# About Name: Cosmos Blog Description: Team meeting spaces designed for remote teams to collaborate in the moment without disturbing. Say goodbye to waiting for replies, scheduling calls, or sharing meeting links. URL: https://cosmos.video/blog # Navigation Menu - Search: https://cosmos.superblog.cloud/search - Features: https://cosmos.video/features - Pricing: https://cosmos.video/pricing - Demo: https://cosmos.video/book-demo - Try for free: https://cosmos.video # Blog Posts ## Create Workshops Students Enjoy! Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-05-29 Category: Communication Tags: Online education, workshops, breakout, learning URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/create-workshops-students-enjoy-cmb92jmg6001y4iygf9dvxwz5/ When your virtual workshop ends, does the learning stop too? In traditional platforms, the moment a session concludes, everyone is automatically disconnected—cutting off those crucial after-class conversations where students solidify concepts, build relationships, and find personalised help. Cosmos keeps your learning space alive even after the formal workshop ends. Students can stay behind, approach peers they connected with, form organic discussion groups, or ask that question they were hesitant to bring up during class—just like in a physical classroom. This natural continuation of learning is where the magic happens, where concepts truly click, and where community forms. And during your structured workshop time? Cosmos elevates every aspect: 🧑🏻‍🎓 Natural learning spaces - Connect your main classroom to breakout areas students can access intuitively 👥 Student autonomy - Participants move freely between spaces, engaging on their terms instead of feeling trapped in rigid structures 🙋🏻‍♂️ Hands-on interaction - Multiple simultaneous screen shares enable real-time collaboration and feedback 😇 Personalised support - Teachers can help struggling students 1on1 with whisper mode without disrupting everyone else Transform your online teaching from a series of disconnected video calls into a continuous learning environment where students don't just attend—they participate, connect, and thrive. Host your workshops in Cosmos - Create free space → [https://cosmos.video/](https://cosmos.video/) Your students won't just attend your workshops—they'll be present in them 🪄 --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Escape the Meeting Marathon: Collaborate better with Cosmos Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-05-22 Category: Future of Work Tags: co-work, meetings, collaboration URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/escape-the-meeting-marathon-collaborate-better-with-cosmos-cmaz6zx8v0003mjql2487mni4/ "Death by Meeting Marathon" 🪦 How often have you finished an afternoon of back-to-back meetings and actually felt good? The reality: nobody enjoys it, nobody finds it productive. But we still do it. Why? Because there's no way to spontaneously ask for help and connect with colleagues, so people clog their calendars with recurring one-to-ones just to ensure they'll have some opportunity to give and get help when needed. It's inefficient by design—blocking time "just in case" because real-time collaboration isn't possible. With Cosmos, you can flip the script—moving from scheduled synchronisation to natural collaboration. A shared virtual workspace where you don't need to book time to get support—just show up, claim your desk, and connect in the moment. Here's how it works ✨ 👥 Co-working session—Your team hops into Cosmos for a few focused hours together, replacing dozens of scattered meetings with organic conversations. 🖥️ Personal desk—Team members claim and customise their spot, creating a sense of belonging ⏳ True availability—No more false signals from calendar slots. Cosmos shows who's genuinely ready to talk, focused deeply, or stepped away. 💬 In-the-moment collaboration—When you need support, simply walk up to an available colleague or invite them to talk with 1 click. No scheduling, no Zoom links, no "got 15 minutes?" messages. Just instant, human connection. Teams using Cosmos save an average of 8 hours per person weekly by replacing rigid meeting structures with fluid collaboration. 🚀 Set up your own space in minutes → [https://cosmos.video/](https://cosmos.video/)​ **#RemoteWork** **#Productivity** **#MeetingCulture** **#MeetingMarathon** **#Cowork** **#Collaboration** --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Make your OWN Cosmos with Space Builder Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-05-16 Category: Product Update Tags: space builder, space for team, space for learners URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/make-your-own-cosmos-with-space-builder-cmar16quh009fkwl4qrl590lt/ We're thrilled to announce the launch of the **Cosmos Space Builder!** We've heard countless requests from users wanting to create a space that feels like their home from the very start, and finally, we've been able to deliver it. We feel you'd love it! 🌟 **Create Spaces That Work for YOU** Cosmos spaces act as a glue for your sessions or workflows. Now you have complete control. Whether you're running team meetings, online co-working, hosting workshops, or delivering online lectures for students, you can now craft the right space for your needs. 🔧 **To access the builder:** 1. Go to your Cosmos space 2. Click on "Floorplan" from the top left Space dropdown 3. Choose "Build your own space" 🎨 **Bring Your Vision to Life** The builder lets you edit one of the spaces from our library or design a space right from the start. You'll be able to build colourful spaces with all our preloaded assets. Please note: Right now you can build colourful spaces; we will be adding the functionality to create minimal spaces later this week. 📚 **Getting Started** * ​[How to Use the Space Builder](https://youtu.be/S-T-LSlxSdU?si=GDrR3IgHzDFT9Tep) – Learn the basics * ​[Creating the Perfect Space for Your Remote Team](https://youtu.be/c-NHC-7_5F0?si=h6f8GhABy39waVvb) – Ideal for online co-working * ​[Creating the Perfect Cosmos Space for Your Students](https://youtu.be/UoD-mszOEHQ?si=OUk5CkksYGSiF7qH) – Ideal for online learning or group tuition 💪 **Build with Confidence** * **Publish Spaces with 1-click:** Changes apply instantly—nobody needs to refresh * **Simple Interface:** Easy to understand and use, no design experience required * **Make It Your Own:** Reflect your personality and team culture through your space [![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/cosmos-space-builder-blog-1747414444228-compressed.gif)](https://cosmos.video/) Ready to create your own space? Do give Cosmos Space Builder a spin. Please share screenshots of your custom spaces with us and on social media! We welcome your feedback on the builder—we'll quickly iterate and improve as we always do. ​ --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Create a Cosmos Space for your Learners Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-05-09 Category: Communication Tags: space builder, learners, education URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/create-a-cosmos-space-for-your-learners-cmah22p61000gohtldrroxkyy/ Perfect for online group classes, tutoring sessions and co-studying for students. Cosmos Space Builder helps you create engaging, functional learning spaces tailored to your specific teaching needs. In this guide, we'll walk you through how to design an effective educational space that supports various learning activities—from lectures and presentations to collaborative breakout discussions and focused study sessions. With the right layout and features, you can facilitate both structured instruction and spontaneous collaboration, creating a rich learning experience for your students. This setup guide will show you how to build a Cosmos space for learning that can accommodate up to 50 learners, with dedicated spaces for classes, breakout rooms, group studying and tutoring sessions. Getting Started --------------- \[Video: 00:00 - 00:22\] To begin creating your educational space: 1. Open your Cosmos space 2. Click on the Space dropdown 3. Select "Floor plan" 4. Choose "Customise your own floor plan" Understand the Space Builder Interface -------------------------------------- \[Video: 00:22 - 00:50\] Space Builder presents you with a three-panel layout: * **Top Toolbar**: Contains all action buttons like Select, Areas, Object, Hand, and Undo * **Left Panel**: The object layer panel where you can see all areas and objects in a hierarchical structure * **Centre Panel**: The visual editor where you'll design your learning environment * **Right Panel**: The contextual panel that displays properties of selected rooms or furniture **Pro Tip**: Familiarise yourself with the object layers panel (left panel) before you begin. This hierarchical view helps you organise your space logically. Understanding Area Types ------------------------ \[Video: 00:50 - 03:13\] Before designing your learning space, it's crucial to understand the three types of areas in Cosmos and how they support different educational scenarios: ### Spatial Areas \[Video: 01:01 - 01:29\] Spatial areas are open spaces where proximity-based calling works. Each person has a coverage area (represented by a box around their avatar), and when these coverage areas overlap, people can see and hear each other. **Learning Application**: Perfect for informal discussions, collaborative work, and social learning activities where students need to move freely between conversations. ### Meeting Rooms \[Video: 01:29 - 01:56\] Think of meeting rooms as traditional classrooms where everyone in the room can hear and see each other, regardless of where they're positioned. The entire room "lights up" when active. **Learning Application**: Ideal for lectures, presentations, seminars, and structured discussions where all participants need to engage with the same content simultaneously. ### Entrance Areas \[Video: 01:56 - 02:02\] This is where people enter when they use a link to your space. **Learning Application**: Design your entrance thoughtfully as it creates the first impression for your learners. Consider adding welcome signage and clear navigational cues. **Pro Tip**: Strategic use of different area types transforms the digital learning experience. Use meeting rooms for formal instruction, spatial areas for collaborative activities, and define clear pathways between learning zones to create intuitive navigation through your educational environment. ### **Planning Your Educational Space** \[Video: 02:02 - 02:40\] We'll create: * Two classrooms (each with supporting breakout rooms) * One webinar room for larger presentations * A large hangout area for informal discussions * Two mentor rooms for one-on-one support * Focus rooms and solo desks for independent study **Pro Tip**: Before building, sketch your educational space layout to ensure a logical flow between different learning activities. Consider how students will transition between direct instruction, collaborative work, and independent study. ### Classrooms and Breakout Rooms \[Video: 02:40 - 05:12\] 1. **Create the Classroom**: * Select the Meeting Room tool from the top toolbar * Draw a rectangular room * In the right panel, name it "Classroom A" * Remove walls if desired * Choose an appropriate floor design * Add tables and chairs in a layout that supports your teaching style 2. **Add Breakout Rooms**: * Create smaller meeting rooms adjacent to the classroom * Remove walls for an open feel * Select floor designs that visually differentiate these spaces * Add appropriate furniture (tables and chairs) * Add borders to clearly define the space * Create multiple breakout rooms by copying (Ctrl+C) and pasting (Ctrl+V) 3. **Create a Second Classroom**: * Select all elements of your first classroom (with its breakout rooms) * Copy (Ctrl+C) and paste (Ctrl+V) to create a duplicate set * Rename to "Classroom B" **Pro Tip**: The visual design of breakout rooms should signal their purpose. Use consistent colour schemes and furniture arrangements to help learners quickly understand which spaces are meant for collaborative discussions versus those designed for quiet focus work. ### Webinar Room \[Video: 05:12 - 06:07\] 1. Create a large meeting room 2. Select an appropriate wall and floor design (grass texture works well for a natural amphitheatre feel) 3. Add a stage area at the front 4. Arrange seating in rows facing the stage 5. Adjust the room size to accommodate all your learners **Pro Tip**: For webinar rooms, create a clear visual hierarchy with a distinct presentation area. This mirrors physical lecture halls where attention is naturally directed toward the instructor, helping maintain focus during presentations. ### Social Learning Spaces \[Video: 06:07 - 06:32\] 1. Create a spatial area between your classrooms 2. Remove walls for an open feel 3. Choose a light-coloured floor to differentiate it from formal learning