Interaction in the Online Age

It is an ongoing concern whether the internet is drawing us closer together or further isolating us from one another. We have all sorts of applications to help us in that regard from web video dating software, desktop sharing software to online meeting software. We meet friends online that we have never seen in person and developed an entire online society with its own "netiquette" and social mores. I believe that whether it is good or bad comes down to our individual outlook and threshold for social interaction.

For instance, some desktop video meetings can come very close to real interaction. They offer full webcam interaction to allow you to see the people that you are talking to. With a good pair of noise canceling headphones the sound quality can rival being in the same room with the person you are talking with. Web conferencing can also allow you to collaborate with people around the world on a project or goal. You can share notes, manipulate each others data and look at pictures or 3d models to give you a concrete visual for a project or idea.

There is no doubt that PC video meetings can let you do things that you cannot in real life. It saves on travel time, makes you more productive and allows you to interact with people that you would never meet otherwise but it misses some indefinable tactile quality. It is the same reason the web video dating sites can only get you so far. There always has to be that make or break first in person meeting. I believe that web conferencing and web video dating make a great tool to augment real world interaction but it will never truly take its place.

We are pack animals and social by nature. So, no matter what web video meeting advantages that there may be to virtual interaction, we crave the real thing. I know that when I go to a client meeting I can get much more out of the experience in person than over the internet. It may be that I am reading body language or micro expressions but I know that I am much more likely to land a new client in person than if I am giving an amazing presentation via web video conferencing services. Some times the human element may be hard to pin down but I do know that it cannot be transmitted digitally. Although, I am not saying it will not be at some future date. New online meeting software and computer hardware are constantly being developed and the next big innovation may be just around the corner.

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