Heard of the ‘credibility bookcase’ yet? Charlotte steps up video chats during COVID.

It’s time to hop on that meeting with your team, and your boss will be there.

Quick, hide that pile of laundry behind your head, especially the basket with your underwear sitting right on top, ready to embarrass you for all of eternity. Scan the room to scoop up this morning’s dirty cereal bowl, last night’s Inizio pizza box, the kids’ toys — they’re everywhere.

You can file that thought away in the things you never worried about before the coronavirus pandemic category, but it’s now top of mind daily. Your home’s clutter is no longer just annoying, but now it’s unprofessional, too?

As more meetings take place through the lens of a computer’s webcam because of COVID-19, the more we have to adjust to rightfully present ourselves.

Enter: The “credibility bookcase.”

Yes, it’s a thing, so much so The New York Times even reported on it. Artfully placing yourself in front of a bookcase is the quarantine’s hot trend for video calls for participants to display authority. In other words, those heaping piles of laundry and dirty dishes in the background don’t necessarily scream sophistication and professionalism.

The Twitter account, Bookcase Credibility, has more than 80,000 followers and the tagline: “What you say is not as important as the bookcase behind you.”

Charlotte’s ‘credibility bookcases’

We wanted to know what Charlotte’s credibility bookcases looked like. So we set out to find some.

Heather Harjes is the CFO for Eurest, an operating company for food service company Compass Group. Her work has been heavily impacted by COVID, as most of her client’s employees are also working from home.

“I’m on lots of video conference calls with leadership to discuss our response and recovery,” Harjes said. “We’ve also completely halted all air travel, so we are having all of our meetings by video with various teams at sites across the country.”

For her video calls, Harjes uses a bookcase as background. The shelves was recently installed as part of a home remodel, and they had little use before COVID.

“Coworkers noted that it was completely empty, so I searched the house for items to put in the background — an abacus, a globe and a few bookends in the “&” and “@” shapes,” Harjes said. “The abacus is a real conversation starter because it’s huge. People often ask if I actually use it. I hate to disappoint, but Excel is much easier.”

Aneeta Uppal also uses a bookcase as her video call background. She works full time in human health and disease-related areas of research, completing computational work. Uppal is also studying for her PhD in bioinformatics at UNC Charlotte.

Uppal created a work-from-home setup in 2016 to have a space to work on research and grant projects and data analyses.

“My setup has always been the same for my home office,” Uppal said. “I do my Zoom calls from there, of course, because I have a big desk, a lot of space, and it’s comfortable and easy to work from.”

Uppal’s bookshelf consists of a mix of science textbooks, computer textbooks, Bibles and spiritual books, gardening books, nonfiction series and many others.

What if I don’t have a bookcase?

But of course, not everyone works a 9-to-5 behind a desk, so not every meeting background has to illustrate a person’s serious, intellectual side.

Several people in Charlotte said they don’t even own bookcases — maybe they KonMari’d their apartments in the earlier days of quarantine. Are bookcases approaching extinction?

Here are some other video meeting background options found in Charlotte:

For when you’re missing campus, JCSU has a solution

Sherri Belfield, director of University Communications and Marketing at Johnson C. Smith University, has been working with her department to make JCSU campus scenes available as backgrounds for Zoom and other video conferences. JCSU is home to iconic landmarks in Charlotte’s Historic West End, including Biddle Hall and the Johnson C. Smith University Arch of Triumph.

“It has been nearly two months since students, faculty, staff and alumni have been on campus, and many are missing the beautiful landscape and iconic buildings,” Belfield said. “We decided to provide images of these special places so they may use them as virtual backgrounds. We hope the images, which showcase the beauty and history of our campus, will help them feel connected to JCSU and provide a way for them to show their Golden Bulls Pride.”

If you have $10K in video production equipment, this one’s for you

Cameron Glenn, the owner and founder of Skyvisions USA, a videography productions company, is an expert behind the camera and believes that quality and feel are still highly important in front of the camera, too.

“We use a Camlink System to actually hook our cinema cameras up to the computer to use as a webcam,” Glenn said. “All in, we are using about $10,000 worth of equipment. Lighting, audio and video need to be spot on for us.”

