Technology has changed at an amazing rate in the last two decades. Probably the most amazing developments is how some types of technology become a part of our way of life while some fall by the wayside.
Technology has developed at an astonishing rate in the last two decades. One of the most incredible trends is how some forms of technology become embedded in our lives while others fall by the wayside. At the early stages of the mobile phone, who could have predicted that they would become one of the most essential items in millions of peoples' day to day routine? The same could be said for email, instant messaging and new media, used via websites, such as You Tube and social networking sites like Facebook.
Just how do you get a new type of technology to become so widely adopted by the everyday user and what is standing in the way of video communications becoming a habitual, even natural occurrence in our lives?
Perhaps one of the keys to video communications breaking out of its business confines lies with today's tech-savvy young people. We are currently seeing a generation growing up accustomed with video conferencing through Skype, online chat rooms and 3G video calls. This familiarity with video-based communication could mean that they are the next driving force behind visual communications in the workplace.
Accepting and adapting to new technology is traditionally a serious challenge for many companies, but if the next generation of employees are already familiar with video etiquette and the benefits that can be harnessed by video conferencing and telepresence, then barriers to adoption could very soon be a thing of the past.
Presently, when a company invests and deploys video conferencing or telepresence technology throughout the organisation they are encouraged to designate video champions or executive sponsors to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technology. They also promote video communications to help the workforce be more efficient and productive. In wider society it could very well prove to be the Gen Y'ers who are responsible for driving the use and widespread acceptance of video communications in this current decade.
