Side Conversations
A video chat feature inspired by in-person group conversations
Remember what it was like to actually hang out with a large group?
Before the COVID pandemic one of my favorite past times was being immersed in a buzzing, free flowing, conversing group of my friends. A group of 10-12 of us would flow in and out of 1-on-1 side conversations, small group conversations, and the larger group conversation with ease, despite any adult-beverage-fueled chaos or clamor.
When the pandemic hit we shut this activity down completely and were left with one option, video calls... unfortunately this digital counterpart left a lot to be desired.
What’s the problem?
Friends want to have the freedom of side conversations while still being audibly and visibly connected to a larger group conversation. Currently, video call software does a poor job of simulating the experience of a large group with multiple conversations happening simultaneously.
Skip to my solutionUncovering the Issues
With the goal of better understanding social group conversation dynamics and video call preferences I interviewed users who have experienced large group social calls in hopes to identify opportunities in video call software that could lead to better simulating in-person large group conversations.
In-person was always preferred, video calls poorly simulate:
- Non-verbal cues (body language, facial subtlety)
- Voice/volume/attention modulation
- Connection through physical environment
- Excitement/energy of the conversation
- 1 on 1 or smaller group conversations ability
- Freedom/spontaneity of multiple conversation flows
Feature opportunities might include:
All participants expressed a desire or described a need to engage in small conversations while still audibly & visibly connected to the larger group (in-person).
The ability to have spontaneous side conversations is a necessity if trying to simulate dynamic real world group conversations on video calls.
All participants felt current tech/format negatively restricts the ability to talk to a specific person and/or engage at all during a large group video call.
In social situations people want to talk naturally and don’t want to be locked into a linear format where only one person from a large group can talk at a time.
A side conversation solution was clearly supported by user interview insights...
But which existing solutions, tools, or methods might be deployed?
Video Calls
Singular audio & video flow experience, some allow groupings (e.g. Wonder’s circles, Teams’ breakout rooms).
Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Houseparty, Messenger Rooms, Wonder/YoTribe
Virtual Reality
3D virtual environments for avatar-veiled groups to inhabit and connect. Spatial simulations allow voice/audio proximity & directionality.
VRChat, AltspaceVR
Audio-first
Proximity based audio in 2D environments or audio-only conversations grouped through topics/rooms.
High Fidelity, Clubhouse
Within existing tech, only a couple of underlying methods seemed feasible
- Volume modulation
- Live video
- Audio proximity/directionality
- Groupings
- Virtual spaces (visual dimension)
My Solution
A volume adjusting “focusing” feature allowing users to have secondary conversations while simultaneously hearing (and seeing) the overall group conversation.
Why have background audio at all?
My research showed the ability to overhear someone else’s conversation is a desire (or need) in real-world large group environments. The digital counterpart must attempt to simulate reality if we are striving for a rich human-to-human experience.
The goal for users to have the freedom of bouncing back and forth or engage in multiple conversations without losing much context is a very natural
This concept takes full advantage of our brain’s amazing ability to filter sound and shift attention when desired, known as the cocktail party effect.
In the not too distant future...
As video call technology advances, 3D audio (binaural sound) could be used to enhance the proposed effect… literally hearing background audio behind you and foreground audio in front of you (requiring headphones or surround sound).
Using Google Meet as my platform
I added the side conversation feature for desktop & mobile. I wanted to test the intuitiveness of accessing the feature so I allowed for multiple ways of starting a side conversation.
Starting a side conversation on desktop
Starting a side conversation on mobile
Uncovering UI trouble spots & identifying common flow paths
All users tasked with starting a side conversation with Spencer accessed the ‘side conversation’ prompt through his face (hover & click on desktop or tapping on mobile). However...
...when tasked with inviting multiple people at once many users took an entirely new route (especially on mobile).
Small takeaway: redundancy is ok!
Users expected a different path for slightly different tasks. Google Meet’s interface already includes multiple menu/action access points for existing features so precedent within the current product seems to support my conclusion.
I also conducted audio level tests
to determine a volume reduction target for background conversations
This part was tricky, somewhat unscientific, and the results were not entirely conclusive. My goal was to determine the ideal level where the cocktail effect was successful without strain.
I played side by side video call clips with various levels of sound reduction and had users determine what percentage of the conversation they could make out in the decreased volume clips.
Drop-off in intelligibility corresponding with volume varied wildly between users. One user even declared that his super power was being able to listen to two conversations and understand 100% of each!
Since each participant played the clips on their own device it introduced another uncontrolled variable that may have affected the results.
Despite struggling with inconsistent results
I was able to determine a preferred background target level at around 30% reduction in volume. This determination was based on user preference rather than a scientific testing result.
Final Thoughts
As long as humans want to connect over a distance there will be a market opportunity to bring them together virtually. My proposal attempts to take a small step towards a richer version of a specific type of group interaction using existing tools.
The exciting part for me is thinking about a future where, as technology advances and new solutions become available, the gap between a real world experience and the digital counterpart becomes almost non-existent... Maybe not in my lifetime, but who knows!
