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Yoliswa Dube-Moyo

MOST would be lying if they said they knew Zoom, a web-based video conferencing tool with a local, desktop client and mobile application that allows users to meet online.

They would also be lying if they said they knew they could record sessions, collaborate on projects, and share or annotate on one another’s screens.

Zoom allows one-to-one chat sessions that can grow into group calls, training sessions and webinars for internal and external audiences, and global video meetings with up to 1 000 participants and as many as 49 on-screen videos.

Those that knew about this application probably did not use it to host meetings with remote or international colleagues and clients as they do now, rather preferring to travel around the world for meetings.

The application, and many like it have grown in popularity of late as the Covid-19 pandemic has completely changed life as we know it.

It has changed the way people handle their social lives, businesses, personal hygiene and many other aspects of their existence.

Countries around the globe have imposed various restrictions in an effort to slow the spread of the highly contagious disease.

In Zimbabwe, a national lockdown initially announced on March 30 continues indefinitely.

Borders remain closed with only the movement of essential goods allowed.

President Mnangagwa said informal markets would remain shut while the Government consulted health specialists on how to reopen them safely.

Businesses such as manufacturers, supermarkets and banks, which have been allowed to continue operating, had their operating hours extended from a maximum of six hours to more than eight hours between 8am and 4.30pm.

President Mnangagwa said only students writing their final examinations this year would be allowed to resume classes.

This essentially means everyone else has to figure out how to go about their lives and businesses without flouting the restrictions.

Most have since realised there is more one can do on the internet other than social networking on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

In fact, Covid-19 has necessitated living on the internet.

“I doubt I’ll be re-opening my offices. I’ve actually been enjoying working from home and it’s a massive saving on office rentals,” said Mr Michael Hove, a real estate business owner.

He said he could work around not having office space and have the same production output while working from home.

“It’s now a question of efficiency. The lockdown has forced us to think outside the box and actually realise we can continue to work without meeting physically or leaving the house every day,” said Mr Hove.

A working internet connection, office essentials such as a printer and a computer, he said, are all one needs for business to continue “as usual”.

“Look here, if my staff and I can operate from home for over a month now, we can surely continue this way. It’s just a matter of making a few adjustments here and there, otherwise it’s very possible,” said Mr Hove.

Nowadays, most, if not everything happens online.

Churches cannot gather as usual as President Mnangagwa imposed a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people.

Christians now access services online via Facebook Live and YouTube. Prayer sessions and church meetings are done using Zoom with congregants being encouraged to give in their tithes and offerings using mobile applications such as EcoCash and bank transfers.

Online shopping has become all the more common with businesses advertising their goods online and offering delivery services.

Fitness fanatics who cannot visit their gym or do physical activities outside the home can still exercise from home using videos accessed online.

The education sector, one of the hardest hit by the lockdown, has found solace in online classes as the academic year has to continue in spite of Covid-19.

Miss Shuvai Moyo, a computer science student at Africa University said lecturers made use of online classes to complete courses and prepare students for exams.

“We would make a timetable for when everyone was available, let’s say for an hour or two hours. We then logged into Zoom, which we used to do video conferencing,” she said.

Miss Moyo said the university makes use of various software through which exams can be written.

“We have a platform where lecturers can send resources and exam papers. There’s a time limit so when you click to start the exam, that’s when your timer starts. So, you can write the exams at different times but with the same time allocation. It doesn’t matter when you start because they’ll always give you a time limit,” said Miss Moyo.

She explained that lecturers use Zoom to check if students are adhering to exam rules.

“Zoom accommodates 10 users or more at a time. For exams where lecturers suspect there might be cheating, they use Zoom to watch you writing the exam. You switch on Zoom on your phone and you’ll be doing the exam on your laptop.”

Miss Moyo said because she was on campus before the lockdown, there was no need to utilise the online platforms before but times have changed. “The university is trying hard to ensure that our learning is not disrupted too much. We’re just making more use of these platforms, which we already had,” she said.

Artists have also been adversely affected by the lockdown with most seeing the need to remain relevant by hosting virtual shows.

The recent Gara Mumba Iwe concert powered by Prophet Passion Java where Winky D was the main attraction recorded over 20 000 Facebook views, the highest so far for a Zimbabwean online concert.

A few days ago, Jamaican greats Beenie Man and Bounty Killer were in an epic Verzuz Battle of Dancehall Legends with over 450 000 Instagram views.

Victoria Falls based DJ Spevar, who is also the organiser of the Mapopoma Festival said to try and remain relevant, some DJs have come up with online shows which they host during weekends.

“We love what we do and we’re doing online mixes to keep our fans entertained. Being on lockdown is stressful for most and music is the best way to cheer up people. For us, these virtual shows are good in that we get to capture a wider audience while also marketing ourselves online,” said DJ Spevar.

He said the pandemic had been an eye opener for them as they are looking at other ways of reaching out to fans and making money in the process.

“Our tourism industry has been hit hard and this has affected every other sector dependent on it including arts. We won’t have any work for months to come and it’s now up to us to innovate as an arts industry to remain relevant,” he said.

In the early days of computing, computers were seen as devices for making calculations, storing data, and automating business processes.

However, as the devices evolved, it became apparent that many of the functions of telecommunications could be integrated into the computer.

During the 1980s, many organisations began combining their once-separate telecommunications and information-systems departments into an information technology, or IT, department.

This ability for computers to communicate with one another and, maybe more importantly, to facilitate communication between individuals and groups, has been an important factor in the growth of computing over the past several decades.

While the internet and web were evolving, corporate networking was also taking shape in the form of local area networks and client-server computing. In the 1990s, when the internet came of age, internet technologies began to pervade all areas of the organisation.

Now, with the internet a global phenomenon, it would be unthinkable to have a computer that did not include communications capabilities.

The sad reality, however, is that data in Zimbabwe is expensive, making access to the internet a preserve for the privileged few. — @Yolisswa