Mobile VC, will it ever catch on?
It will, and all because of seven magic letters. They are WYSIWIS and they mean What You See Is What I See.
This is where a
remote team can view what the person at the far end can actually see. In healthcare this can be a trauma team in the hospital
viewing what the medics at the scene are viewing to enable early assessments
and a better chance of survival, in the industrial workplace this can be a
control room operator looking at what the operative on site is looking at and
making a better decision as a result.
It is not a case of how we communicate, but why we
communicate that determines the best method. A telephone is an improvement on a
telegraph because you have true duplex communication without delays, and for
most of the time this is all we need. If you think about two people sat in a
room talking they don't need to look at each other for the conversation to
happen. They only need to see each other when emotion is involved such as
during a decision making process (that's a whole different subject) and this is
where VC for group meetings is beneficial, it is often why people travel to
meet each other face to face. However if all you need to do is order a pizza
you don't need to see the other person for the system to work.
Mobile VC has very limited usage if it is been simply
promoted so that people can see the person at the other end, most of the time
there is no need. Where mobile VC comes into its own is where people need to
see what the person on the other end can see. A subtle difference, but a very
important one.
Mobile is going to expand the VC market significantly, but
only when people fully appreciate WHY it is used.
