Technical Proficiency

-Power User of Zoom and Google Meet

-As of summer 2026, I've become proficient with Loom

Above: Innocuous screenshot (only) of a recent Loom video I had created. What you see above is the "speaker bubble," "headshot circle," > > >

"talking head," or "face bubble."

With the Loom interface, you won't need to tidy-up your entire office.

Because, if you're like me, your desk is always piled high with active projects and reference binders—a true sign of a busy, creative mind.

Without the intervention of a "tidy-up" session before a video conference, folks watching the video chat might say:

"Look at that desk in that background.
What a MESS!"

Hahaha.

Year 2026, you'd almost need to be a wealthy tycoon to pull this off, however, imagine having enough space to add a dedicated second room to your home office. And this would be a room used strictly for video calls.

In that second room would be a second desktop computer setup. It would need to be a 2026 computer with a speedy processor. Not some old klunker running Windows 95.

Then, behind the webcam in that second room you could keep a background that appears on screen — like a museum. "Neat as a pin" as folks used to say. Nothing out of place. Nothing to move around and nothing to rearrange.

Sometimes, I'll see this sort of thing on the nightly news program. There will be a news reporter who they say is reporting from home. And I usually ponder as I watch and think, "Look at that background. That's not a real living room. There are no laundry bins, overflowing with children's toys. No LEGO bricks. I mean, is this even a real person?" Hahaha. Sometimes, I overanalyze things. It probably is their real living room. Plus, a laptop makes this somewhat easier. Point the laptop away from the clutter or move the laptop entirely to a new room.

Regardless, of all that, now, with the tight crop of the Loom specific speaker bubble, you will only need to tidy-up the office background that is located directly behind your shoulders. Hilarous!

For that matter, the "background blur feature" or the "cosmic background" always appears somewhat goofy, to me.

I always use the real background.

Meanwhile, The Loom interface allows you to screen share, present slides, run videos — and throw virtual confetti. Remarkable.

Is Loom the way of the future?
I don't know.

Update of September 2026:

When I first wrote the section, above, I thought Loom might have been the way of the future.

Now, I don't know.

Present day, there now seems to be a serious issue with canceling my free Loom account when I had completed my time using the free Loom interface. The algorithm would not let me delete my account. Meanwhile Loom continued to send emails to me that I should pony-up the cash, subscribe, and pay a monthly fee for a future premium account.

I didn't want that.

The only reason I created the loom account was because some firm asked me to create a Loom video for them and explain why I'd be a good fit for their role.

Meanwhile, present day, I had simply wanted everything associated with my Loom, deleted.

Then, come to find out, the task to cancel the account was like pulling teeth. It became so complex that I had to email headquarters and wait a day.

I think Loom is owned by a place in Australia?

Conclusion

Other than no simple way to close the account, much of what Loom was putting forth seemed to make sense.

I don't know. All of this keeps evolving.

That being said, I never had a problem with Google Meet or Zoom.

At the end of the day, each of these platforms seems to have their own set of bells and whistles.

-Remote Ready.

All of the modern computer gear — fully equipped with lightning-fast processing power — is already in place in Avon, Ohio 44011.

BYOD Ready!

Above: Avon, OH Sept. 13, 2023: A still frame. That's me, pictured on the screen-top webcam in my home office. From here, I was able to log-in to a morning webinar. I connected with dozens of colleagues, each one, who also had just "surfed on in" from across the nation.

I learned about new garments and new styles for the fourth quarter of 2023 that would be arriving, here in Cleveland. And some of these garments had already been wheeled-out on carts, during that particular week, at my workplace. Details about the products were explained by those at the headquarters building — located almost 900 miles away from Cleveland, Ohio.

The workplace locations of my colleagues and I are scattered across the nation. In some cases, the distance between us would be at least a two (2) day road trip away from each other. Nevertheless, each one of us was able to log-in and to collaborate online from our home offices.

It was as if we were all sitting around a large, wooden conference table, drinking coffees - just like it was back when I worked in advertising at the newspaper. Yet, this interaction was with colleagues from across the nation. And the meeting took place virtually, on my desktop PC. For me that meeting was in a room located five steps past the kitchen of our home - right here in Avon, Ohio.

Remarkable!

We live in an incredible age - an incredible era!

Tom Wible is "Bring Your Own Device" Ready ...

Highly desirable Intel® Core™ i9 Processor

AVON, OH. June 2023: During the last year, more powerful computers have been brought in.

These computers simplify content creation and allow for better work.

The new computing power features the latest versions of software, such as Windows 11. One desktop has a motherboard fitted with the newest Intel CORE i9 brand processor that is able to blaze-through intensive video editing applications without any delays.

I would be willing to put this new computing power to work for you, that is, if your operation has a "bring your own device" (aka BYOD) program in place at your company.

In my mind, BYOD must save a company thousands-upon-thousands of dollars! Consider if every employee brought their own computer to the workplace? And each employee brought their own cell phone with their own voice plan and their own data plan to the workplace? Think of the cost savings for the venture across hundreds-upon-hundreds of employees!

And here's another benefit of BYOD. Each employee probably would be using an up-to-date computer, provided each of the employees would be a fairly early-adopter of technology. They would not be using an older unit that is running, say, Windows 95.

I do understand the economics of it all.

I "get it." Admittedly, some companies that seemed to have all of the latest tech, and seemed to be running all of the latest apps, are now the same companies that are on the verge of bankruptcy. Or their company is for sale. Or the CEO departed - and went somewhere else. I can speak to examples of this. I can't help but ponder if all those upgrades in tech bankrupted the company?

And, in many cases, you can't have it both ways. As a former dot-com business owner, myself, I ponder these upgrades quite frequently, remembering how I had to finance (for months upon months) the computers that were used to run my company and how the tech is constantly changing.

And it may be a bit of a hyperbole, but the minute you buy a computer, they build the computer, and the computer arrives, then that is the moment that the machine is begins to be obsolete!

In conclusion, I own a modern and speedy, desktop computer. This home office setup includes a great webcam, a great mic, a color printer, high speed internet, a color-correcting ring light - and for that matter, a new reliable, automobile that transports me to work on time, each day.

This is the desktop PC setup that I use on a daily basis.

To conclude this section, here's a quick explanation that details a bit more about my technical abilities including knowlege of the AI Tools that are now emerging:

1. Proficient in leveraging AI platforms (Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude) for research, structural outlining, photo editing, and creating workflows.

2. Familiar with Content Management Systems (CMS) and CRM tools.

3. Familiar with basic AP Style formatting. Kent State Journalism major. Spelling. Writing for mass media.

4. Familiar with HTML, SEO, website dashboards, pay-per-click, analytics, and basic computer programming.

For me, my experience with computer programming began in the 80s . Back then, I would sit down at a desk in my bedroom. I'd cue-up the cassette player. Have playing maybe some Genesis. Some Depeche Mode. Some Limelight from those three Canadians who were just coming-on the scene a few hours north of Cleveland out of Toronto - and RIP Neal Peart. Heartbroken that he's gone - and gone too soon.

Anyhow, this is when I began coding BASIC on my Commodore 64.

Today, if there is some new computer interface that I have not yet begun experimenting with then know that I'm a "quick study." A fast learner.

I'd be more than happy to bring all this new tech to work for you within the "Bring Your Own Device" program of your organization.

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