I can remember as a child in the mid 80’s seeing a video phone for the first time on a TV science show. Back then it really captured my imagination. How different things would be if you could see the people you talked to on the phone, it would be just like having them in the room. As far as I was concerned that was right up there with flying cars and robot slaves. This was probably a decade before most folks were using the internet. Now that I think of it I am not sure if that phone actually existed or if the show was about future technology.
The point is, we now have that technology but it hasn’t revolutionized things the way I had thought . A friend of mine who recently moved to Boston with his wife decided to purchase a couple of web cams last last month so he and his wife could keep in touch with her younger siblings. On a visit back home he set up one of the web cams at his in-laws house and gave them some basic training. When they got back to Massachusetts they decided to test out the webcam. They were excited to experience what they hoped would be a more intimate and meaningful form of communication with their family. After troubleshooting several technical difficulties they went live. There was an immediate sense of novelty in recognizing each other on the video screen. As he described it, the novelty turned to frustration when the the audio lagged behind the video and they quickly decided to switch to the telephone.
I am not convinced that we have reached the zenith of the video phone experience. I still believe there is merit in being able to see the faces of the people we are speaking with. This recent ad from Cisco better describes what I envisioned as a child. But then again this is only an ad, and despite the touching narrative of a family reconnecting, the technology they are showcasing is currently aimed more at businesses. It may be a long time before we see this high-end telepresence technology in our homes.