Virtual Meeting Platform Creates Space for Ad Hoc Interactions

Online event and meeting platform Shindig has introduced Watercoolr, a tool for more informal virtual get-togethers such as coffee breaks, ad hoc meetups, hallway conversations and other spontaneous interactions.

Watercoolr provides a secure, 24/7 virtual meeting space where colleagues can gather and engage one-on-one and in groups. The platform allows for multiple conversations to take place concurrently; while participants speak in one group they can see but not hear other groups, and they can pop in and out of groups as desired. Users can also set up specific meet-up times for more structured events.

The technology was "designed to help organizations combat the increasing fragmentation, siloing of critical information, isolation of team members, and general deleterious effects of remote and hybrid work on innovation and operational efficiency," the company explained in a news announcement.

"Watercoolr has solved a key problem that no other company has addressed," commented Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst at the technology consulting firm Enderle Group, "and that is how to bring casual conversations and creativity back into the workplace, replicating the in-person experience in the closest way possible."

"Pre-pandemic, managers could rely on informal networks created by their physical spaces to ensure that one corporate hand generally knew what the other was doing. That can no longer be taken for granted in today's hybrid workplace," said Steve Gottlieb, Shindig founder and CEO. "Watercoolr was devised because of key clients sharing with us their realization that those informal, unstructured communications were essential to their organization's performance and their demands for a solution that would foster such interactions amongst the hybrid workforce."

For more information, visit the Watercoolr site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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