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Remotely — Avatar-based social hub with meetings, games & activities
An Avatar-based social hub with meetings, social games and activities. Providing a sense of presence and a digital watercooler to connect your team.
A fun way to build stronger social relationships together through play.
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@palam_s Thank you- we felt a product which was more human centric was needed for remote working teams.
@palam_s thank you for your support! Yes, it's been fascinating to see the market grow rapidly in just a short space of time. Remote work is great for the planet and for people who want to gain a better life/ work balance. The future in work is dynamic. Remotely provides a platform for remote teams to build stronger more meaningful relationships 😃
The chess board looks such in the screenshot. I signed up but didn't find it in the activities. Let me know if I'm missing something. Looking forward to trying it out and sharing any inputs/feedback that we have
@abhishek1846 Thanks for checking out Remotely. There's the Hub area which contains all of our services and games in one place. Chess is down in the bottom right of the area. Here's a link you can visit to check it out https://remotelyhq.com/activity/...
@abhishek1846 thanks for reaching out. There are a couple of ways to enter activities. 1) From the Hub, make your way up to the top left in the 'Games' area, hit SPACE bar and you will jump straight into a game. 2) From your App Dashboard you can create a new activity from the games list, then hit 'start' and go to this directly. The URL of your created space is unique, so you can simply copy and paste this into your Chat/Slack or Messenger to send to friends or colleagues. Let us know what you think, we'd love to hear your feedback.
@abhishek1846 The Chess Board is located on the bottom right corner of the Hub center and is a free form game. This means there's no game timer, but rather that the game is paced as you and companion choose to pace it. Simply interact with SPACE bar and you can pick up and swap pieces. Enjoy the space and let us know how you get on!
@abhishek1846 @gene_harris Don't play against Gene he thrashed me in about 5 moves haha
Hi Product Hunt! 👋
Gene Harris here - CX Manager at RemotelyHQ 🤓
As a remote-first company Remotely set out on a mission to connect all remote workers of the world….through play! 🎲
There are huge benefits to remote work!.... but, it’s not without its challenges.
In fact, they are the same challenges that have been around for 5 decades that have held remote work back: team coordination, team communication, worker wellbeing and isolation. 😓
As an Avid Gamer Founder Adam Berry made lasting connections with fellow gamers online despite having never met in real life. One day he asked himself “Why can’t I work this way?”. 💡🤯
So we’ve taken the best things about social gaming and built an avatar-based social hub with meetings, social games and activities for remote teams.
Why does your team need this?
Everyone notices a social disconnect while working remote. Lacking the common ground to form lasting social connections people can be left feeling isolated. Affecting their mental health, wellbeing and overall productivity. 😰
Without team cohesion this can negatively impact employee retention costing companies:
> Recruiting costs
> Onboarding costs
> Lost productivity
> Lost engagement
> Customer service and errors
> Training costs
> Cultural impact
If you had the chance to positively impact your team's culture with just 20 mins a week of structured activities would you take it?
We’re really excited that our MVP is now live with FREE original games and virtual meeting spaces.
www.remotelyhq.com
If you have any questions, please fire away below in the comments.
We’d love to hear what you think.
Also feel free to join our community on Discord.
https://discord.com/invite/bV65E...
We've had so many great questions today. It's great to speak to so many people who are seeking tools to improve their teams remote social environment. We've also spoken to a few people trying to reconnect with relatives overseas as well as game enthusiasts, general tech and remote work champions. It's been a really interesting day so far. Thanks for taking the journey with us so far. ✈️
@gene_harris I agree Gene. Great feedback, thoughtful questions. It's been a great experience coming on to Product Hunt.
@adam_berry2 We'll have to do it again....but next time with Millers Coffee! ☕☕☕
@ashrahman Thanks Ash! Yes, we love the concept of 'leveling up' 🍄 remote work. If we can help teams come together with gaming technology we achieved one of our primary goals!
@ashrahman Thanks Ash! Love gamifying the world of Remote work. So many applications for games to help better the world
@mitchell_bassett @gene_harris @adam_berry2 glad that you are thinking ahead and utilizing games. Just in case we can be helpful anyway for more simpler games, keep me posted!
@ashrahman that sounds awesome. We'll have to keep in touch. You and Mitch would have a lot to talk about.
Super proud of the Remotely team as we go live on product hunt today. The future of remote work is social.
Wow, we're thrilled by everyone's questions and responses to the Remotely Platform! We've been on this journey for a little over three years and the world and marketplace has changed and developed rapidly. We're inspired by the fact that there are people out there who feel the same way about remote team engagement as we do! 🥰
@binay_singh2 thank you! It's a labour of love for sure. We're all passionate gamers and creative professionals. So we wanted the platform to reflect that 🌞
I've had a run around the hub and came to the large meeting room at the back. This looks awesome-can schools use remotely? Just thinking that my sister might want to use this to study.
