Online video apps become go-to for businesses, clubs and friends through coronavirus pandemic

The modern way some friends, schools, businesses and clubs have all adapated to being in isolation around the world

JACQUI Bilsborough fought back her tears as she thought about how a small camera had helped keep some normalcy in an otherwise chaotic world.

“Nothing feels normal right now,” she said.

“When you’re in the middle of something really stressful and traumatic, you can often step away and take a breath, but you can’t with this.”

Mrs Bilsborough, 50, of Maudsland, is one of an increasing number of people turning to online video apps such as Zoom, Skype and other similar videoconferencing services to help cope with the disruptions and isolations caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Since classes cannot be held at the Shoes off Living studio on Station Road, Nerang at the moment, Mrs Bilsborough has been taking her pilates classes four times a week via Zoom.

Kim Juster, 35, of Shoes off Living, has moved her pilates classes to online through the Zoom app. Picture: Supplied

She said she was grateful for the company’s founder, Kim Juster, for offering the classes via the app.

“It’s really nice as we can log on and talk to the others, so it’s like we’re there in the studio together,” she said.

“I think it’s amazing how you can actually speak to everyone and be in contact and have that sense of normalcy in this crazy, crazy time.

“It’s that sense of being able to still see the people you enjoy seeing and the things you enjoy doing.

“It kind of takes away that feeling of being overwhelmed for a while.”

Although to many it seems like the Zoom app appeared overnight, it Zoom Video Communications, Inc was founded in California in 2011.

Offering both free and paid options, anyone can host a video conference meeting with multiple people live.

The participants can all see, and talk to, each other via separate screens, reminiscent of the 1970s Brady Bunch television sitcom.

Kim Juster, 35, of Shoes off Living, has moved her pilates classes to online through the Zoom app. Picture: Supplied

The sessions can also be recorded for those who want to join in but have to wait until later.

The app has been used in some offices, universities and schools for years but it is only since the forced isolation that has come with the COVID-19 outbreak that other types of businesses have been pushed to adapt to using various types of online video tools as well.

In southeast Queensland alone, many sporting clubs, like Move It Gymnastics in Loganholme, have started having coaches host video sessions via Zoom as a way for their club members to continue with their fitness routines.

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Even dog trainers, such as Pawsitive Connection and Gold Coast Pet Butler, are moving to Zoom, WhatsApp, Skype or other online apps that offer group video conferencing abilities for some group training classes.

Others are using them to attend church, or simply using them to catch up with friends, including to have social drinks “together.”

Ms Juster, the Shoes off Living pilates instructor, said it was also a way to help keep some form of income coming in for clubs and businesses, who have had to shut or direct employees to work from home.

“I’ve had to cut expenses right back,” she said.

Jacqui Bilsborough, 50, of Maudsland, is loving being able to attend pilates classes via the Zoom app. Picture: Supplied

Ms Juster, 35, of Oxenford, said although she had reduced class fees, running the classes via video helped to maintain some income.

She said it was also important to help others connect with each other, so opened her online classes 15 minutes before they started so participants could socialise.

“Because I’ve been running my business for many years it has become a community. It’s social and people feel connected,” she said.

“That was most important part – to keep the connection alive – because a lot of us are in isolation.

“So many of members have said it’s a form of normality … and when you exercise you get the endorphins, which is also good for your mental health.”

Ms Juster said running a video class came with its challenges, especially as her husband, Aaron Butson, still had to go to work, which means their 10-month-old daughter, Maisie, often popped into the class.

Zoom spokeswoman Amie Dehner said the company could not provide statistics to show how much the platform had grown in Australia in recent weeks.

But, according to app tracking firm, Apptopia, by late March Zoom had emerged as the most downloaded service on the Apple app store, with more than 2 million downloads worldwide, up from about 56,000 daily downloads only months earlier.