The best way to effectively manage social distancing is to emphasize the social part, and that means using platforms like Microsoft to keep in touch. There's a bevy of video chat options out there these days, but these two are tried and true, having been around in some form or another for over a decade each. And they've both received recent upgrades that make group chatting easier than ever.
The initial wave of coronavirus-induced social distancing pushed millions of people into an Zoom, likely because of its incredibly accessible invitation system, and the positive impression it left on the platform's enterprise customers back in The Before Times, when remote work didn't necessarily mean working from home. Unfortunately, some intense security and privacy issues have now dominated the public conversation around Zoom, and that means many people are seeking an alternative.
Just in time to fill that void, Skype and Hangouts are both old dogs learning new tricks to meet the expectations of people new to a life with frequent video conferences. Hangouts is a confusing mess of multiple services with different branding, functionality, and subscription models, despite each platform having "Hangouts" in the name somewhere. Its recent upgrades are primarily related to expanding its features to a wider group of s. Meanwhile, Skype is becoming a much more nimble platform. It's adopting a Zoom-like system of quick invites that doesn't even require s to install the app or make an .
How to Use Google's Hangouts Apps for Group Chat
The three Hangouts apps right now are standard Google Hangouts, Hangouts Meet, and Hangouts Chat. Despite its name, Hangouts Chat isn't a video chat platform. It's basically Google's answer to Slack, so it doesn't really apply here. Hangouts Meet and standard Hangouts are the services with group video chat.
On Meet, the chat's host has to be a paying member of Google Suites, Google's enterprise email service. This, alongside many other security checks, significantly reduces the risk of things like Zoombombing, but it also requires a financial commitment to do a video conference. In addition to the added security, Meet video chats allow up to 250 , and offer 100-viewer live streaming. These features are included in all paid tiers of Google Suite through September 30th as a result of the coronavirus, but otherwise, they're limited to the top tiers.
Google Hangouts, however, is free to use. This service offers up to service immune to hijacking. Hangouts chats lack some of the bells and whistles of Zoom, but they're also the most secure free option available, which makes them great for informal conversations amongst a static group of people.
How to Use Skype for Group Chat
Skype's newest update added a feature called Meet Now, successfully giving it the tools to directly compete with Zoom. It's more open to Zoombombing by design, but it's also easier to get into than Hangouts or Hangouts Meet. It allows the host to invite established Skype friends from their list, invite people by email, unintended party crashers, but the other two options are secure.
In of feature set, Skype Meet Now is almost identical to the free tier of Zoom chat. s get a variety of useful options on the chat interface at all times and a conference can hold up to 50 people. A call can be initiated with a Meet Now button right next to the default chat button.