About

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Who

Hi, I'm Michelle Webster, a Minneapolis based designer and artist, and creator of The Zoom™ Topic Generator*.

What

The Zoom™ Topic Generator provides icebreakers for virtual meetups in the pandemic age. The generator has a conversation starter for nearly any online gathering - from meetings, to happy hours, to the classroom.

Why

Everyone is working a little differently in the pandemic age. We are all various stages of stressed out, depending on the day, and it can get a little weird. Whether the context is social or professional, the virtual meetup situation takes some getting used to.

Some of those first post-quarantine Zooms were a little awkward for my non-freelancing friends. So, I began jotting down conversation starters for future reference, to ease jangled nerves and smooth over any awkwardly long pauses. A few lines of code later, this list became the Zoom™ Topic Generator.

Social distancing is the only way most of us can contribute to the fight against Covid-19. As such, we find ourselves at an unsettling intersection as we take our professional and personal lives to a virtual space, while striving for ways to connect with others during this vastly isolating global crisis.

My aim with this site was to take note of this moment, and recognize the adjustments those of us not on the front lines are all making for the good of all. And, if the Zoom™ Topic Generator brought a bit of light to your next virtual interaction, it would be super cool, actually.

Contact

Have an topic for the generator? I would love to hear it! Please send me a note. Really. I could use a little social interaction. Maybe you could too?

Portfolio

I'm always looking for freelance work - graphic design, web design and front-end development, UX, illustration and lettering projects. If you'd like to work together, check out my portfolio and get in touch!

Tools

Zoom™ Topic Generator was created with Bootstrap, CSS, and a simple JavaScript random number generator and query to pull and display topics.