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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

The Future Deferred - Again 

Some communications media always seem to promise but never quite deliver. Video conferencing is one. Decades ago we were promised the video phone, then video conferencing equipment arrived, and regularly we are told we won't have to travel as much. We only need to go to a room to participate in a discussion anywhere in the world.

Video conferencing works well, but there is a human need to move, to get on the ground and to see for oneself what is happening. Video conferencing apparently is no substitute for pressing the flesh and one-on-one communication without the barrier of cameras and projectors.

The industry still predicts rapid growth as prices fall and equipment gets better, but I wonder. Are some communications habits so ingrained that even good technology won't change them?

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