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Guide to Salon Types - Social Salons
Social Salons "Good conversation can transform strangers into friends"
How SS Works
FAQs
Example Uses
Salon Types
or
Guide to Salon Types - MSTeams, Zoom, Google Meet, etc.
This is a brief guide on how to use the services associated with each salon type,
with links to more detailed instructions if needed.
Video Salons
SS Works with three kinds of video meeting services: MSTeams, Zoom, and Google Meet.
The bottom line: All three services are good and easy to use. But MSTeams has one big
advantage: the free service allows bascially unlimited meeting time (24 hours), while
Zoom only allows 40 minutes and Google Meet allows 60 minute meetings. For this
reason, if you aren't already paying for a Zoom or Meet plan MSTeams is the best choice .
Note: Most info here is for the basic, free versions of these systems. Paying for a service will add more features, such as longer meeting times.
Summary:
Feature
MSTeams
Zoom
Google Meet
Max Duration (free version)
60 min
40 min
60 min
# Participants (SS Max is 9)
way more than 9
way more than 9
way more than 9
International (via internet)
yes
yes
yes
Effects
vb,blur,filters
vb,blur,filters,light
vb,blur,filters,light
App for Desktop and/or mobile?
DT + mobile
DT + mobile + ChromeOS
mobile only
Available via browser (any OS)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Basic price
free
free
free
Min price for 4+ hrs
$4/month
$6/month
$6/month
Account needed?
MS to host, not join
Zoom to host, not join
Google acct required
Notes: Effects: vb - virtual backgrounds, blur - option to blur your background, light - lighting effects
OS - Desktop(DT): Windows, Mac, Linux; Mobile: Android, iOS
Basic Price - for free vesion; all have pay plans with more features
Account needed - MSTeams (Microsoft account), Zoom, and Google accounts are free and easy to get
Details about using each service:
All services
Whether you are a host or a guest at a salon, the following tips apply:
MSTeams, Zoom, and Meet can all be used in a browser, so it is not necessary to install an app.
But if you want to use an app (for DT: only MSTeams and Zoom) you should use the link
provided in the 'How to Get' sections below and install the app in advance of the scheduled salon.
SS will send notifications about the salon you have scheduled or joined the day before,
the morning of, and one hour before the salon begins.
Fifteen minutes before the salon you should launch the app or open MSTeams, Zoom, or Meet
in your browser and then follow the instructions to test your video and audio
to make sure they are working properly.
MSTeams
Intro:
Teams launched worldwide on March 14, 2017. As of July 18, 2023 Teams has 300 million monthly users.
Microsoft Teams encrypts data both in transit and at rest. Transport Layer Security (TLS) and
Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol (SRTP) are used to encrypt network communications.
Pros:
60 minute duration time limit for all meetings (free version)
allows participants from all over the world to join in a meeting for free.
can use MSTeams in a browser, no need to install the app
HD Quality Video
Call recording and live subtitles
Screen sharing
Customizable background
emojis and "Together Emojis" that provide more dynamic engagement with messages
Cons:
Some feel it has a cluttered and unintuitive interface, making it difficult to find specific functions
Performance issues, such as slow synchronization, buggy behavior, and high resource consumption, are also common complaints.
Limited Customization: Teams has limited options for customizing the interface and functionality.
Hosting requires a Microsoft account (Windows users will have one already)
How to get:
1) MSTeams can be used in a browser, without installing an app, via this link:
A few minutes before the salon you will get an invitation via email from the host of the
salon you have joined. It will contain a link which you can click on to join the MSTeams meeting.
After clicking on the link you should see the host, and you will become an active guest in the salon.
You can leave the salon and end the MSTeams connection any time you want, but it's polite to let people
know if you are leaving early.
How to use as a host:
A few minutes before the salon you will get instructions from SS on
how to schedule the MSTeams meeting, along with a list of the guests
who have signed up for your salon.
Schedule the meeting by clicking on the link provided, and then use
the provided list of guest emails to invite them to your salon
(the MSTeams meeting)
Hopefully your salon guests will respond to the meeting inviations
promptly and soon after the scheduled salon time the full roster of guests will have joined.
Conduct the salon as you wish!
You should remain in the meeting as host for at least the
'ideal duration' you stated when you scheduled the salon.
Zoom was first released in 2011. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a major increase in
the use of Zoom for remote work, distance education, and online social relations. In April 2020,
Zoom had more than 300 million daily meeting participants. Use of the platform is free for video
meetings, with a 40-minute time limit. There is a
10-minute timeout period between free 40-minute meetings. For longer meetings
with more features, paid subscriptions are available.
Pros:
Easy to use, large user base
can use Zoom online without downloading and can be started in a few clicks with a meeting invite.
HD Quality Video
Recording
Interactive Tools like poll, survey, raise a hand, chat
The free version has all standard features
Cons:
Limited to 40 minute meetings, but they can be resumed after a 10 minute pause.
Privacy issues, concerns, and security
Too many subscription and add-ons
How to get:
1) Zoom can be used in a browser, without installing an app, via this link:
A few minutes before the salon you will get an invitation via email from the host of the
salon you have joined. It will contain a link which you can click on to join the Zoom meeting.
