http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=11633&utm_medium=nl&utm_source=totd&utm_content=2011-11-08-article-1&utm_campaign=end-b
Hosting a family event online
Q. Dear Kim. First, thank you for everything your staff do. I love your show, website and newsletters. Here's my question: My grandparents will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary later this month. They have 5 children, 15 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren. Due to the large size of our family, many will not be able to attend our Thanksgiving/Anniversary celebration. I would like to set up a way that everyone not attending can call in via video chat so we can all wish them Happy Anniversary together. Is Skype the best way to accomplish this? Thank you very much for taking my email and helping me give my grandparents a great gift for their anniversary.
-Jodie from Marshall, IL, listens to my national radio show on WIBA 98.5 FM
A. A 65th wedding anniversary! Wow! That is definitely an event worthy of celebration. It's great you're trying to get everyone together to wish them well.
Alas, with a large family it is hard for everyone to attend, especially if they're scattered around the country or globe. A while back I helped another listener with a similar problem for a class reunion. Fortunately, your situation should be a little easier to handle.
I'll warn you, however, it won't be as simple as you'd like. You're going to be doing a lot of coordination. It is doable, however, if you get planning now.
You'll need to put everyone on some sort of call schedule. There are various services online you can use. The most popular let you get up to 10 people on a call at once. But the problem is that everyone is so darn small on the screen.
That's easy enough to fix. You'll also definitely want to record the calls. You can edit the videos later and make a "best of" to share with the entire family.
Let's start off with your biggest potential problem: the number of people. Out of the gate, you have at least 47 people you want to attend. Now, some will be there in person and others will be grouped together for Thanksgiving, which reduces the number of remote connections you'll need. Still, it will be a few.
Skype, which is your best choice for this plan, supports a maximum of 10 connections. If you can pare your 47 people down to 10 groups (9 remote connections + your grandparents), you're set.
You'll just need to make sure everyone has the latest version of Skype. You'll also need to have a Skype Premium account to host the group video chat. Fortunately, you can get a Premium Day Pass for just $5.
What if you have more than 10 groups that need to connect? Well, you could set up a second computer. With a Skype Premium account for each, you can host up to 18 remote connections. That should be more than enough for your purposes. You will have to create a separate Skype account for each computer, though.
Be aware you will need a fast, reliable Internet connection to handle all that video traffic. However, even with a fast connection, things will get a little sluggish. Expect the entire experience to be a tad chaotic.
You'll probably want to take charge of directing who can talk and when. Maybe let everyone say "Happy Anniversary" at once and then let each group give well-wishes individually. Don't let each person have a go or it will take forever.
Remember that if you do have two computers running, people on one won't be able to see or hear people on the other. So be sure to communicate what is going on to avoid confusion between groups. Hopefully, everyone will be accommodated with just one, since you're dealing with family groups, for the most part.
Make sure the webcam you use for your grandparents is high-definition. You want everyone to be able to see them clearly. Also, put them front and center in the view.
Sound is going to be an issue. I usually tell people to use a headset when video chatting to avoid problems like feedback and low microphone volume. You can learn more about that in this tip.
If you have groups of people, however, they'll need a microphone and speakers. Make sure everyone sets up the microphone well away from the computer speakers. You might also direct them to turn down their computer speakers when they're talking. If anyone talks individually, have them get right up to the microphone for the best clarity.
The same goes for your grandparents. Get the microphone right in front of them. You'll also want the speakers turned up high so they can hear what people are saying.
You might take charge of positioning the microphone and regulating the volume for them. Plus, you can cover the microphone when they aren't talking to reduce the chance of feedback.
All this is a lot to get right the day of the party. Trust me; I've been on holiday Skype calls where the first 10 minutes is spent troubleshooting a relative's audio and video. Multiply that by 10 or more and you'll have a lot of wasted time.
That's why I strongly recommend doing a test run earlier in the week. Get everyone to fire up his or her computers and connections at the same time (or as many participants as possible, for this test). This will help you get comfortable with the process of hosting a group video chat, and you'll ensure as much as possible that the hardware is working correctly.
Test the video and sound to see how you can get the best results. Also, it's a good way to make sure your Internet connection can handle that much traffic. It's a good test of your relatives' connections as well. It also will help the kids in the group have an experience with chat. They tend to get very excitable the first time, so this could help minimize the chaos on the day of the actual event.
If all else fails, you can resort to individual video chats. Set up a schedule in advance that lets everyone have a few minutes to congratulate your grandparents. It wouldn't be the big hurrah you hoped for, but I don't think your grandparents will mind.