spaces 4. Add comfortable seating arrangements that encourage conversation **Pro Tip**: Social learning spaces should be highly visible and centrally located. Position them as "connective tissue" between more formal learning areas to encourage spontaneous knowledge sharing and community building. ### Mentor Rooms \[Video: 06:32 - 07:45\] 1. Create meeting rooms designated for one-on-one support 2. Add walls for privacy 3. Choose distinctive floor designs 4. Add a table with two chairs for consultation 5. Include decorative elements like paintings and plants to create a welcoming atmosphere 6. Name them "Mentor Room A" and "Mentor Room B" 7. Add borders to clearly define these spaces **Pro Tip**: Design mentor rooms to be quiet, private spaces with minimal distractions. The visual cues of these rooms should signal their purpose as spaces for focused, supportive conversations. ### Creating Focus Areas and Study Rooms \[Video: 07:45 - 15:30\] 1. **Focus Rooms**: \[07:45-09:32\] * Create small meeting rooms * Choose distinctive floor designs * Add individual seating * Enhance with bookshelves and plants * Name them "Focus Room A" and "Focus Room B" 2. **Library Area**: \[11:08-13:25\] * Create a spatial area with walls * Add bookshelves along the walls * Create small study nooks with tables and chairs * Design a central collaborative table for group study 3. **Solo Desks**: \[14:35-15:57\] * Create small meeting rooms sized for one person * Add a desk and chair * Position these throughout your learning space **Pro Tip**: Create a progression of study spaces from collaborative to independent work. Start with group study areas, transition to semi-private focus rooms, and culminate with completely private solo desks. This variety accommodates different learning preferences and task requirements. ### Creating a Game Room \[Video: 09:38 - 10:14\] 1. Create a meeting room for recreational activities 2. Add game tables from the furniture menu 3. Include decorative elements like lights and wall objects 4. Enable the "Games" room interaction in the right panel 5. Name it "Game Room" **Pro Tip**: Learning spaces benefit from designated recreation areas. These spaces provide not only cognitive breaks but also opportunities for social bonding that enhances the overall learning community. Key Features to Remember ------------------------ ### Room Interactions \[Video: 10:14 - 11:08\] Cosmos offers two types of room interactions: 1. **Apps**: Enables access to: * Cosmos Whiteboard * Figma * Google Docs * Google Sheets * Miro * Any website that supports iframes 2. **Games**: Allows access to built-in Cosmos games **Pro Tip**: Strategically enable Apps in rooms designed for collaborative work to integrate digital learning tools. For breakout activities, whiteboards and shared documents can transform discussion into tangible outputs. Publishing Your Space --------------------- _\[Video: 15:57 - 16:38\]_ When your design is complete: 1. Click "Save" in the top toolbar 2. Click "Publish this floor plan" 3. Wait for the building process to complete (about one minute) 4. Your new space is ready for your learners! ### Personalisation Options \[Video: 16:38 - 18:52\] 1. **Room Naming and Claiming**: * Click on any room to access its details * Edit the name to reflect its educational purpose * Set personal desks as "home location" for regular instructors 2. **Adding Custom Text and Images**: * Go to Space dropdown > Personalise * Add text (e.g., "Hello Learners" or "Lecture Times: 1PM-8PM") * Upload custom images or use the asset library 3. **Customising the Landing Page**: * Go to Space Settings > Landing Page * Change the logo or space name * Create a memorable URL for easy access **Pro Tip**: Use personalisation features to create a branded learning environment that reflects your educational institution or training programme. Consistent branding helps establish a professional atmosphere and reinforces the identity of your learning community. Final Thoughts -------------- Cosmos space builder gives instructors and teachers the ability to create a space that matches the needs of their students. Teachers can create a space that enables their teaching style with the ability to have webinars, breakouts, activities for living classes. For supporting students, a dedicated space to host tutor hours, a space for students to study together. Cosmos space can act as a glue that brings together your live teaching sessions, and also be the space where students hop on to find help. Further more do note, the messaging system cosmos offers can be setup to take care of students needs for announcements, asking doubts, sharing updates to assignments. Also all classes can be recorded, transcribed and summarised with our native AI features as well as shared with students in a few clicks. Ready to create your own learning space in Cosmos? Get started today, and transform how your students learn. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Creating the Perfect Cosmos Space for Your Team Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-05-09 Category: Communication Tags: space builder, remote team URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/creating-the-perfect-cosmos-space-for-your-team-cmagqwr2t000wljyv7okv0d4j/ _A practical guide to designing effective digital collaboration spaces with the Cosmos Space Builder_ Introduction ------------ This guide accompanies our video tutorial on creating team spaces with the Cosmos Space Builder. We'll walk through the process of designing a functional digital workspace that brings your team together, enhances your working style, and fosters quick collaboration. Getting Started with the Space Builder -------------------------------------- _\[Video: 00:00 - 00:44\]_ The Cosmos Space Builder provides a clean, intuitive interface with three key components: * **Top Toolbar:** Contains all action buttons for creating and manipulating your space * **Left Panel:** Shows all objects and layers in a hierarchical structure * **Centre Panel:** The visual editor where you build your space * **Right Panel:** Properties panel that changes based on what you've selected Understanding Area Types in Cosmos ---------------------------------- _\[Video: 00:44 - 03:13\]_ Before building your space, it's important to understand the three types of areas in Cosmos and how they affect communication: ### Spatial Areas _\[Video: 00:49 - 01:18\]_ Spatial areas work like physical open spaces. People can only hear and see others when they're close to each other. **When to Use:** * For common areas where multiple conversations may happen simultaneously * When you want natural, proximity-based interactions In the video example, you can see how users have a square box around them representing their spatial zone. Only those within overlapping zones can hear each other. **Pro Tip:** Spatial areas are ideal for creating a natural sense of presence in your digital workspace. They allow multiple conversations to happen organically within the same space—just like in a physical office environment. This makes them perfect for common areas where different team members might engage in spontaneous discussions without disrupting others. The spatial audio feature means that as you move through the space, conversations naturally fade in and out based on proximity, creating a remarkably realistic social environment. ### Meeting Rooms _\[Video: 01:18 - 01:47\]_ Meeting rooms ensure everyone inside can hear and see each other regardless of where they are positioned. **When to Use:** * For formal meetings where everyone needs to participate * For client calls or team discussions * When everyone needs to be in the same conversation Notice in the video how the entire room lights up when active, indicating that everyone can hear each other. ### Entrance Areas _\[Video: 01:47 - 01:55\]_ This is where people enter when they use the link to your space. **When to Use:** * As a central welcome point * To orient new visitors Building Your Team Space: Step by Step -------------------------------------- _\[Video: 01:55 - 15:00\]_ ### Step 1: Create Your Common Area _\[Video: 01:55 - 02:30\]_ As shown in the video, start by creating a spatial area to serve as your common space: 1. Select the Area Tool (A) 2. Choose "Spatial Area" 3. Draw the area for your common space 4. In the right panel, name it "Common Area" 5. Customise the floor (the video demonstrates choosing a green grass texture) 6. Remove walls if desired (as shown at 02:05) **Tip:** Make this area spacious enough to accommodate all team members' solo desks. ### Step 2: Create Your All-Hands Room _\[Video: 02:30 - 03:05\]_ Next, create a large meeting room for team-wide gatherings: 1. Select the Area Tool (A) 2. Choose "Meeting Room" 3. Draw a sizeable rectangular room 4. Name it "All-Hands Room" 5. Customise walls and flooring 6. Make it large enough for the entire team Notice how the video demonstrates resizing the room by dragging the corners (02:40-02:55). ### Step 3: Add Smaller Meeting Rooms _\[Video: 03:05 - 07:00\]_ Create 6-8 smaller meeting rooms for team meetings: 1. Draw meeting rooms of appropriate size 2. Customise each room's appearance 3. Name them according to purpose (the video shows naming rooms for different teams) 4. Add wall borders in different colours for visual distinction (09:40-10:30) As demonstrated in the video (05:00-06:00), you can copy-paste rooms after creating the first one. **Pro Tip:** Create meeting rooms with specific intentions and name them accordingly. This allows team members to immediately understand the purpose of a gathering just by seeing where it's happening. For example: * "Sprint Planning Room" signals a structured discussion about upcoming work * "Brainstorm Room" indicates a creative, free-flowing session * "Team Retro" suggests a reflective meeting about process improvement * "Client Presentation Room" can be designed specifically for external meetings When team members see colleagues in a specific room, they immediately understand the context and type of meeting taking place. This contextual awareness helps set the right expectations for interruptions and engagement. Additionally, having purpose-built rooms encourages teams to choose the right environment for different types of collaboration. ### Step 4: Add Solo Desks _\[Video: 07:00 - 08:55\]_ Solo desks create individual workspaces for team members: 1. Add desks to your common area 2. Position desks in logical groups based on team structure 3. Add chairs to each desk **Key Insight:** As mentioned in the video (07:27-07:55), solo desks are important because: * They provide a sense of belonging * They create visibility within the team * When you're at your desk, colleagues know you're available * When you're away, it signals you might be busy elsewhere **Pro Tip:** One of the biggest benefits of Cosmos is the enhanced visibility it provides across teams. Position solo desks strategically by placing teams that work closely together in proximity to each other. This digital proximity means team members will see each other in their immediate view, creating awareness of who's available and facilitating spontaneous conversations. Just as you would in a physical office, arrange desks so frequent collaborators can easily spot each other, leading to more natural interactions and smoother workflow between interdependent teams. ### Step 5: Create Special Purpose Spaces _\[Video: 08:55 - 13:50\]_ Create spaces for specific activities: #### Hangout Room _\[Video: 08:55 - 11:38\]_ 1. Create a meeting room 2. Add comfortable seating 3. Add decorative elements like plants and carpets 4. Enable games integration in room properties #### Game Room _\[Video: 11:38 - 13:50\]_ 1. Create a dedicated space for games 2. Add game tables and appropriate furniture 3. Enable games in the room interactions (right panel) 4. Add decorative elements that signal a fun environment ### Step 6: Create an Entrance Area _\[Video: 13:50 - 14:13\]_ 1. Create a central entrance area 2. Add your company logo 3. Add decorative elements 4. Position it for easy access to all other spaces ### Step 7: Final Touches and Configuration _\[Video: 14:13 - 15:13\]_ 1. Add interaction options to rooms: * Enable apps in meeting rooms (Google Docs, Mero, etc.) * Enable games in social spaces 2. Add decorative elements throughout 3. Configure wall borders with team colours 4. Name all spaces appropriately Publishing Your Space --------------------- _\[Video: 15:13 - 15:55\]_ When your design is complete: 1. Click "Save" in the top toolbar 2. Click "Publish this floor plan" 3. Wait for the building process to complete (about one minute) 4. Your new space is ready for your team! Key Features to Remember ------------------------ ### Setting Home Locations _\[Video: 15:55 - 16:25\]_ Encourage team members to: 1. Claim their desk 2. Set it as their home location 3. Use "Go to your home" to return to your desk quickly Conclusion ---------- _\[Video: 16:25 - 16:35\]_ Creating the perfect team space with Cosmos is an iterative process. Start with the structure outlined in this guide and the accompanying video, then refine based on your team's feedback and needs. The key to an effective digital workspace isn't just how it looks—it's how it supports your team's communication patterns and collaboration needs. By thoughtfully designing your space with Cosmos, you can create a digital environment that truly brings your team together. _Ready to build your perfect team space? Watch our complete video tutorial and start creating today with the [Cosmos Space Builder](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-T-LSlxSdU&list=PLAiToN-vHEqS89BwZ9S_LmAoVWxcBhPqq&ab_channel=CosmosVideo)._ _In our next article, we'll explore how to [create the perfect space for learning environments](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoD-mszOEHQ&list=PLAiToN-vHEqS89BwZ9S_LmAoVWxcBhPqq&index=4&ab_channel=CosmosVideo)._ --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## How to Use the Cosmos Space Builder Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-05-09 Category: Communication Tags: space builder URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/how-to-use-the-cosmos-space-builder-cmagqs1rg000vljyvk8v1819m/ _Create a digital space perfectly suited to your needs with the Cosmos Space Builder_ The Cosmos Space Builder is an easy-to-use tool for creating digital spaces. Whether you're starting from scratch or customising an existing template, the Cosmos Space Builder gives you complete control over the experience of people who enter your space. In this article & accompanying video, we'll walk you through the essentials of the Space Builder, helping you understand how the interface works and how to use its core features to create your own spaces. Getting Started with the Space Builder \[Video: 00:00 - 00:19\] Accessing the Space Builder is straightforward: 1. Open your Cosmos space 2. Click on the Space dropdown 3. Select "Floorplan" 4. Choose "Build your own space" Once opened, you'll see a clean interface designed to make spatial design accessible to everyone, regardless of design experience. Understanding the Interface --------------------------- \[Video: 00:19 - 00:55\] The Space Builder is organised into a four-part layout: **Top Toolbar:** Contains all the action buttons and tools needed for creating and manipulating your space. **Left Panel: Object Layers:** Displays all your areas and furniture in a hierarchical structure, making it easy to select and organise elements. **Centre Panel: Visual Editor:** The canvas where your vision comes to life—place, move, and arrange elements to create your perfect digital space. **Right Panel: Contextual Panel:** Adapts dynamically based on what you've selected, showing relevant properties and options for rooms or furniture. Navigating the Top Toolbar -------------------------- \[Video: 00:55 - 02:05\] The toolbar provides quick access to essential tools: **Select Tool (S):** Choose this option to select and move rooms or furniture. Double-click to select individual pieces of furniture within a room. **Area Tool (A):** Areas in Cosmos are crucial; they impact how video calling behaves for your users. * Spatial Areas: Where spatial video calling works, people who are close to each other hear, and see each other. Like a physical space. Ideal for situations where you want users to dynamically move between conversations. * Meeting Rooms: For situations where you want everyone to be in one video call, think of it as a Google Meet. Here, everyone sees and hears everyone. Meeting rooms can be named, have direct links, and can be locked for private conversations. * Entrance Areas: Area where people will enter the space, if they have the link to your space. **Object Tool (O):** Access our extensive library of assets with which you can build your Cosmos spaces. This includes furniture, carpets, tables, decorations, plants, lighting, and much more. **Hand Tool (H or Spacebar):** Pan around your space to focus on different areas. **Undo/Redo:** Easily step backward or forward through your changes. **Zoom Controls:** Adjust your view to see the big picture or focus on details. **Clear Floor Plan:** Start fresh by removing all elements (use with caution!). **Save:** Preserve your work and publish your custom space when you're ready. Understanding Area Types ------------------------ \[Video: 02:05 - 03:20\] The Space Builder offers three distinct area types, each affecting how calling behaviour works in your digital space: ### Spatial Areas Spatial Areas are where spatial video calling works. People who are close to each other (with overlapping coverage areas) will hear and see each other, while those who move further away stop hearing each other. Use Spatial Areas when you want dynamic conversations that can become larger or smaller based on people's intentions. ### Meeting Rooms Meeting Rooms are designed to ensure everyone in the room can hear and see each other, regardless of where they are positioned. The entire room "lights up" when active. Use Meeting Rooms when you want to make sure that everybody in the call hears each other. ### Entrance Areas This is where people enter when they use a link for your space. Please note that if you share your space link, people will enter here. If you share links to specific rooms, people will enter directly in those rooms. Working with the Object Layers Panel ------------------------------------ \[Video: 03:20 - 03:33\] The left panel has two views: 1. When using the Select Tool, it displays a list of all areas with their corresponding objects in a hierarchical structure. 2. When using the Object Tool, it shows you the object library with all available assets. Using the Contextual Panel -------------------------- \[Video: 03:33 - 04:43\] The right panel dynamically changes based on what you've selected: If you've selected an area (meeting room, spatial area, or entrance area), you'll have options to: * Customise the area name * Change wall and floor designs * Toggle display settings * Add and style borders * Enable interactive features: * **Apps:** Allow access to embedded applications like Google Docs and Sheets * **Games:** Enable built-in Cosmos games If you've selected an object, you'll be able to: * Customise the sequence of layering * Choose from different style variations * Select colours * Adjust rotation Next Steps for Building Your Perfect Space ------------------------------------------ Now that you understand how the basic UX of the Cosmos Space Builder works, you can start creating your own custom digital spaces. If you want to learn more about building specific types of spaces, check out our other helpful guides: * ​[Creating the Right Space for Your Team](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-NHC-7_5F0&list=PLAiToN-vHEqS89BwZ9S_LmAoVWxcBhPqq&index=3&ab_channel=CosmosVideo) * ​[Creating the Perfect Space for Your Learners](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoD-mszOEHQ&list=PLAiToN-vHEqS89BwZ9S_LmAoVWxcBhPqq&index=4&ab_channel=CosmosVideo)​ --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Improved Call Experience, Messaging and Insights Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-04-03 Category: Product Update Tags: calling, active speaker, second camera, polls, analytics URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/improved-call-experience-collaboration-on-messaging-and-insights/ We've shipped a truckload of features to Cosmos that unlock new possibilities. Here's what's new: 👨‍🏫 **Large Meetings for all-hands & teaching** Run large sessions with crystal-clear audio, focused attention on speakers, and interactive audience engagement. * **Support for up to 200 participants** with 30% less bandwidth usage thanks to VP9 encoding * **Noise cancellation** to automatically remove background noise * **Active speaker mode** to highlight whoever is speaking—perfect for webinars and podcasts * **Share a second camera** during calls—ideal for music teachers showcasing instruments or product demonstrations * **Polls** in meetings for real-time audience feedback * **Firefox improvements** supporting up to 125 participants with annotations on screen-share * **Reactions** are less jarring with options to turn off sounds (user settings > advanced) 🏢 **Team Collaboration** Get straight to work with minimal friction and improved messaging. * **Home**—join your preferred desk instantly in listening mode and skip the space landing * **Threads section** to see all active threads with updates and to carry the conversation * **Deep-linking notifications** that take you directly to specific messages across all platforms * **See what's happening** in the space when in Focusing or Away statuses 📊 **Better Insights for Admins** Understand how your team uses Cosmos, and the value it creates. * **Space utilisation charts** to understand peak usage times * **Value metrics** to see what benefits Cosmos brings to your team * **Activity patterns** to help identify optimal times for formal co-working sessions ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/product-email-gif-big-ship-1743670711766-compressed.gif) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## How Cosmos Delivers High-Performance Virtual Spaces Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-03-19 Category: Future of Work Tags: performance, architecture, hardware requirement URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/how-cosmos-delivers-high-performance-virtual-spaces-cm8fn8p4m00eatbw9qxl3xgxi/ When we set out to build Cosmos, we knew that creating truly immersive digital spaces for remote teams and educational institutions would require solving complex technical challenges. Traditional video conferencing platforms are designed for scheduled meetings with clear start and end times. Cosmos, however, needed to support an entirely different paradigm: always-on spatial environments where people can move around, form spontaneous conversations, and collaborate naturally. In this technical deep-dive, we'll explain the architecture and innovations that make Cosmos uniquely suited for all-day use, even on standard hardware. The Challenge: Instant Spatial Communication -------------------------------------------- The fundamental technical challenge we faced was speed. In physical spaces, you can walk up to a colleague and start talking instantly. Online, typical video calls require 30+ seconds to initiate - disrupting the natural flow of interaction. For Cosmos to replicate the feeling of physical presence, we needed to reduce this to milliseconds. When you approach someone in a Cosmos space, the video connection must establish in under 50ms to create the sense of genuine spatial interaction. This requirement shaped our entire technical approach.  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/group-3468769-4-1-1742374050352-compressed.png) Core Architecture ----------------- Cosmos operates on a dual-server architecture that separates environmental state from video handling: ### Game Servers: The Digital Space Our game servers maintain the complete state of each virtual environment - tracking user positions, interactions, and space configurations. These lightweight servers: * Process user movements and proximity in real-time * Determine when users are close enough to trigger voice/video connections * Manage the visibility and interactive elements of the space * Support customisable layouts for different use cases (offices, campuses, events) ### Video Relay Servers: Dynamic Connections Our globally distributed video servers handle the audio/video connections between users. Unlike traditional conferencing platforms that establish a single large call, Cosmos: * Dynamically activates and deactivates video feeds based on proximity * Prioritises connections for users currently in conversation * Maintains low-latency audio even when video quality needs adjustment * Scales connections fluidly as users move through the space Both server types are deployed across multiple regions (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Japan, and Australia) to ensure low-latency experiences for teams worldwide. Video Quality Optimisation -------------------------- ### Advanced Codec Selection We utilise VP9 as our default video codec across all platforms, which provides: * Approximately 50% higher compression efficiency than VP8 * Better quality at lower bitrates * Reduced bandwidth requirements without sacrificing visual clarity For browsers that don't support VP9 encoding (such as Firefox), we automatically fall back to VP8. This codec-switching happens seamlessly behind the scenes. ### Intelligent Resource Management Cosmos continuously monitors system performance and makes real-time adjustments: 1. **Frame Rate Monitoring**: We target 30 frames per second for smooth movement in spatial environments 2. **Automatic Low Resource Mode**: When rendering