Glenn believes that the background of a video call is extremely important to catch people’s attention. “Having a bright and airy background is much more inviting than a dark and poorly lit room,” Glenn said. “I want my background to match my presentation: bright, inviting and professional.”

For this kindergarten teacher, a living room converts into a classroom

Charlotte kindergarten teacher Natalie McKoy has had to adjust from being inside the classroom to teaching her kids through a computer screen. McKoy recreated her kindergarten classroom at Sharon Elementary right in the middle of her living room. Although her small setup by the window is not quite the same as her physical classroom, McKoy wanted her kids to see what they were used to seeing before school moved to online because of COVID-19.

“I wanted to provide familiarity for my kids,” McKoy said. “I even hung up posters from our classroom behind me to create the illusion of being back in school.”

Virtual backgrounds of old photos offer pre-distancing memories

Patrick Milligan, a senior account manager at Signature Consultants, a national technology and professional staffing firm, is constantly on video calls with his team and his clients at Wells Fargo. He said it is important that he presents himself in a highly professional manner.

For his more professional staff meetings, Milligan uses images of employees at former golf outings, work dinners or other networking events to remind his team of its former successes and good times from before.

“With children home from school, they can often be a distraction in the background during video conference calls,” Milligan said. “I am able to use virtual backgrounds to minimize distractions and keep employees focused on the agenda, which results in more efficient meetings. The new virtual workplace lends itself to screen fatigue, and I find that using creative virtual backgrounds both provides some relief and promotes dialogue amongst the team.”

However, those Friday afternoon happy hour calls, often take on a different look.

“Happy hour is anyone’s guess,” Milligan said. “A quick Google search can provide lots of fun pictures to choose from. My recent favorite is a background from ‘The Bachelor’.”

A relatable living room setting helps push clients toward their goals

Giavonni Mack is a personal trainer at Building Bodies, a concierge wellness service. Although in-person meetings are a main part of his job, Mack has had to adjust to serving his clients virtually.

“We have been reaching out to our clients to show them that their fitness goals and a healthy lifestyle can still be accomplished in the comfort of their own home,” Mack said.

Mack created his video call setup in his living room to better relate to his clients as they also complete workouts in their home.

Virtual face time is professional, while actual work is casual

Hayden Taylor, an account executive at Hearst Television, takes most of his calls in a professional, non-distracting setting.

“When it comes to meeting ‘face to face,’ it’s important to dress the part and have a professional background to show a level of respect for the other people you are working with and make things feel as regular as possible,” Taylor said.

However, when Taylor is looking to hone in on his work, you can find him poolside.

“Outside by the pool and in casual clothes, I feel more relaxed and am able to get through a lot of work in a short amount of time,” Taylor said.

‘Many are places I wish I could visit right now’

Michael McKay is an IT developer for Elevation Church. Since almost all of his meetings are primarily with other staff members, McKay strives to keep his backgrounds interesting and fun. From the Appalachian State University stadium to his favorite TV show to cruises, McKay often switches up his virtual background, depending on what his meeting is for and who it is with.

“I use fun backgrounds because it helps keep meetings interesting and many are places I wish I could visit right now,” McKay said.

So you have a bookcase. How should you dress it to impress?

Fortunately, your newest quarantine reading hobby and decorating those empty shelves can go hand in hand. Here are some local authors you’ll want to check out:

• Patrice Gopo’s ”All the Colors We Will See”;
  
  
• Webb Hubbell’s “When Men Betray”;
• Kimmerly Martin’s pandemic novel, “The Antidote for Everything”;
  
  
• Paula Martinac’s “The Ada Decades”;
• Grace Ocasio’s “Hollerin From this Shack”
  
  
• Chrissie Nelson Rothko’s cookbook, “Stunning Spreads: Easy Entertaining with Cheese, Charcuterie, Fondue & Other Shared Fare”; and
• Bakari Sellers’ memoir, “My Vanishing Country”.

We want to see your video meeting background. Do you use a bookcase? A blank wall? A virtual background you created yourself? Let us know at charlottefive@charlottefive.com and we might include you in upcoming coverage.

This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 9:58 AM.

Jennings Cool

The Charlotte Observer