Google Meet what's for lunch

I vividly remember a recent meeting at Cash App that was relatively serious (layoffs had recently happened). The entire meeting I found myself distracted by a lead who was going IN on some chow mein. Half of me thought, “Wow that looks good.” but the other part of me was surprised by the boldness required to eat such a messy lunch in front of hundreds of people. Respect.

I have been in this scenario during meeting-heavy days. I dislike eating during meetings because A) it’s distracting and B) it detracts from my ability to enjoy my food. More often than I care to admit, my solution is to skip lunch entirely.

This got me thinking about Google Meet’s UX when someone is eating a meal. What if, even though your camera and video are off, Google could detect eating activity and ask you to share with the attendees what’s on the menu?

The biggest outcry would not be from the absurdity of the experience, but rather the implication that Google is watching, even when your camera is turned off. I don’t know if they are, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

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