Video calls: they’re so easy but why does nobody do it?

There are so many reasons that video calls should be popular

1. Access to high speed internet is widespread and increasing
2. Pretty much all laptops these days come with a webcam on them
3. Laptops these days come with a mic on them
4. Live Messenger and all other instant chat programs, and probably even Skype, have one click video calls
5. It takes 5 seconds to setup a video call for the first time, after that it’s just one click

I guess theres a few reasons why they aren’t widespread

1. People sit at their computers in the nude
2. Instant messages are more instant
3. Can feel invasive

With all that said, yesterday I decided to make the switch.

I work very closely with my contracters. I have a designer and a programmer that work from home, and I spend a lot of time on MSN communicating with them. Yesterday I had a new design that needed to be done. It is quite a complex design, and there were quite a few things that needed to be included.

I started out with typing them to him and then realised that this just was going to take ages. I was just about to pick up the phone, when I thought to try a video call. 

Well it was brilliant. I could show some diagrams that the client had drawn up and I could really explain it a lot better and a lot faster.

The brief was done in a quarter of the time it would otherwise take.

It was also a lot clearer what needed to be done.

It was so good, that I’m wondering why this isn’t more widespread.

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