A New Virtual Reality

Stuck in their homes during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, many people craving social contact in late March turned to teleconferencing apps, like Zoom or Houseparty, to see familiar faces and resume regular activities.

According to the platform’s website, Zoom’s user base increased in March to 200 million users per day from its usual 10 million.

Severna Park resident Liz Cowell surprised her husband, Dave, with an online Zoom birthday party.

Cowell arranged for her husband’s two brothers and five of her husband’s friends - who live all over the country - to dial in to the online meeting space at the same time. Once everyone was in the virtual “room,” Cowell brought the laptop to her husband. On the screen before him shouting,”surprise!” were his family, friends from college, his former roommates, and even an elementary school friend.

Dave Cowell said he hadn’t seen some of his friends’ faces in over six years.

“I enjoyed it as much as if they were there,” Dave Cowell said. “It was literally the next best thing.”

One of his friends on the call has ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and cannot travel. Another friend had coronavirus, so the group would not have been able to get together any other way. Cowell’s friend with coronavirus has since recovered.

“It’s funny how when you’re in your day-to-day grind, you don't take a moment to just stop,” said Liz Cowell. “I guess it’s an opportunity to take a moment and stop and really think about what’s the most important thing.”

Everything from book clubs to dance classes to public school classrooms are being hosted virtually after Governor Larry Hogan issued a statewide stay-at-home order on March 30 in hopes of suppressing coronavirus transmission.

In an April 1 blog post on the Zoom website, the company’s founder and CEO Eric S. Yuan explained to users that the company was racing to meet the exploding demand for its technology.

“We did not design the product with the foresight that, in a matter of weeks, every person in the world would suddenly be working, studying and socializing from home,” Yuan wrote, adding that the company’s priority is now responding to the diverse needs of new users.

Houseparty cofounder and CEO Sima Sistani shared similar sentiments.

“Our teams are working from home around the clock to support the global Houseparty community while also balancing supporting their own families and local communities,”  Sistani wrote in a website press release.

Consistency for young dance students became the driver for Annapolis Dance Academy owner and personal trainer Jennifer Gooding to climb the technical hurdle of transitioning her Arnold home studio to an online environment after the March 30 order.

“My biggest concern was that the kids had their regularly scheduled classes,” Gooding said, via online interview. “If nothing else, they could get to dance.”

Gooding, who teaches multiple styles of dance and is personal trainer had never heard of Zoom, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that forced business closures around the world. She said it took several days to transform her home dance studio into a virtual recording studio complete with camera equipment, computers and industrial lighting.

Gooding said her young students, as well as her adult students, “need something to hold onto that was before COVID.”

The financial outlook for businesses like hers, Gooding admits, is “scary,” but said she feels “blessed” to have what she needs to move forward while staying safe.

“I am in my house. I can see my children throughout the day,” said Gooding.

Broadneck High School junior and competitive dancer Brianna Sanders uses Zoom to take barre classes with Gooding three times a week and competitive dance lessons with Level Dance Project.

Sanders, who has been taking dance lessons since she was 3 years old, said she was relieved when her teachers transitioned to online classes.

“I’ve been doing it for so long, I would probably feel very lost and empty without it,” said Sanders, who feels dance helps her to express herself. “It allows my dance community to still train through these crazy times.”

Live daily demos, webinars, tutorials and other technical supports are available on the Zoom website at www.zoom.us. Houseparty can be downloaded at www.houseparty.com.