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3 ways to instantly look smarter on video calls
Have you ever joined a Zoom call and thought, “Why do I look like a vampire who doesn’t know where the camera is?” Since it’s the start of a new week, here are easy tricks to make you look brighter, smarter and significantly less like you’re broadcasting from a cave.
🎥 Fix your camera placement
The fastest way to look smarter is simple: Stop looking down at your screen.
- Position your webcam at eye level, even if that means stacking some books under your laptop.
- Sit 18 to 24 inches from your camera. Too close = awkward giant face. Too far = tiny distant speck.
⭐️ Bonus move: Drag whoever’s talking to the top-center of your screen, right under your webcam. This way, you’re naturally looking at the speaker and into the camera. No more looking down, off to the side or like you’re secretly reading something else.
Turns out the fastest fix is good old eye contact. Not like “date night,” but like “I’m kinda interested.”
💡 Master your lighting
Good lighting is an instant upgrade.
- Face a natural light source like a window if possible.
- No window? Place a soft lamp behind your monitor shining toward you, not overhead. Overhead lighting makes you look like you’re telling ghost stories. 👻 Save the oOoOoOoO for the Halloween campfire.
- Avoid bright lights directly behind you, they turn you into a mysterious silhouette.
⭐️ Bonus move: In Zoom, turn on Touch up my appearance under Settings > Video for a little automatic soft-focus magic. Google Meet has “Apply visual effects” > “Slight” or “Studio Lighting” options.
If you do need the right light to look fabulous, here’s a great one ($25).
🏡 Clean up that background
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Snip n’ snatched
👩⚕️ I’ve got some small tools that can do big things for your body.
- Massage away your pain with a vibrating foam roller (22% off).
- A smart tape measure (14% off) gives you accurate body specs.
- Fever? This thermometer (11% off) checks your temp in seconds.
- Tame your nose and facial hair with a trimmer (11% off) for women.
- Can’t hear? You might want an earwax removal tool (27% off).
💙 Keep your cool: Hot and cold gel packs (36% off) work way better than that old bag of frozen peas.
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Your phone has a death date
Your phone is dying as you’re reading this. Many people don’t realize that, like milk, condoms or your favorite hot sauce that’s been in the fridge since 2018, your phone has an expiration date.
Here are the average lifespans for some of today’s most popular phone brands and makes:
45-day risk free trial: Thanks to tech, these hearing aids have two tiny smart processors that analyze the sound around you to make conversations crystal clear. Incredible. If your ears had a software update, this would be it. See if you qualify today for a 45-day no-risk trial!
50% off alert: My home security pick, SimpliSafe, is having a massive sale. When you get a professional monitoring plan, you get one month free! You don’t need to live in fear or worry about burglars when you’re not home. Get all the gear to lock down your home for half off.
Don’t know what to watch? Hit up moviewiser.com. Type in the mood you’re going for in their AI tab. It’ll spit out a list of movies that fit the bill. I searched for “summer love story,” and the winners include The Notebook and About Time.
🔮 Pet psychics on TikTok: Suckers, I mean people, are paying up to $250/hour to have strangers “speak” with their pets (paywall link), alive or dead. According to one dubious Dolittle, a cat told its owner he’s “very handsome.” I saw a heavyset woman doing this with 220,000 followers. She’s definitely a four-chin teller.
$300,000
The cost of the Cadillac Celestiq planned for production this year. GM is only making 25 of them. Who’d spend that kind of money on this awful-looking Cadillac? Speaking of … How do you get your Cadillac to the 2nd level of a mall? You use the Escalader.
40-foot submarine-hunting drone
The “BlueWhale” uses special sensors to spot underwater and surface threats, and can help clear mines. The cool bit? It’s fully autonomous and runs on batteries for weeks. Basically, a Roomba’s scarier cousin with serious military vibes.
Shelf-absorbed
🛁 You’re one click away from bathing like royalty.
- Hold up to 20 pounds with a stainless steel shower caddy (7% off).
- No tools? No worries, these waterproof adhesives ($9) stick right on.
- This foldable bath tray (25% off) holds your book, drink and tablet.
- Soggy bath mat? Snag a stone mat (40% off) that dries quickly.
- A pack of exfoliating soap bags (33% off) is like loofahs but better.
- Perfect for curls, this hair dryer (13% off) comes with a diffuser.
🛍️ It’s not too late to shop my Mother’s Day Ultimate Gift List. Order now, so it arrives on time.
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Attention, parents with small kids: Researchers found that parents distracted by their phones around kids under 5 can cause long-term issues. Think poorer cognition and behavior problems. Why? This is when little ones are developing critical language and social skills, and being ignored can seriously mess with that.
Kill phantom power spiking your electric bill
Your devices might be “off,” but they’re still burning energy. Here’s a cheap fix to cut your bill.
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🤲 Amazon’s touchy new robot: Vulcan has a “sense of touch,” which is either a sci-fi dream or the start of our future metal overlords politely handing us our orders. Amazon swears it’s “not replacing workers,” just lifting the heavy stuff so humans can … watch? For now, it’s just in Spokane, but Germany’s next.
This leaves a mark: For the first time in over 20 years, Google searches through Apple’s Safari browser have dropped. Not a shocker. More people are using ChatGPT and Perplexity instead. Investors sold on the news, and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) lost around $250 billion in market value in a single day, or about the GDP of Finland or Portugal.
3 scams that drain your bank account
Think you’d never fall for one? These are the exact tricks catching people every day.
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20%
That’s how much longer mice lived after a single dose of a protein called Klotho. They also aged better, with stronger muscles, denser bones and sharper brains. Human trials are still a ways off, but if it translates, we’re talking 16 extra years. Basically, it’s the closest thing to a youth potion in a syringe.
Only 1 in 4
AI projects actually deliver a return on investment. Still, companies are FOMOing cash at them like it’s a sure thing — 64% of CEOs jumped in before even knowing if the tech would help. But hey, they’re playing the long game. Most don’t expect results for at least two years. Gotta spend it to (maybe) earn it.
Delete a selfie? Facebook saw it — May 10th, Hour 1
Post a pic. Regret it. Delete it. Facebook tracked when teen girls did that, says a former company exec. Then, at that moment, it allegedly hit them with beauty ads. Plus, NYC tests crime-predicting AI and drivers want buttons back in cars. I also talk to Ken from Ohio, who says his Apple Watch saved his life.
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