces. Giving them a set destination of where they can get a hold of anyone in the business they work in.
Spaces is a great introduction to working from home. Giving them a simple to use video conferencing platform that they can hold meetings on. But also a tool where they can still feel apart of the office, as they can easily immersive themselves into Spaces to talk to anyone in the metaverse office. By having the option of using this, it can help improve peoples work mentality and productivity. Helping them still feel connected to their colleagues and the company itself. Pushing out any feelings of not being able to ask for help. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]