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Build Your Remote Culture with the DIY Virtual Events Hub

Your new remote hires feel like strangers on a conference call. Without the natural 'water cooler' moments of an office, they're isolated, disconnected from your company culture, and at a higher risk of early departure. How do you build a real team when everyone's a world away?

This playbook provides a cost-effective, manually-driven framework for hosting engaging virtual social events. By combining free-to-use tools for video conferencing and collaborative whiteboarding, you can easily organize game nights, virtual happy hours, and team-building activities. The key to success is empowering an internal 'social champion' to schedule, promote, and lead these events, creating consistent opportunities for genuine connection.

Expected Outcomes

  • Dramatically reduce feelings of isolation among new and existing remote employees.
  • Strengthen team cohesion and build genuine personal relationships beyond project work.
  • Integrate new hires into your company's informal culture and social norms more effectively.
  • Increase employee engagement and reduce the risk of early-stage attrition.
  • Create a vibrant, inclusive remote work culture at virtually zero cost.

Core Tools in This Stack

Jitsi Meet

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Jitsi Meet is a fully encrypted, 100% open-source video conferencing solution that you can use all day, every day, for free — with no account needed. It allows users to start meetings instantly from a browser or via dedicated apps.

Key Features
  • No account required to start or join meetings
  • End-to-end encryption (E2EE)
  • HD audio and video quality
  • Screen sharing and session recording
  • In-meeting chat and polling
  • Virtual backgrounds and background blur
  • Integrations with Google, Microsoft, and Slack
  • Self-hosting capabilities for full control
  • Mobile and desktop applications
  • Developer-friendly APIs and SDKs
Ideal For

Company Size: Micro, Small, Medium, Large

Industries: Technology & Software, Business & Professional Services, Retail & E-commerce, Creative & Media, Education & Non-Profit, Health & Wellness, Other

Pricing

Model: Free, Open Source, Subscription

Tier: Free

Ease of Use

Easy

Miro

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Miro is a collaborative online whiteboard platform designed for teams to brainstorm, plan, design, and manage workflows in real-time or asynchronously.

Key Features
  • Infinite zoomable canvas
  • Extensive template library (Miroverse)
  • Real-time collaboration with cursors and comments
  • Diagramming tools (flowcharts, UML, ERD)
  • Mind mapping and brainstorming tools
  • Agile workflow tools (Kanban boards, user story maps)
  • Integrations with Jira, Asana, Slack, Zoom, etc.
  • Miro AI for idea generation and summarization
  • Video chat, voting, and timer functionalities
Ideal For

Company Size: Micro, Small, Medium, Large

Industries: Technology & Software, Business & Professional Services, Creative & Media, Education & Non-Profit, Retail & E-commerce, Other

Pricing

Model: Freemium, Subscription, Enterprise

Tier: Medium

Ease of Use

Intermediate

Discord

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Discord is a voice, video, and text chat platform that allows users to create and join invite-only servers. It's designed for creating communities, from small friend groups to large online fandoms and gaming groups.

Key Features
  • Servers and Channels
  • Voice and Video Chat
  • Real-time Text Messaging
  • Screen Sharing & Go Live
  • Roles and Permissions
  • Integrations and Bots
  • Cross-Platform Availability
Ideal For

Company Size: Large

Industries: Technology & Software, Creative & Media, Education & Non-Profit, Retail & E-commerce, Other

Pricing

Model: Freemium

Tier: Free

Ease of Use

Easy

The Workflow

graph TD subgraph "DIY Virtual Events Hub" direction LR N0["Jitsi Meet"] N1["Miro"] N2["Discord"] N2 -- "Triggers board creation via slash command" --> N1 N2 -- "Triggers room generation via slash command" --> N0 N1 -- "Posts new board link to channel" --> N2 N0 -- "Posts new room link to channel" --> N2 end classDef blue fill:#3498db,stroke:#2980b9,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff; classDef green fill:#2ecc71,stroke:#27ae60,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff; classDef orange fill:#f39c12,stroke:#d35400,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff; class N0 blue; class N1 blue; class N2 blue;

Integration Logic

  • Social Champion's Toolkit

    This integration is triggered by a custom slash command in a designated Discord channel (e.g., `/start-session [topic]`). Upon execution, the workflow makes an API call to Miro to create a new whiteboard, using the 'topic' as the board's title. Concurrently, it generates a unique Jitsi Meet room URL. The integration then formats a message containing the links to both the newly created Miro board and the Jitsi Meet room, and posts it back into the original Discord channel via a webhook, providing a centralized launchpad for the session.

Unlock Your Remote Culture Playbook

Forge a strong remote culture that connects your team and prevents early turnover.