falls below 20 FPS, we trigger optimisations: * Reduce the number of concurrent video streams * Lower the resolution of peripheral videos * Prioritise screen shares at higher quality * Compress world textures and assets * Adjust frame rates for optimal performance This adaptive approach allows Cosmos to run smoothly even when: * Running on older hardware * Handling large numbers of participants * Operating in low-bandwidth environments * Being used for all-day sessions ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/image-82-1-3-1-1742375733706-compressed.png) Hardware Considerations ----------------------- To help teams prepare for optimal experiences, we recommend these hardware configurations: ### Minimum Requirements * Dual Core processor * 2GB memory _Suitable for:_ * Up to 20 participants in meetings * Presenting non-video content ### Recommended Specifications * Modern CPU: * 10th Gen Intel i3, i5, or i7 (Ice Lake and up) * AMD 3000 series Ryzen 5 or 7 * 4GB memory _Suitable for:_ * High-quality video and audio * Presenting content with videos and animations * Using visual camera effects * Multitasking during meetings ### Optimal Configuration * High-performance CPU: * 11th Gen Intel i5 or i7 * AMD 5000 series Ryzen 5 or 7 * Apple Silicon M1 * 1080p camera * Graphics card with WebGL 2.0 support _Suitable for:_ * Full HD quality for camera video and presentations * Access to all visual effects in the highest quality * Heavy multitasking during use Pop-out Mode: The Secret to All-Day Performance ----------------------------------------------- One of our most innovative features is the pop-out mode in our desktop applications. When users minimise Cosmos to focus on other work: 1. We clear most assets from memory 2. Stop rendering the 3D space 3. Maintain only essential connection information 4. Keep a small, efficient interface for status changes and incoming conversations 5. Automatically expand when interaction is needed 6. Show screen shares without requiring the full application to open This approach dramatically reduces CPU, GPU, and memory usage during periods of lower activity while maintaining presence in the space. ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/group-3469006-4-1742374398804-compressed.png) The Result: Natural Digital Presence These technical optimisations work together to create an experience that feels remarkably different from traditional video conferencing: 1. **Instantaneous connections** - Conversations start in under 50ms when approaching someone 2. **Flexible group formation** - Teams can split and merge conversations naturally 3. **All-day sustainability** - Low resource usage during inactive periods 4. **Consistent quality** - Automatic adjustments based on network and hardware conditions 5. **Universal accessibility** - Works across a wide range of devices and connection types ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/home2-1-1742374678242-compressed.png) By solving these fundamental technical challenges, Cosmos creates digital spaces that support the natural ebb and flow of teamwork and learning - whether you're running a remote company, teaching a distributed class, or building an online community. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Space Navigation, Spotlighting & More 🌟 Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-01-24 Category: Product Update Tags: space, spotlight, home location, space builder URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/space-navigation-spotlighting-and-more-cm6akerv8001o11x64g9qmz2g/ Kicking off 2025 with improvements to make Cosmos video calls more powerful & intuitive: **🧭  Space & Call Switch** Two-tab view to simplify navigation, especially for first-time users * **Space View:** Navigate the space, create breakout groups, or return to your desk * **Call View:** Focus on gallery view with enhanced pinning and spotlighting options **🌟  Spotlight Mode** * Admins and members can now pin videos for everyone in calls * Recordings follow spotlighted videos with improved layout & UX **📍  Home Location**  Set your preferred place in Cosmos as Home, whether it's a private room or a co-working desk. You can return to your place anytime by clicking the "Home" button in the space tab. **🛠️  Space Builder Beta**  Want early access to create fully custom spaces? Sign up for our beta and help us polish the space builder functionality before we release it to all users. Reply to this email: "I want to build my own space, YES!" ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/b64-1737711295787-compressed.gif) ✨ **Polish & improvements** * **Google Calendar Add-On:** Now re-verified on Google App Marketplace * **Game fixes:** Resolved disconnection issues at game tables * **Call toolbar with apps open:** Stays visible during games/apps * **Coming soon:** Notification sounds and deep linking for apps/desktop After a strong 2024, we're excited to continue enhancing Cosmos with your input. Here's to creating the best digital spaces for connecting, collaborating, and learning! --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Custom Rooms & Live Streaming Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-01-24 Category: Product Update Tags: Custom rooms, live stream, room name URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/custom-rooms-and-live-streaming-cm6akc9tz001j11x6nrtjy8ie/ We’re making Cosmos spaces more customisable and adding social features to help you connect with a bigger audience.  ### **🔗 Memorable Space Links** * Memorable links work seamlessly on desktop, mobile, and apps. * Get yours via Space Settings > Memorable Space Link for effortless sharing. **🪧 Change Rooms Names on the go!**  * Room cards with options to go to a room, get the shareable link for quick sharing, or edit settings. * To change name, go to Cosmos space > click on room card > Edit & update name. * Soon, you will be able to claim rooms, set room types, and embed links or music that auto-plays when someone joins. **🎥 Live Stream calls from Cosmos** * Stream call recordings directly from Cosmos to platforms like YouTube or Twitch. * Turn on livestream when starting a call recording in Cosmos. * Add your RTMP stream URL and password, and you’re live! * Streams mirror your recorder’s layout and orientation. * An update coming to recorder design & layout —have feedback? Reply to this email! ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/8733673b-90f9-edd3-6b04-1dd54c74a5a4-1737711194834-compressed.gif) **✨ Polish & improvements** * **Simplified navigation:** Movement cues and clickable room names make it easier for first-time users to get around. * **Auto-Low resource mode:** Cosmos automatically alerts you if your device is struggling and switches to low resource mode. Turn it off via the View Control button in the top-right corner. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Profiles, Memorable Space Links & More Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-01-24 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, profiles, memorable space link URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/profiles-memorable-space-links-and-more-cm6ak92yp001h11x6qepzadk3/ Cosmos is where people come together to work, learn, and connect. We are introducing features to make it easier to bring people together in a space and help them form new connections -   **🌟 Profiles** – Share your story, location, time zone and interests to find common ground with others in Cosmos space and form new connections. **🔗 Memorable Space Links** – Give your Cosmos space a custom, easy-to-remember URL - cosmos.video/**yourspace.** You can get your memorable URL and control access via space > settings > space access. ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/0436e887-e9ed-3197-8eaa-afced506df0f-1737711063010-compressed.gif) **📱 Improved Mobile Onboarding—**Our mobile apps now support all Cosmos links, including member invites, room, user, call, and calendar invites. Just click, download, and go directly to the right Cosmos space or meeting.   **🔒 Screen Share Auto-off for Privacy –** Set Cosmos to turn off screen sharing automatically when you leave a meeting room, are alone, or switch your status to focus or away. Adjust your preferences under user settings > advanced. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Cosmos Mobile: Simpler Guest access & Enhanced Chat! Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-01-23 Category: Product Update Tags: Mobile, guest, chat URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/cosmos-mobile-simpler-guest-access-and-enhanced-chat-cm69ljowe0001m1mvg7d6k10i/ I am back with updates, this time enhancing guests' ability to join meetings quickly and better chat on mobile, ensuring you and your team stay connected. 🔗 **Guests can join meetings on mobile easily** * **Guests can join meetings with a link:** Easier to jump into discussions quickly. There is no need to sign up; download the Cosmos app, click the link, and go. * **Enhanced deep linking across Cosmos:** Cosmos takes you where you need to be with a link in a snap - space, room, user, or meeting links, 💬 **Chat improvements** * **Notifications deep link:** Jump to the message from any notification, saving you time and hassle. * **Thread replies** in Direct Messages (DMs), Channels, and meeting chats with a refined user experience. * **Profile pictures** sync seamlessly with mobile, web, and desktop chat, keeping chat personalised and engaging. 👯 **Community Feedback** * Slack notifications: Cosmos will no longer create message groups for notifications. Instead, you'll get all updates as direct messages from Cosmos. To reduce the clutter from multiple notifications. [![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/unnamed-8-1737652824953-compressed.png)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpm47TBkkI8) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Cosmos Replay: Meeting recording, insights and more Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2025-01-23 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, communication, Meeting Experience URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/cosmos-replay-meeting-recording-insights-and-more-cm69ki5if0001exembmxh2gaw/ We're excited to introduce Cosmos Replay, designed to save teams valuable time and make it easy to keep everyone in the loop. ​ **🌍Multilingual Support:** The ability to transcribe and summarise calls in 10 languages, from Spanish to Japanese. ​ **🔍Insightful Summaries:** Cosmos Replay's advanced AI condenses meetings to Summaries, Action Items, and Key Insights. It lets you dive into relevant video snippets directly from Action Items and Key Insights. ​ **📹Better Replay Experience:** The revamped video player is built to be quick and intuitive. It includes speed control, quality, pop-out, and volume adjustments. ​ **➡️Share with Ease:** Effortlessly share meeting replays with people outside your team. Cosmos replay sharing links come with customisable permissions, ensuring your insights reach the right people anywhere, anytime—even on mobile—without login hassles.  ​ **🧘🏻Auto-share replays:** Cosmos plugins for Google Calendar and Outlook now allow you to auto-share replays with everyone invited to the meeting. You can decide to auto-share when starting the recording.  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/unnamed21-ezgif-1737652289344-compressed.gif) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## June Update: Video experiences, public channels & more Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2024-07-08 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, Video Quality, Meeting Experience URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/cosmos-june-update-video-experiences-public-channels-and-more/ We are building out two streams for Cosmos to be the best digital place for people to come together, work and learn: * **Video experiences:** Our strong suit keeps getting better. Now, we have new and improved video experiences: map view, gallery of videos, pinning with HD quality video. * **Channels and Chat:** We aim to ensure all your messaging needs are met inside Cosmos without going anywhere else. ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/cosmos-july-update-1720454517961-compressed.gif) Let's dive deeper into the features now available to all Cosmos users. 🎥 **Video Experiences:** Different video experiences to suit everyone's needs, with default call quality at 720p. * **View switcher:** One place to switch between different video experiences * **Map View:** See videos in a floating layout over the map. * **Gallery View:** See videos in a grid with the ability to pin a video or screenshare, which supports up to 36 videos on a page. * **Video settings:** * Popout: See up to 4 videos in a popout that stays on top of other apps with the Cosmos desktop app. * Fullscreen: Focus entirely on the video and screen share. * Hide Self Video: Hide your video if it's distracting. 