Networking Session and Gather Town

We are really excited about the fast approaching conference! Here, we are going to be talking about the last technological tool you will be using in the conference: Gather Town. You see, one of the things we always find magical about conferences are the casual conversations and encounters with friends that happen in the hallways and in receptions after panels are done. While Zoom is great for many things, it does not allow for that kind of meandering socializing. Enter Gather Town. In Gather Town, you receive a little digital character that you can navigate around a room. As you approach other users, your video chat and audio will fade in and you can start chatting, akin to approaching each other in person and talking. This post provides an introduction and instructions for joining. Our Networking Session will be posted in the #02-networking-session channel in Slack and will be held from 4:45 to 6:45 pm EST on Friday November 5th. This was made possible by the generosity of the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia.

Using Gather Town

To join, click on the link in the Slack channel.
You may get a warning message “using Google Chrome or Firefox” for optimal use. Gather Town works okay with other types of browsers (e.g., Safari), but if you experience any issues in audio and video, we recommend using Chrome or Firefox.

3. Enter a password (XXXXXX) for our private space and click the “Submit” button.

4. When you first visit a Gather space, you get to create your personal avatar, the digital character that represents you in the space. After you pick all the details for your character, click the “Next Step” button.

5. Enter a name for your character. It will be your name in the space.

6. Confirm your character and name. You can also check a preview of your video feed, with the input/output options for your camera and audio (Make sure they work properly). When you’re ready to continue, click the “Join the Gathering” button.

7. Take a few moments to review a tutorial for moving around the space. If you want to skip the tutorial for any reason, Click the “Skip Tutorial” button.

8. All set! You’re ready to join our networking session.

9. You will see your name above your avatar, which now you can move around the space using the arrows on your keyboard to navigate the space.

a. You can always change your name and character by clicking in the Bottom bar.

10. Your microphone and video will automatically start sharing if you move within close proximity of another attendee’s avatar.

a. If another attendee’s avatar is clear and apparent (picture on the left), you can see this attendee’s video and communicate using the microphone.

b. If another attendee’s avatar is transparent (picture on the right), you should get closer to communicate with this attendee.

11. You can enter a private space where all attendees in the same space can communicate. Other attendees cannot see your video (even they get closer to you) unless they enter the private space too.

12. If you wish to locate a specific individual, you can search for them in the search bar. A direction line will show up, follow that route to reach the desired attendee.