@whatchuptu Yes absolutely, schools can use Remotely. In fact the University of Otago in New Zealand, just ran a lecture in Remotely for Doctoral Candidates.
@whatchuptu thanks for checking the platform out. That is a great observation. Just recently we actually hosted Otago University for a lecture in the platform. So yes, there are a lot of applications outside of remote work. Study groups or interest communities could use the platform to meet up. Especially if distance is an issue, it's quite dynamic being able to meet in a 3 dimensional space over say a forum or chat.
@gene_harris oh that's pretty cool. Yeah I think I'll share this with my sister tomorrow. She quite often runs a study group with a couple of friends. Saves them writing each other in chat if they can just hang out in a virtual space. You can screen share right?
@gene_harris @whatchuptu Yes the meeting rooms, come in different sizes and have screen share. Great for a class or a study group!
@whatchuptu yes, I think the platform is well suited for that. After the study group they can even catch up for a quick game. Yes, once you enter a private meeting zone you'll notice that there is a new button in the center navigation which is for screen share. There's also a chat in platform if people want to write questions when someone is presenting.
Just wondering if Remotely would ever consider branching out to VR? Seems quite immersive, might be cool to see if from a first person view.
@whatchuptu That would be really great in the long run. We have a number of other milestones we'd ideally like to hit first. Expanding our game offering is probably our next big priority. But eventually moving towards a Web3 platform with multiple ways for users to interact would be an amazing place to be.
@gene_harris Right yeah, there's probably loads of other things your team wants to do first. Suppose it's device dependent too. Not many people can afford a VR headset.
@whatchuptu yes if it helps solve a problem, or makes learning or events even more exciting.
@whatchuptu that's right. There are a lot of variables, I guess we needed to prove first that Remote Teams wanted to connect this way as well. So far all signs point to 'yes' - teams so far are enjoying the games and posting some great scores. Technology is advancing quickly, so this means that over time it will become cheaper and more accessible to users, but it starts with Remote workers and then branches out.
Working in Remotely seems very democratic. No boss dominating the video for example. Is that intentional?
@hear_me_roar_kids That is an excellent observation. There was a study conducted at Stanford on 'Zoom Fatigue' in which there were a number of discovers made. One of these was related to 'perceived status' in video conferencing. And you're right, when someone is talking on a video conference they normally take up most of the screen. This can be perceived by viewers as they their opinion carrying more weight than their peers. Especially if this person is a Manager and they are doing most of the talking. One of the other takeaway's from the research was the ability to measure 'Zoom Fatigue' on the ZEF scale and also the fact that 'Zoom Fatigue' appeared to affect women more negatively than men. Some really interesting stuff. So to answer the question...haha yes, we intentionally removed video until we can figure out in which cases it really adds value.
@hear_me_roar_kids Here's a link to an article which jumps into that theme a bit more https://www.economist.com/graphi...
@hear_me_roar_kids Thank you for that question. One of the first things we did as a team, was initiate a study with a social and behavioural scientist. Her findings helped inform the first designs of Remotely. We've been very research orientated ever since.
@woody2007 hey Woody, great thanks for the support. Yes, we specifically design each of our games with a focus on remote team engagement. What does this mean? We design with goals like; communication, collaboration and team problem solving. We've also found that a team that can celebrate wins together tend to bond faster. So, yes the games are fun, but they are also designed to bring everyone closer together. 🫂
@gene_harris Oh I see. Yeah I can see why my team would be into this. I'm going to set up a Friday game for them and see how they get on. Thank you for giving me a bit more info. I'll be sure to let my team know. Congrats on the launch.
@woody2007 @gene_harris that is pretty cool. Do you think Remotely will make games for larger groups at some point?
@woody2007 @whatchuptu thank you. Yes, we've put a lot of thought into the takeaway for teams. Playing is of course fun, but to be meaningful we wanted teams to walk away with new skills. That is a great question, without giving too much away we are currently developing a few activities that would be suited to larger groups and be played longer.
@woody2007 Absolutely. Gamers create friendships around the world by playing games in squads, they have most likely never met. We've applied the same design principles to Remotely and remote work.
@woody2007 thanks for the great question. Through the user testing we've conducted users have told us that they found it remarkably quick to break the ice with people they haven't met in real life. In many ways this was a litmus test for the product. Could uses form a quick bond, share a joke and form quick connections....the data we have so far says yes. We even found that self confessed 'introverts' felt more comfortable to engage and communicate with their peers.
@woody2007 Hey Woody, a great question. It does start with your individual team but if your team enjoy it and you think that the wider company would enjoy Remotely by all means please share the link with them. Currently we have a hard limit of 15 but we are working to expand our capability for larger events. It really depends what the event requirements are. We are working on an 'Enterprise' level in which we could build custom solutions for larger companies. Please keep in touch and let us know what your team thinks the platform. ✌️
@gene_harris okay great, sounds like a plan. I've already scheduled a Remotely catch up with my team, so we'll go from there.