💬 **Public Channels:** To level the playing field for communication within space. Messages sent to public channels reach everyone: admins, members, and guests. They are perfect for announcements, space-wide discussions, introductions, and welcomes. 🔔 **Activities:** Notifications now show in the bottom right of Cosmos along with a ding sound. Notifications are listed in the activities tab of the sidebar to keep you in the loop. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Cosmos May Update: Sidebar, Video Layouts, and Screen Share Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2024-06-07 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, Video Quality, communication URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/cosmos-may-update-sidebar-video-layouts-and-screen-share-clx4iiivp001eaheogs10u10t/ These updates are designed to make your experience with Cosmos more intuitive and engaging. 🧭 **All-New Sidebar:** Facilitates seamless communication through channel messages, DMs, video calls, and more, tailored to everyone's needs. • **Space:** All controls and settings related to your space. • **Conversations & Calendar**: All your conversations and meetings in one place. • **Channels:** For async conversations and updates. • **Users List:** View user lists and perform actions quickly. • **Your Controls:** Access inputs, screen sharing, status, and settings effortlessly. 📹 **Video Layouts and Native Chat:** Perfect for hosting lectures, fireside chats, and panels with superior video and audio quality. • **New Video Layouts:** Choose from floating video in the map, video sidebar, gallery, or pinned videos. • **720p Video Quality:** Video quality now auto-increases to 720p in gallery mode or when you pin a video during a call. • **Native Chat Experience:** View and interact with chat channels alongside video calls. Whether you’re in gallery mode or focusing on a screen share, chat is always accessible. 🖥️ **Improved Screen-Sharing Experience:** Elevates collaboration, group learning, and meeting experiences within your community. • **One-Click Screen Share:** No need to choose quality every time; set defaults by hovering over the screen share option. • **Screen Share shows along videos**: Effortlessly switch between different screen shares from the video container. • **Annotation:** Change pen colours easily for better collaboration (available in the desktop app). • **Pop-Out Experience:** Collaborate easily with multiple screen shares and one-click switching between screens from the pop-out window. (available in the desktop app). • **Screen Preview:** Tucked away to minimise distractions. No more infinity mirror effect when viewing your own preview. 🛠️ **Contextual Toolbar:** Provides relevant controls for an excellent and easy-to -understand experience for guests and first-time students. • **Your Controls:** Manage inputs, screen share, raised hands, and your settings. • **Conversation Controls:** Handle conversation chat, move conversations, and invite people. • **Room Controls:** Lock rooms, record sessions, and set up timers. ​ --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Smoother guest experience, and customisation Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2024-04-30 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, Vision, Meeting Experience URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/smoother-guest-experience-and-customisation-clvmmzm69005ypkylhsyacpyu/ Cosmos is a place to engage and achieve more together. Whether you're collaborating with colleagues, engaging students in workshops, or bringing together a community for discussions, we're here with you every step of the way. Here's what we've been up to: 🛎️ **Smoother Guest Experience** * **Familiar Video Call Experience:** Set the guest invite links to start the call in gallery mode and make your guests feel at ease. * **Start Calls Smoothly:** Direct guests to specific rooms in your Cosmos space. * **Control Access:** Decide if external guests can join by themselves or need to be let in by admins or other members in the space. * **Be Available for Clients:** Cosmos links are permanent; External guests can use them to find you when they need your help. 🎨 **Your Space, Your Brand** * **Branding:** Add your logo and customise your space welcome header and description. * **Space Working Hours:** Let visitors know the best times to visit your team. * **Booking Link to Schedule Calls:** If your space is empty, guests can use the booking link to book a meeting time. ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/unnamed-4-1714496794617-compressed.png) 💬 **Chat Keeps Getting Better:** * **Improved Channel Creation:** Creating channels and adding team members is smoother. * **Notification Preferences:** Set what you want to be notified about for each space to make sure you stay in the loop without the noise. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Avatar Style Choice & Mobile App updates! Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2024-04-30 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, Future of Work URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/avatar-style-choice-and-mobile-app-updates-clvmhx1lf004epkylh6drukbx/ We hope you're making the most out of Cosmos. We are back with updates that make Cosmos accommodating for all teams—big or small, creative or corporate. Let’s dive into what's new and improved! 🧑‍🎨 **Choose your Avatar Style based on your needs** * **Picture Bubbles:** For those who prefer simplicity, users can now upload profile pictures, making team recognition smoother and faster. * **Avatars:** Add a splash of fun by animating and customising your avatar, making every walk through Cosmos space engaging. ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/unnamed-3-1714495808920-compressed.png) 🤳 **Mobile App Enhancements for people on the go** * **Invite Links:** Meeting, room, user, or space invite links work seamlessly on mobile. We’ve added redundancy to ensure users get to the reception if any invite link breaks. * **Simpler Guest Access:** We want external guests to join on mobile without signups. This is in development and will be released next week. 💭 **Meeting Chat is now available on mobile:** Participants from the mobile can ask questions and share updates, documents, and insights, enriching interactions. ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/unnamed-1-1714495826012-compressed.gif) ⏩ **Cosmos Replays now work on mobile browsers:** Anyone can catch up on meetings conveniently on mobile—no app download or login is required. This truly enhances accessibility for Cosmos replay viewers. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Mobile: Simpler Guest access & Enhanced Chat! Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2024-04-30 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, communication, messaging URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/mobile-simpler-guest-access-and-enhanced-chat-clvmf1aq80028pkylq7rpoyeo/ New updates are here, this time enhancing guests' ability to join meetings quickly and better chat on mobile, ensuring you and your team stay connected. 🔗 **Guests can join meetings on mobile easily** * **Guests can join meetings with a link:** Easier to jump into discussions quickly. There is no need to sign up; download the Cosmos app, click the link, and go. * **Enhanced deep linking across Cosmos:** Cosmos takes you where you need to be with a link in a snap - space, room, user, or meeting links, 💬 **Chat improvements** * **Notifications deep link:** Jump to the message from any notification, saving you time and hassle. * **Thread replies** in Direct Messages (DMs), Channels, and meeting chats with a refined user experience. * **Profile pictures** sync seamlessly with mobile, web, and desktop chat, keeping chat personalised and engaging. 👯 **Community Feedback** * **Slack notifications:** Cosmos will no longer create message groups for notifications. Instead, you'll get all updates as direct messages from Cosmos. To reduce the clutter from multiple notifications. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Desktop: Enhanced Chat and performance improvements 🌟 Author: Gurleen Singh Published: 2024-04-29 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, communication, messaging URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/desktop-enhanced-chat-and-performance-improvements-clvl2iq2100002m36uy9he59p/ We have some exciting news for you — a slicker chat experience on desktop and fewer steps to enter Cosmos. 🗨️ **Revamped Desktop Chat:** Desktop chat just got a makeover. Here's what's new and improved... * **Fresh Interface:** A new interface on the web that's intuitive and user-friendly. * **Enhanced Formatting:** Make your messages more readable with formatting options like bold, italics, strikethrough and code. * **Seamless Sharing:** Share attachments effortlessly to keep the conversation flowing. * **Pinning:** Ability to pin important messages on channels and DMs. * **Express Yourself:** Sprinkle personality into your messages with emojis. * **Threads:** Improved threading experience for deeper discussions. 🚀 **Performance Boost:** Under-the-hood improvements to reduce load times, smoother panning, and seamless zooming. Also, snowball throwing is fixed. If you don't know what I am referring to, enter Cosmos, and press "T" to try and throw one at your colleague. 🎤 **Hassle-Free Joining:** Users can enter Cosmos space without giving permission to a mic or camera. They see the permission prompts when they unmute the mic or camera. 🛠️ **Cosmos recovers if Chrome auto-kills the tab:** Stay connected with your colleagues easily. 🎥 **Cosmos Recording:** The recorder bot wasn't starting recording immediately; we've shipped a fix today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm7YFduqIGQ&ab\_channel=CosmosVideo Checkout the video here- --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Easier to be available and start conversations 👥 Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2023-05-10 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, communication, messaging, Be available URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/feature-be-available-virtual-office/ We at Cosmos want to help teams to be connected. We do this by lowering the effort it takes to start a conversation. We've shipped new features that make it easier to be available, pick the right moment and start a conversation. ### 🌟 **Easier to be available:**  Improved popout experience to ensure Cosmos gets out of the way and lets you be productive. It gives you control for peace of mind: * Quick access to buttons for mic and camera, status, and screenshare * Floating videos with the ability to switch between pages * Sound notification when someone walks up to you ![cosmos-popout-experience-to-be-available](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/productemailnew-1683719487727-original.gif) ### 🔍 **Pick the right moment:** * Spot available teammates in the sidebar or on the map * Understand their context from status * If one of your teammates is busy, you can ask Cosmos to notify you when they become available ### 💬 **Start Conversations Effortlessly:** * Walk up to your teammate to start talking * Or use "Are you free for a chat?" to ask if now is a good time The new popout experience is available in the [Cosmos desktop app.](https://www.cosmos.video/download) Checkout out our blog on how to [overcome disconnect and isolation in remote teams](https://cosmos.video/blog/remote-work-isolation-loneliness/) to understand why we've built features to be available and easily start a conversation. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## How to overcome isolation and loneliness in remote teams? Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2023-05-10 Category: Future of Work Tags: Future of Work, Vision, Be available URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/remote-work-isolation-loneliness/ **🏝️****The Remote Work Challenge**  ------------------------------------- In recent years, distributed remote teams have become the new norm, bringing unique challenges. The most significant issue is the feeling of isolation, loneliness and disconnection among team members. It's now harder to ask for help, share personal experiences, and connect with colleagues more deeply. ### 🔍 The problem at its core  Based on our work with 250 remote-first teams, we've identified the issue to be the higher threshold for starting conversations.  Casual chats at someone's desk are now replaced with a new workflow: messaging your teammate to ask for a call, sharing a reason to talk, and scheduling a call. Higher friction to start a conversation leads to fewer conversations that feel transactional and leads to weakened team bonds.  