After clicking on the link you should see the host, and you will become an active guest in the salon.
You can leave the salon and end the MSTeams connection any time you want, but it's polite to let people
know if you are leaving early.
How to use as a host:
A few minutes before the salon you will get instructions from SS on
how to schedule the Zoom meeting, along with a list of the guests
who have signed up for your salon.
Schedule the meeting by clicking on the link provided, and then use
the provided list of guest emails to invite them to your salon
(the Zoom meeting)
Hopefully your salon guests will respond to the meeting inviations
promptly and soon after the scheduled salon time the full roster of guests will have joined.
Conduct the salon as you wish!
You should remain in the meeting as host for at least the
'ideal duration' you stated when you scheduled the salon.
Google Meet was initially released in 2017. In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Google announced Meet was to be made available to all users, not just Google Workspace users.
The use of Meet grew by a factor of 30 between January and April 2020, with 100 million users
a day accessing Meet.
Pros:
No need to download Google Meet on the desktop, you can use it online with just a few clicks.
Easy Joining
HD Quality Video
Auto captioning
Preview screen
Screen sharing
Live chat option
you can make free video calls to anyone worldwide.
allows you to blur or change your background to minimize distractions and hide what's going on in the background.
enables live captions
Cons:
Free accounts will be limited to 60-minute meetings. If you pay for a premium Google Workspace account, you can get up to 24 hours available per meeting
While you can join other people's Google Meet calls without having a Google account, you'll need one (free and easy to get) in order to create your own meetings
Can access Google meet on a Google Chrome browser only
No option to change the background
video chats are in HD thus tends to consume alot of data
does not have a meeting recording feature
How to get:
1) Meet can be used in a browser, without installing an app, via this link:
A few minutes before the salon you will get an invitation via email from the host of the salon
you have joined. It will contain a link which you can click on to join the Google Meet meeting.
After clicking on the link you should see the host, and you will become an active guest in the salon.
You can leave the salon and end the MSTeams connection any time you want, but it's polite to let people know
if you are leaving early.
How to use as a host:
A few minutes before the salon you will get instructions from SS on
how to schedule the Google Meet meeting, along with a list of the guests
who have signed up for your salon.
https://meet.google.com/new
Schedule the meeting by clicking on the link provided, and then use
the provided list of guest emails to invite them to your salon
(the Google Meet meeting)
Hopefully your salon guests will respond to the meeting inviations
promptly and soon after the scheduled salon time the full roster of guests will have joined.
Conduct the salon as you wish!
You should remain in the meeting as host for at least the
'ideal duration' you stated when you scheduled the salon.
Until modern technology came along, these were the only salons people could attend!
They are still the best kind because nothing is better than interacting with real, live
people in person. But unfortunately it isn't always easy to find a group of people with
shared passion for conversation about a specific topic within close geographical range of
each other.
When SS displays lists of Salons it will show in-person salons by default, But it will only
show salons which are scheduled to occur in the same city as the viewer. This has sevearal
implications:
You have to have more than the minimal registration info in your profile. Specifically
you need to ,
then click on to go to the Edit Profile page and enter your city and
country in the 'Your Location' area af the 'Personal Information' section. This way, SS will know when
to display in-person salons in your city. Note: Your city
and country will still be hidden from most SS Users unless you have allowed it to be visible
in the 'Location' section of your Privacy preferences.
While at the Edit Profile page, go to the 'Your Preferences' section, and in the
'What to Show in Salon Lists' area make sure 'In-Person' is checked next to 'Salon Types'
When someone schedules an in-person salon they will have to specify the location where
the salon will take place. The city and country specified will have to match the city
and country in your profile settings.
Because of the point above, when you specify your own city you may want to name the
nearest large city rather than the precise suburb in which you may in fact be living. This
is to increase the chances of a match with the city of a scheduled salon. For example,
if you want to attend salons in San Francisco it's better to list that as your city, even
if you live in a nearby city such as Sausolito, because there will be far fewer in-person
salons scheduled in that smaller city.
In-person viewing options can also be set seperatedly at the top of the
calendar, and at the top of the list of
upcoming salons.
Chat (Text-based) Salons
People may prefer to use a chat/text conversation for a variety of reasons:
uses much less bandwidth/mobile phone data
camera shy / prefer not to be seen
can be a more orderly, less chaotic, more polite conversation
more time to compose thoughts precisely
provides a text transcription of the conversation
habit from video-gaming, forums, and older bulletin boards
At this time SS doesn't support chat (text-based) salons.
If anyone has any recommendations for good chat services that
would be ideal for Social Salons, please send an email to:
Admin@SocialSalons.org
Login to Social Salons
Registration or Login Needed
You need to be registered and logged in with Social Salons before you can:
Schedule a new salon, Join a salon,
Save preferences and favorites, edit your profile,
or view any kind of information about other SS Users.
Registration is free, easy, and requires minimal information. No cost, no ads,
no tracking. Once you're registered you can fully participate
in Social Salons.