@woody2007 In the interim you could actually challenge another department to try and beat your top score. Remotely has a Global Leaderboard in which all the top game scores are recorded. See if you can top the current scores!
I noticed that the audio is really clear in Remotely. I'm sure it's built that way, but does it fully replace video?
@maxie_godoy Hi Maxie, how very astute of you to notice. This is actually something we discovered during development. Have you ever been on a call where the video or the audio lags or drops off? This is because the audio and video are competing for the same data. Imagine a pipe that only has so much space being crammed full of audio and video at the same time. When you started to use prerendered 3D assets (characters and environments) we noticed that they don't compete with the audio stream at all. Hence, our crystal clear audio streams. If you needed a video call there are plenty of great apps out there to use. Remotely doesn't replace these but rather sits along side them as a social tool. That being said, if you don't need to have video, but want clearer non laggy audio Remotely is perfect for this.
@gene_harris oh okay...I see. That's a bit technical for me, but I get it. No video means clearer audio. That is kinda cool. Thanks for answering that for me.
@maxie_godoy Yes thats right if Zoom was 80% video and 20% audio, we're 80% audio, because our environments are much lighter than video.
Do you think Remotely will help companies to stay remote working? A lot of companies seem dead set on returning to the office.
@maxie_godoy We've designed Remotely to provide social connection for remote working teams, so that people feel connected and coordinated. There are many benefits to people, communities, companies and families in being able to work remote, and it is very desirable to knowledge workers, who tend to be in demand. We feel talent will ultimately decide how they want to work. That said, the total number of remote working companies might settle at 25-30% of businesses. But this is still 5x times larger a market than just two years ago.
@maxie_godoy Hey Maxie, great question. It comes down the type of work the companies do and the culture they have. Now that a large majority of the work force has tried remote work, discovered the benefits, and that they can be just as affective (if not more so) working remote...it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle. We have some research projections that as high as 70% of all departments will have remote workers of some description by 2025. From what can spot from online job listings and work trends we're on track to meet this. It's out hope that we can make remote work more viable for companies by providing a social platform for their teams.
@ricadw Hi Richard, thanks for reaching out to ask this question. This is a perfect example of what we solving for. We'd really like to provide a platform for remote team members to feel like part of the team. Although there might be a time difference, times that do align would be perfect to better engage with this team member and get to know them better. Please try Remotely out and let us know what your Philippines based teammate thinks of the platform.
@ricadw Then you have the perfect situation for setting up remote work activities and games. It's the best way for you and your team to engage without meeting in person.
@ricadw That's right, you can all just walk up to each other as avatar's and be "present".
@georgen_esencia_merin thank you for your interest in Remotely.
> Remotely is currently a Google Chrome Browser experience on your PC/ Laptop.
> Please update to the latest Chrome Browser.
> Disable VPN and Crypto Wallet browser extensions as they can affect Remotely performance.
And that's it! Jump into the onboarding and when you're familiar with it, simply copy and paste your URL into a chat or messenger with friends and invite them to join.
@georgen_esencia_merin Hey George, my pleasure. Thanks for supporting our launch and please keep in touch.
@georgen_esencia_merin Feel free to join us on Discord https://discord.com/invite/bV65E...
The avatars are amazing! I've had a run around the Hub. It’s a nice change to be able to select non-human characters as well. The emotes are cute and my new favourite thing is to wander up and mash [6] on the keyboard to make my avatar break dance!!! Hahaha
@whatchuptu Thank you so much for your kind words! We have spent a lot of hours designing and developing our avatars. Not just the look, but the feel as well. We may have to create a 'break dance' arena next!
@gene_harris I can tell, the emotes and different run animations are really entertaining. I'll be sharing this with my remote colleagues in other countries.
@whatchuptu thank you yes, personality and 'life' is something we wanted to bring across in each avatar. We have seen too many avatars with thousand yard stares 😅
@genosog Hey Bobby, thanks for supporting our launch. This is a great question. We felt that the 'virtual office' space was quite congested and to be honest recreating a virtual office didn't excite the team. Or really solve the problem most remote working teams were facing. To better understand the strain on a remote working teams, we went remote first. We also started user interviews and user testing. What became apparent is that what people really missed was the informal social time and connections at work. Better known as 'water cooler moments'. Those moments where you bump into someone that you don't necessarily work directly with but neither the less you stop to chat to. This is what Remotely was trying to replicate for remote workers. Our solution to this challenge is structured social games. Whilst fun, they are also designed to improve communication and strengthen informal social networks. A 'digital water cooler' if you will.
@genosog Cool question, thanks. We just felt with infinite creativity at our means- just recreating the office would have been a missed opportunity. Plus people dont really miss the office- they miss the people and thats why we focussed on social connection.
@genosog without the office creativity is unlimited. Wouldn't you want to work in a volcano?
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