Organizations of all sizes are impacted by this issue and are often characterized by the following comments in employee NPS surveys: * Team members feel isolated * Disconnect within the team * Difficult to ask for help or support​ These challenges can ultimately result in a loss of productivity or lead to employee churn. The best place for Leadership or HR to learn about the challenges their teams face is to talk to the team's new hires or junior people. In our experience, these challenges are deeply felt by new hires or juniors on the team. ### 🛠️ Teams are limited by the tools they use While one can blame these issues on the leadership or individuals in the team for their inability to change their behaviour to fit the tools available: Slack, Google Meet or Zoom. We believe that at work, to be in a state of flow, our tools should fit our innate behavioural needs.  **🪄 The Cosmos Way**  ------------------------- ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/cosmos-demo-1683718893301-compressed.jpg) We have built Cosmos to reduce the barrier of starting a conversation within a team. To enable seamless connections between team members at home, in the office or on the beach.  **With Cosmos, team members:** * **Be available, and use statuses to signal availability** * **Others can see who's available for a chat** * **Start talking with just a single click** * **All conversations are visible to others in the team, and they can join with a single click** Lowering the barrier to starting conversations and discovering ongoing discussions, Cosmos fosters stronger cohesion and connection and enhanced support and guidance for junior team members. [Features to increase availability and connection.](https://cosmos.video/blog/feature-be-available-virtual-office) 100+ teams use Cosmos to maintain personal connections and keep your team strong, united, and efficient.  Here is a video demo of Cosmos:  Feel free to try [Cosmos](https://cosmos.video/setup-office) out with your team to be available, and support each other, and host meetings during work hours. If you want to use Cosmos for your team, you can get a free [personalized demo from a member of our team here.](https://calendly.com/cosmosdemo/30min?back=1&month=2023-05) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Annotate screenshare for better training and co-working Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2023-02-08 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, Expression URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/annotate-screenshare-for-better-training-and-co-working-cldvotuby701471kte74qdaxu2/ ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/15bbdb79-446b-1a8e-3b0b-7737d6fc3313.gif) Everyone in a conversation can now annotate a screen which is being shared. ### 📺 For the person sharing the screen You need to use the Cosmos Desktop App and share your entire screen. ### ✏️ To annotate Click your mouse/touchpad and drag/swipe.  You can choose to be on the Chrome browser or the Cosmos desktop app. We currently don’t support the annotations feature on mobile. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Improved video experience on Web, Desktop and Mobile apps Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2023-02-06 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, Video Quality URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/improved-video-experience-on-web-desktop-and-mobile-apps-cldt47oo51411001ks4f3nk9uge/ ### Dynamic Screen-share quality 🪄 Cosmos prioritises screen-share and audio over video in a situation with limited bandwidth. ### Ability to handle slow internet speed and optimisations to reduce CPU usage 📶 We adjust video quality based on the bandwidth available to upload and download. We also show the quality of each participant's connection on the video tile. ![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/4MTPx-y83r_O2zTaiOi1eG2s8GaOFh205C9-XUQg2ZIcctAfHtLmbZSz12N3otYUnw4dZxssFmFbvbQjJDUTIZ-N1N2H2gbcearCP472CGdtEKWusDMusWRhajMNWIwBJb0QoMm-FH8pAF5PXpmfjuM) ### Low latency when connecting to people in different parts of the world 🌏 Cosmos now has globally distributed servers, and users connect to the closest Cosmos server based on location. Example: If two people are talking, one in India and the other in the UK, they will connect to the closest Cosmos servers based on their l📱ocation. Our users get the best video quality regardless of their location.  ### New mobile app 📱 Please update your Cosmos Video mobile app to the latest version. Older versions of the app will no longer work. Also, we have resolved the following bugs on the apps: *  Screen-share can now be zoomed in and out * Bluetooth headphones now work * The phone remains awake while you are on the video call ​[Download the apps here](https://write.superblog.ai/sites/supername/cosmos/posts/untitled-draft-post-cldt47oo51411001ks4f3nk9uge/cosmos.video/download)​ ​ --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Introducing direct messages and channels Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2022-11-11 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, messaging URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/introducing-direct-messages-and-channels-cldudsjue189781kteo7pf2d89/ ### Direct Messages Now you can send a message to your colleagues directly within Cosmos. Just click on your colleague's name in the sidebar on the left. ![Cosmos Video direct messages to ping a team member or to ask a question.](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Q9ailRNXaAUbc6ixKPsnxWuKz9Jl3w6sAmFT-4OdwpM2S8mzWFxNQSsubvwOStIArnupYGu6EK3W4asxHTX0hzpGkENrUKSdkNZ1pwcr74S43iC-uClOiOwuYxtP_zYKM0Px9ugDKmha2tHZhaSxW6Q) Send a direct message ### Channels We have introduced Channels - dedicated spaces for your text conversations. Channels can bring clarity and organization to your communication - you can create them for any project, topic or team. With all the information in one place, you can share ideas, make decisions and move forward. You can create a new channel by clicking +New in the Channels section in the sidebar. ![Cosmos Video channels for team updates and discussions](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Axv_UAtfEgIKXxZoizW0wf-QMWeMU9NlvElAUOMHtSWOfx9jk3szrigOBIrGd6nNhFu2u1AKD1GnqRMEP67m1IDd8dr7hJ1Aer_WnoFEwfWWo9XCZuSimryYEJbFLva4Wb5y0YMB04HZIr-wZrKH2bM) Create a new channel --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Sample Page Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2022-10-04 URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/sample-page/ This is a page. Notice how there are no elements like author, date, social sharing icons? Yes, this is the page format. You can create a whole website using Superblog if you wish to do so! --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Schedule a meeting in Cosmos from Google Calendar Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2022-08-03 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, communication URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/schedule-a-meeting-in-cosmos-from-google-calendar-cldufusmy252211kte49lcyics/ Introducing Cosmos integration with Google Calendar.  ### Meeting Organisers Can easily schedule a meeting in Cosmos from Google Calendar. Set up Cosmos as the default video-calling option for all meetings.  ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/a30f1c8f-879c-6a92-45e1-58716b676bfd.gif) ### Users in Cosmos Office All the meetings scheduled for the day show up in the sidebar. You can press "Start" and select which room the meeting should start in. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/4d3681a3-2423-d210-be51-b7b12d8dae43.gif) ### Joining the meeting using a calendar link Users using the link will come to the same meeting room selected by the person inside the office. If no one is in the office, a room will be allocated randomly for the meeting. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/b66d9beb-45b6-5247-71dd-40cc0490c702.gif) ### How to set it up? You can install it from the Google Calendar Tab in the ⚙️ Settings of your Cosmos Office or use the link below. Link to [Install Cosmos for Google Calendar](https://workspace.google.com/marketplace/app/cosmos_video/435289367003)​ Guide for [changing default office for Google Calendar](https://support.cosmos.video/article/71-google-calendar-change-the-default-office-link)​ --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Record meetings and ability to blur your video background Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2022-04-29 Category: Communication Tags: communication, Meeting Experience URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/record-meetings-and-ability-to-blur-your-video-background-cldvont55697201ktej43uv394/ **🎥 Record Meetings in Rooms** Record meetings and keep them private or share them with your teammates. To view a recording, head to the video inbox in the left sidebar of your Cosmos venue. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/0f565d5a-45ef-21a1-bbc2-7801b147c9dc.png) ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/72154609-c9dc-03d9-c6ec-93999e86b4e1.png) **📷 Background Blur** You can now blur your background from the Audio & Video tab in Settings and keep your surroundings private. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/116d905c-5fc0-10ba-9cb2-6c4c66140421.png) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## 1st Product of the day on Product Hunt Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2022-03-29 Category: Future of Work Tags: Future of Work, announcement URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/1st-product-of-the-day-on-product-hunt-cldvrw7x5827141ktecxcuye5u/ ![product hunt product of the day, cosmos video, remote work](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/screenshot-2023-02-08-at-14-1675866981822-compressed.png) Cosmos became the product hunt product of the day! Thanks to our users for their support and backing. We won't be here without our users.  Your continued support has been incredible and means so much to us. ![user reviews of cosmos video on product hunt](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/screenshot-2023-02-08-at-14-1675867136937-compressed.png) Cosmos got a rating of 4.9/5 from our long-standing customers.  Some quotes from our reviews:  Adam, founder of Maya Agency - "We use cosmos all day, every day, and it has transformed how we work and feel as a team. Their customer support is unlike anything I have experienced, with rapid response to feedback and suggestions" Martin, founder of Wing AI - "Great product! It is honestly an interesting way to engage your remote team and give them the feeling of a virtual office without breaking the bank!" Koussey Goupil - "Working in a fully remote company, I was looking for a solution to create a real sense of belonging. I've been using it for a couple of days, and we love it!" --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Express yourself on Cosmos Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2022-03-11 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, Expression URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/express-yourself-on-cosmos-cldvpf8vt724501kteioebyji2/ ### Adopt an office Pet 🐶  Have an adorable puppy, kitten, or penguin follow you around and show you 🧡 ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/331729dd-b0b2-fca1-b9c7-537230657b49.gif) You can also pet or shoo your pet by clicking on them.  What would you want your pets to do for you?  Some customers want them to answer questions from the company wiki, and some users want their pets to give them life advice.  Please share your thoughts [on our community feedback board.](https://cosmos.canny.io/)​ --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Reactions on Cosmos Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2022-03-11 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, Meeting Experience URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/reactions-on-cosmos-cldvp0wo2710041kten0jdpv9g/ ### Express yourself through reactions Show how you’re feeling and bring vibrancy to your office 👏🎉🙌 ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/73adaae8-b4db-4407-65dd-b8143ed9156e.gif) Users can react on Cosmos during meetings or conversations using the reactions in the toolbar or by using the number keys.  ![](https://superblog.supercdn.cloud/site_cuid_cl8ua9uua621081js6939qs4n9/images/screenshot-2023-02-08-at-13-1675862532226-compressed.png) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Run engaging meetings with Cosmos Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2022-02-28 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, communication, Meeting Experience URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/run-engaging-meetings-with-cosmos-cldvpnxfd736691kteirgjg84w/ In our quest to be the definitive communication tool for sync teams. We realised we need to be great meeting tools as well.  