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WebEx-pectations – Are We Still Zooming Into The Future Of Work?

When we started ThinkersOne, it was clear to us that the use of video and video chat tools in meetings was a permanent change.

This has come to pass.
I don’t know what we call “work” these days, but it’s more of a hybrid model than ever before.
Not for everyone… but for a much larger percentage of the population.
Business travel seems to be coming back.

The rules of work are changing.

With that, it seems (no scientific data here) that people are shifting back to voice-only calls when possible (usually for one-to-one meetings).
If we were getting Zoom’d out during the pandemic…
We might be feeling it even more now.
Video chat tools like Zoom, Teams, WebEx, etc. promised to change the way we work.
This week, The Verge published this article:

The video call revolution is dead.

The promise of what could be with video and work has not evolved.

According to the article:

“Three years ago, video chat appeared set to revolutionize the way we work. All we actually got was slightly better video chat… the actual experience of video chat is maybe in its most boring state ever. Now that many people are gathering as they did before the pandemic started (even Zoom is demanding that some employees come back to the office), the market is largely run by tech giants and the pace of new and interesting features has slowed to practically nothing. This is the case with many tech changes brought on by the pandemic, but video was supposed to be the one that stuck around.”

So, is it really about a stagnant technology or the content that takes place in the meeting?

It’s probably a little bit of both.
It’s hard to deny just how much video technology helped us with work, family and friends (and continues to do so).
The digital connections video meetings fostered were essential, bridging geographical gaps in business, education, and personal relationships.

Maybe The Verge and others are misjudging the situation?

Maybe the perceived stagnation reflects maturation rather than failure.
Though the industry’s evolution may seem slow, features like virtual reality, augmented reality and what’s coming with Apple Vision Pro are hinting at an underlying transformation.
A focus on stability and usability may indicate a gradual shift rather than an immediate revolution.
We also can’t understate how the normalization of video communication has altered the professional landscape, offering flexibility and remote opportunities but blurring the lines between work and personal life.
While enhancing convenience, the reliance on technology also raises questions about its effect on workplace dynamics and human interaction.
There’s a need for more empathy and human-centric design in our digital tools… and the content.
So, while The Verge (and others) might see missed opportunities and wasted investments, others (like me… and what we’re doing at ThinkersOne) recognize a subtle transformation that continues to unfold.
The challenge is to understand how we leverage this technology to enhance our digital lives without losing our essential human connections (think valuable content and timing).

What do you think?

What is Tech Tuesday?

Every Tuesday – for just a few minutes – I join Heather Backman (my old buddy from her days on CHOM FM and Jack 103) on the air at 95.9 Star FM to give a quick blast about the current state of technology, media and Internet culture.
We call it Tech Tuesday (and we do it in just a few minutes).

Once the segment goes live on 95.9 Star FM, I will post it here for you to listen in, learn, share and engage.

Mitch Joel · WebEx-pectations – Are We Still Zooming Into The Future Of Work?

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.