I've been sitting poolside this Memorial Day, allegedly finishing up my Moscow presentation while keeping one eye on the kids, but in reality finding new ways to procrastinate. One way was fooling around with Skype, which I rarely actually use. Not only does Skype support free voice chats, but also free video conferencing, and I discovered today that it's offering free dialout on U.S. and Canadian phone networks through the end of the year. I can point, click, and call my wife's phone to request that she bring me a cold drink. You can imagine the results for yourself.
Futurists Alex Soojung and Kim Pang recently blogged about a speech on telepresence by computer scientist Larry Smarr. Telepresence, as they observe, has a long history. While technology is racing ahead, most of us are sitting here unaware of most of the possibilities. The barriers to change are not in the hardware and software, but in ourselves.
Recently I asked Dan Gillmor to spend an hour with reporters and editors at the Savannah Morning News as part of that newspaper's preparation for its shift to a participative web model. Rather than hauling Dan down to Savannah, we used two-way video through iChat and projected him on a giant screen. This saved a great deal of wear and tear, not to mention airfare. This videoconferencing cost exactly zero dollars. I didn't conduct a survey but I suspect most of the newsroom had never experienced such technology.
Meanwhile, Skype is working to build interactive community on top of its technology platform. Want to convene a live meeting? Point, click, telepresence for the rest of us.