All recurring meetings on Cosmos help teams create visibility for others and a sense of belonging. People can have spontaneous conversations before and after the meetings.  We’ve evolved into the meetings tool that helps create visibility and a sense of belonging within remote teams. ### Mobile and Desktop Apps  ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/ffb4d7f4-2a03-0c9b-a0b3-eba289c6171f.png) ### Better Video Quality We support up to 80 people in a conversation and handle reconnects smoothly. We also have servers across the world to reduce latency. Gallery view now has 12 or 24, or 36 videos per page. You can toggle this in video settings.  ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/9c3bb6a5-33e5-9a98-1ab8-ebc77d27cbe5.png) ### Ultra-clear screen share  Screenshare can now be made full-screen and optimised for slow internet or text readability. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/c3f89f6c-49cf-250b-d875-8793e42d9f69.png) ### Google Calendar Integration Set Cosmos as the default video-calling option for all meetings. Integrate Google Calendar with Cosmos from the settings in your Cosmos Office. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/c6835646-f403-0bf6-6504-5b39c82af30e.png) ### Meeting Topics  Set meeting topics in Cosmos to let others know what you are discussing and let them jump into the call with one click. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/676d630b-d4c8-62d3-a55a-0ebc46f5cbb1.png) ### Slack Integration  Get updates about what’s happening in your Cosmos office directly in Slack. Install the Slack App from the settings in your Cosmos Office. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/10e75fbb-77f3-211f-0c12-9540891c7bce.png) ### Meeting Recordings Record meetings and keep them private or share them with your teammates. To view a recording, head to the video inbox in the left sidebar of your Cosmos office. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Support for all hands, video messages and more Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2022-01-31 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, Meeting Experience URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/support-for-all-hands-video-messages-and-more-cldvq6vhk760261kteoiubcgvl/ ### Cosmos now supports up to 70 people in a conversation 🤩 You can now converse with groups of up to 70 people and host up to 150 people in your Cosmos office ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/75cb2340-63de-034e-80b3-6b85ec505bc9.png) ### ### Leave video messages for your teammates 📮 If a teammate you want to talk to is busy or offline, you can click on their name in the participant's tab and record a video message for them. They’ll be able to access the message from their all-new Cosmos video inbox.  ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/c0d70835-abfe-29e3-bd9a-123681973bad.png) ### Single Click to Move 💨 Point your cursor to the place you want to move to, and just click to move there. You can also pan around the map using your mouse or trackpad to easily zoom in and out. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/ef2a1175-e7b9-0f98-79b5-b1c635128030.gif) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Open apps and games within Cosmos Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2021-11-12 Category: Communication Tags: Product Update, communication, Meeting Experience URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/open-apps-and-games-within-cosmos-cldvqi4te772041kteh2y2s110/ ### **We’ve launched integrated apps 🌐** Walk up to any work table in Cosmos and press 'X' to access integrated apps. Collaborate with your teammates on Google Docs, Miro, Figma and more. All from within Cosmos! ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/04559598-d129-b481-1fa3-16f632407564.png) ### The Games Table is here 🤩 You no longer have to choose between pong or pictionary in your office. Walk up to a game table, and choose from one of the 15 games you’d like to play. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/c2eb0755-26ee-41c1-29fb-9d6234a22afc.png) ### You can now whisper to someone 🤫 Hover your cursor over someone’s video tile to whisper to them. You’ll be in a one-to-one chat with them, and no one around you will be able to overhear. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Launching notifications on Chrome and Slack Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2021-10-28 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, communication, Future of Work, Be available URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/launching-notifications-on-chrome-and-slack-cldvs7o1g837831ktevzwq4rex/ ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/2f589b16-519e-1dcd-b58d-f3d641e13787.png) You can now receive notifications from Cosmos on your browser or Slack.  Contents ​[On Slack](#on-slack) [On browsers](#on-browsers) [How to set up web and Slack Notifications](#how-to-set-up-web-and-slack-notifications)​ * [On browsers](#on-browsers) * [How to set up web and Slack Notifications](#how-to-set-up-web-and-slack-notifications) ### On Slack Set up a public channel to get a notification when someone enters your Cosmos Office (only venue admins can set this up) ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/1d836fff-61c5-2347-7339-e3ed891155fd.png) Invite colleagues who are offline to talk to you on Cosmos. They'll get a DM in Slack and can join with a single click. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/0bfee72f-244c-e67d-817f-4e0d9139a089.png) Get notified when teammates are trying to speak to you while you’re in focus or away mode ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/fd149c4a-7678-c44c-83a6-b0a96ae7aa6a.png) ### On browsers Get notified when someone joins your Cosmos office ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/11b62e9b-1bfc-14d5-615e-d79450c99207.png) Get a notification when someone wants to talk to you, and you’re in focusing or away mode ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/de4cf6a6-8ea6-04b6-e2ac-e079da85e9a5.png) ### How to set up web and Slack Notifications ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/d755c6c3-4d19-2683-8399-f586d8dee0e4.png) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Celebrate Halloween on Cosmos: No tricks just treats Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2021-10-15 Category: Communication Tags: Expression URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/celebrate-halloween-on-cosmos-no-tricks-just-treats-cldvqnwbi777701ktew91radqq/ ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/b19f10ba-bf6f-fef5-aedc-99fe6b19b35f.png) 🎉 **Use our Halloween map** Our template halloween office is now available for you to plan your event. Invite your friends, hang out and play games on the day ### 🧟 Bring a spooky vibe to your office  Add Halloween decorations to your venue using the edit venue option in the top left of your office ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/36ca97cd-e2af-f0fa-4b14-b0a7ef2f4bb5.png) ### 👻  Add axes, witch robes and even pumpkin hats to your avatar You can customize your avatar from Wednesday next week by clicking the settings cog wheel inside Cosmos. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/7b68f87f-1902-c4f9-1f8d-c30699fca257.png) ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/651b750b-d84e-735f-b938-61e5e068e0d2.png) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Why are we building Cosmos? Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2021-09-15 Category: Future of Work Tags: Future of Work, Vision URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/why-are-we-building-cosmos-clduej0tw216221kteosbgg8uo/ ![Why we’re building Cosmos](https://cdn.eu1.cosmos.video/blog/office.jpg) ​[Introduction](#introduction) ​[Why didn't asynchronous work for us?](#why-didnt-asynchronous-work-for-us)​ ​[Replicating an office using Slack and Zoom](#replicating-an-office-using-slack-and-zoom)​ ​[Is a return to the office inevitable?](#is-a-return-to-the-office-inevitable)​ ​[What about hybrid?](#what-about-hybrid)​ ​[So, we built the Virtual HQ:](#so-we-built-the-virtual-hq)​ * [Why didn't asynchronous work for us?](#why-didnt-asynchronous-work-for-us) * [Replicating an office using Slack and Zoom](#replicating-an-office-using-slack-and-zoom) * [Is a return to the office inevitable?](#is-a-return-to-the-office-inevitable) * [What about hybrid?](#what-about-hybrid) * [So, we built the Virtual HQ:](#so-we-built-the-virtual-hq) * [The Future](#the-future) * [But.. We still don't know how to fix this:](#but-we-still-dont-know-how-to-fix-this) ### Introduction Last year, we were thrown into remote work for the first time. Since then, our feeds have been full of conflicting opinions on remote communication and how best to do it. Before the pandemic, we led product teams at tech startups in London. We tried working asynchronously to adjust to remote working, but it didn't work. We then tried, like everyone else, to work synchronously, and attempted to replicate the office environment using Zoom and Slack. Even with these tools, we found remote work to be lonely and missed being in the office. We had tasted the upside of working from home, so to avoid a full-scale return to the office, we set about building a way to bring teams together so they could enjoy all the benefits of being in an office environment while working from home. ### Why didn't asynchronous work for us? Guides to remote work focus on best practices for asynchronous teams (who work from anywhere, at different times), so that is what we tried first. Very few companies have actually taken remote work as far as eliminating offices and time zones altogether, but that seemed to be all we talked about. Based on the notion that remote work = asynchronous work, the playbook was clear: do your work independently, document everything in manuals and threads on Slack, and have meetings only when necessary. However, documenting processes in minute detail and deferring decision-making until the right person was online killed the aspects of our jobs we loved most: working in a high-energy environment and shipping fast. We quickly realised that asynchronous methods did not work for us. ![https://media.giphy.com/media/QPQ3xlJhqR1BXl89RG/giphy.gif](https://media.giphy.com/media/QPQ3xlJhqR1BXl89RG/giphy.gif) ### Replicating an office using Slack and Zoom We wanted to work simultaneously with the same speed and energy we experienced when working with our teams in the same place. But we wanted to do it remotely. In other words, we wanted to work synchronously from home. We tried doing this using Slack and Zoom. When we wanted to speak to people during our remote experiment, we would message on Slack, wait for a reply, sync on availability, set up a time for the call, and then meet on Zoom. This worked well for longer meetings with a clear agenda but was a painful process when we all wanted a 2-minute discussion. In the office, we could tap colleagues on the shoulder to ask questions without having to schedule a meeting for every conversation. It was easy to pull in others for an impromptu brainstorm to solve a problem. ![https://media1.tenor.com/images/02550efd51395bbf7eb809ac28a7a673/tenor.gif?itemid=13346895](https://media1.tenor.com/images/02550efd51395bbf7eb809ac28a7a673/tenor.gif?itemid=13346895) The lack of convenience of communicating meant we simply communicated less, which led ultimately to unresolved questions, less employee input in decision making and fewer brainstorming sessions. To try and keep everyone in the organisation on the same page, we tried writing up notes of Zoom meetings and sharing them on Slack. Inevitably, however, these notes were limited to action points, so they gave minimal context. We also found that while in the office, people used to overhear and jump into discussions happening around them, they rarely jumped in with their thoughts on Slack. ![https://media1.tenor.com/images/406dea3c20cda3680a54de5f0c2ddd91/tenor.gif?itemid=5059284](https://media1.tenor.com/images/406dea3c20cda3680a54de5f0c2ddd91/tenor.gif?itemid=5059284) In the office, people at every level of the organisation could always bump into each other. These chance conversations helped build solid relationships and company culture. They also led to some of the most creative ideas at the company. When all our communication moved to Slack and Zoom, employees struggled to access senior leaders outside the formal constraints of a scheduled 'check-in', and there was very little communication outside our immediate teams. Employees had less exposure to important decision-makers, and our teams became siloed. The pains we experienced arose from a single issue: our teammates were not in the same place simultaneously. ### Is a return to the office inevitable? There are too many upsides to working from home to dismiss it outright. Employees save time and money on their commute. And they get to work from the comfort of their own home, which no longer needs to be in expensive parts of the city. Working from home reduces greenhouse gas emissions from cars on the road and the consumption of fossil fuels. It means better air quality as a result of decreased air pollution. For companies, having their teams working remotely is a fraction of the cost of an expensive office lease. It is also a chance to start hiring globally. ![https://media.giphy.com/media/ZlgwEg24rPhv9cju8K/giphy.gif](https://media.giphy.com/media/ZlgwEg24rPhv9cju8K/giphy.gif) ### What about hybrid? Having experienced the benefits of remote, most employees aren't on board with the idea of a return to a 5-day week in the office. As a result, many businesses are attempting a hybrid return to work and are tackling it in one of two ways: The entire team works from the office on set days every week: Companies acknowledge that working synchronously from home is not optimal. The speed of decision-making, fluidity of creative discussions and sharing context on what's happening across the company are all adversely affected. They want to solve this by bringing people together in the office on set days and having them do individual-focused work when working from home. Each employee can choose between working from the office or from home on any given day: Given the choice, we believe every employee will default to one of the two options and stick with it. Those working from the office will have the chance to bump into each other, discuss ideas and feel a sense of camaraderie with their teams. They will overhear conversations among other teams and have more facetime with senior staff. Meanwhile, those working from home will use a combination of Zoom and Slack and encounter the same issues faced by remote teams discussed earlier. The office will slowly become the centre of work, creative discussions and socialising. This will create a disparity between those working from home and those working from the office and will likely create fractures in the team. ![https://media1.tenor.com/images/ab88a00d81329f24e01f739875cb702a/tenor.gif?itemid=9286799](https://media1.tenor.com/images/ab88a00d81329f24e01f739875cb702a/tenor.gif?itemid=9286799) Hybrid work is still being figured out. We believe current tools do not work for people who want to work from home, whichever hybrid option is used. We believe the world still needs a solution for working together remotely. A way for everyone to be present together in the same space simultaneously. ### So, we built the Virtual HQ: At Cosmos, we are building virtual spaces replicating the physical office through secure video chat in a computer game environment. The way it works is simple: the user selects a virtual venue from our website and makes it their own. They can then invite colleagues to the venue, which exists on a permanent weblink - their virtual HQ. Each user in the venue has an avatar and can walk up to other people's avatars to video chat with them. When users move their avatars away, the video chat ends automatically. Essentially, every user in the same venue can walk in and out of a conversation with other users. Using avatars means there is the same 'flow' of people walking in corridors and passing each other in common areas, which creates opportunities for bumping into each other. Video and audio can be turned on or off, and statuses help indicate availability so everyone has privacy and can focus without interruption when needed. For our team, having a virtual HQ means we bump into each other and walk over to each other to ask questions all the time. Having these interactions at work, even remotely, has enabled our team to develop friendships with people they have never met in real life and with people outside their teams. We get all the upsides of being in an office from the comfort of our homes. ![https://cdn.eu1.cosmos.video/blog/office.jpg](https://cdn.eu1.cosmos.video/blog/office.jpg) ### The Future Our vision for the future is one where every remote synchronous business has a virtual HQ where they can socialise, collaborate and build relationships through casual and informal interactions with their colleagues. At the same time, we imagine casual coworking spaces popping up in neighbourhoods, enabling people to switch up their work environment whenever they want without needing to commute to city centres. As employees, imagine we weren't tied to a particular office and could choose where we worked instead. Some of us would work from our home office or gardens in the summer, while others would choose a lively coworking space. It would depend on the person, the day of the week, or what they're working on. We believe businesses using Cosmos can make this a reality for their teams. ### But.. We still don't know how to fix this: ![https://media1.tenor.com/images/acff0c447d673e0dff878052ceb0906a/tenor.gif?itemid=17008936](https://media1.tenor.com/images/acff0c447d673e0dff878052ceb0906a/tenor.gif?itemid=17008936) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Connect your Cosmos HQ to your Slack workspace Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2021-07-29 Category: Communication Tags: Product Update, communication, Be available URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/connect-your-cosmos-hq-to-your-slack-workspace-cldvqu2jf783441ktegvibrrgr/ ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/c0af7f3c-f0de-2d10-9ce2-472a5fb42826.png) Over the last few months, we've worked closely with 100+ teams using Cosmos as their Virtual HQ and are excited to launch the most requested feature - Slack integration. ### Invite someone offline on Cosmos to chat by sending a Slack DM 💥 ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/c680dc4e-38fc-a399-a03d-b6492af14ce8.png) ### ### Type “/cosmos” in Slack conversations to jump into your Cosmos HQ 🪄 ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/ee3da4d9-0f30-b2d8-7d63-e0fc6e154c76.png) ### See someone’s Cosmos status inside Slack - available, focusing, away 👀 ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/80e90ac6-0904-1362-87d3-4bed172f682d.png) ### How to set it up? Head to the settings pane in Cosmos, and click 'Connect to Slack' 💫 ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/35ef1354-0289-aa92-7099-9a94bd24c819.png) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Virtual HQ for remote teams Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2021-07-26 Category: Future of Work Tags: communication, Future of Work URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/virtual-hq-for-remote-teams-cldvrqgop817551kte8d3uxni6/ ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/2c905000-7c3f-80d6-9606-872c95b9121d.jpg) We’ve spoken to hundreds of Cosmos super-users over the last few months. Before they went remote, they used to love going to a physical office - it allowed them to communicate fast, gain context on what was happening in the wider team, and have impromptu brainstorms. Sharing a space with their team meant bumping into each other, which led to casual conversations, and created a sense of belonging. Since going remote, they've been using Cosmos as a Virtual HQ daily. This is because Cosmos allows them to experience the benefits of being in an office while being remote. ### Be available and quickly ask questions Walk up to others to ask a question without back-and-forth scheduling. Every conversation doesn't need to be a meeting  ### Know what is happening Overhear conversations, have context on what others are working on, and jump into conversations ### Sense of belonging Talk with your teammates without reason, and discuss the last episode of friends or weather. Form lasting relationships with the people you spend the most time with.  ### How to introduce Cosmos to your team? * Have regular meetings (such as standups) on Cosmos, after which the team naturally breaks into groups to discuss * Set up daily co-working time in the calendar. Popular times are 10 am-12 pm & 2pm-4pm --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Meet the New Cosmos: Faster, Cuter, Better Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2021-06-30 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, Expression URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/meet-the-new-cosmos-faster-cuter-better/ Over the last 3 months, we’ve been working hard to build an entirely new visual look and feel for Cosmos. ### Brand new world We’ve redesigned Cosmos from scratch, and it looks amazing! 🤩 ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/e804d1a1-36ea-a028-25da-783e7f0960ab.png) ### Adorable avatars To go with the new look of Cosmos, we’ve launched a range of avatars. Did someone say cuteness overload? More avatars coming soon... ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/5bbc6243-a5b7-49a2-b6ea-0f5d458ccb9a.png) ### ### Globally scaled video platform We’ve developed video tech that works for users across the world. You should notice snappier videos and less delay when using Cosmos! Cosmos is for everyone 🤗. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/7b590d35-1842-ca80-5d18-06985410791e.png) To host your team on Cosmos, please create an office by [following this link](https://cosmos.video/setup-office) or [booking a demo with a member of our team.](https://calendly.com/cosmosdemo/30min) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## Introducing gallery view and meeting rooms Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2021-03-03 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, communication, Meeting Experience URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/introducing-gallery-view-and-meeting-rooms-cldvr872p798521ktewdoffajn/ ### Introducing Gallery View Switch to gallery view to see more people and focus on the conversation. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/082f054f-8776-4d6f-af0b-fbc92872f3ce.png) Introducing meeting rooms for you to see everyone ------------------------------------------------- Walk into meeting rooms for a meeting. Everyone inside the area will be in the same conversation, and no one outside will be able to hear you. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/a667cc82-7045-4a33-ac07-6f309c585084.png) ### New Avatars We heard you wanted more choices in avatars...here are 24 new ones. 🤩 More are on the way! ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/d7575f6d-1460-49b6-8146-c1217b1030c9.png) ### Under-the-hood features \- Smoother movement of avatars on the map \- Video reconnects automatically if you change your wifi network or switch on VPN \- Default to your laptop mic and speakers when your Bluetooth headset runs out of battery --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## See everyone in the office in the sidebar Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2021-02-18 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, communication URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/see-everyone-in-the-office-in-the-sidebar-cldvrepr9805271kteq71nsmxy/ ### It's now easier to find people🕵️‍♂️ You can now see everyone's location in the participant's tab, making it easier to find (or avoid) other people in an office.  ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/db883756-7d25-4c9d-9e14-edfc684e54c9.png) ### Work hard, play hard - two new games \- Pong 🏓 - an old arcade classic. \- Navy Wars 🚢 - sink your opponent's fleet before they sink yours. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/e1588435-7e9d-4a7e-9893-3d3301ba4608.png) ### Cosmos now works on Safari too! ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/d26ab74c-6654-4642-bf0b-16f4a073b041.png) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. --- ## New office maps, games, and avatar names! Author: Karan Baweja Published: 2021-01-26 Category: Product Update Tags: Product Update, Future of Work, Expression URL: https://cosmos.video/blog/new-office-maps-games-and-avatar-names-cldvrjnld810111kterqo28tt7/ ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/e5cb9b4f-8b87-4edd-b739-9028ab8a4241.png) ### New office maps Select the office map that's best for your team. Offices are of different sizes and have different vibes. One even has secret tunnels 🤫. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/b0d87043-6a34-45d7-83df-361e3ee96636.png) ### Two more games for your office socials **Who said it best** - Who can come up with the most fun answer to "What is the best thing to use when you're out of toilet paper?" or "What killed the dinosaurs?" **Cosmos Art** - Guess what others have drawn, and find the artist in your team! ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/f3f5ba5e-6c84-44d6-8c4d-187f14b18b04.png) ### Names above avatars It's now easier to find your colleagues and avoid some 😛  while walking around the office. ![](https://mcusercontent.com/311e479f423258bf413ba0191/images/3cfbbabb-dcad-4b4c-ab4e-f529ea6b1676.png) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---