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Bell launched a video phone too, back in the 60s. You can read about it in The Idea Factory, which is full of fascinating history. That book attributes the fail

Bell launched a video phone too, back in the 60s. You can read about it in The Idea Factory, which is full of fascinating history. That book attributes the failure to people not wanting to be seen. I've worked with people who definitely didn't want to turn on their video on Zoom calls! :-/

userbinator 4y ago
I worked for a telecommunications product company a while ago, and while all employees were given videophones (and there were conference videophones too), and actually used them quite frequently compared to IM, they were almost always used in audio mode only. Besides not wanting to be seen, it takes far more attention to be looking at each other than it does to be talking while doing other things.
- ghaff 4y ago
  Yeah. I don't mind switching video on and do by default in a smaller meeting and certainly 1:1. But, if I'm multitasking I'll regularly switch the camera off if I can't/don't want to be front and center with the webcam and keylight.
ghaff 4y ago
My sense is that video became widespread when networks got good enough that it was effectively free if you were going to use the network for audio anyway. There were companies like PictureTel but I'm pretty sure both the equipment and operational costs weren't things that consumers were going to pay. There may have been social resistance early-on as well but I'm sure grandma would have liked to see the new baby if the tech were cheap and easy--even if people then, as now, don't universally want to be on camera.
tomcam 4y ago
There was a working version of it at Disneyland.
jamesbfb 4y ago
And here’s a great video about said video phone: https://youtu.be/Xqb1o8up_Fw https://youtu.be/Xqb1o8up_Fw I’m scratching my head trying to figure out the mechanism of that top down camera.
thinking4real 4y ago
It’s more comfortable not to be seen (you don’t have to look certain ways), but also I’m not about the idea that anyone can record me and use my image for whatever reason they want When I’m compensated like a celebrity, Ill take on the risk. Till then, you don’t need to see my face to know what I’m saying
- deleted 4y ago
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- permo-w 4y ago
  the thing that bothers me about video chat is the live video of myself in the corner. I find it incredibly distracting
deleted 4y ago
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userbinator 4y ago

I worked for a telecommunications product company a while ago, and while all employees were given videophones (and there were conference videophones too), and actually used them quite frequently compared to IM, they were almost always used in audio mode only. Besides not wanting to be seen, it takes far more attention to be looking at each other than it does to be talking while doing other things.

ghaff 4y ago
Yeah. I don't mind switching video on and do by default in a smaller meeting and certainly 1:1. But, if I'm multitasking I'll regularly switch the camera off if I can't/don't want to be front and center with the webcam and keylight.

ghaff 4y ago

My sense is that video became widespread when networks got good enough that it was effectively free if you were going to use the network for audio anyway. There were companies like PictureTel but I'm pretty sure both the equipment and operational costs weren't things that consumers were going to pay. There may have been social resistance early-on as well but I'm sure grandma would have liked to see the new baby if the tech were cheap and easy--even if people then, as now, don't universally want to be on camera.

tomcam 4y ago

There was a working version of it at Disneyland.

jamesbfb 4y ago

And here’s a great video about said video phone: https://youtu.be/Xqb1o8up_Fw https://youtu.be/Xqb1o8up_Fw I’m scratching my head trying to figure out the mechanism of that top down camera.

thinking4real 4y ago

It’s more comfortable not to be seen (you don’t have to look certain ways), but also I’m not about the idea that anyone can record me and use my image for whatever reason they want When I’m compensated like a celebrity, Ill take on the risk. Till then, you don’t need to see my face to know what I’m saying

deleted 4y ago
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permo-w 4y ago
the thing that bothers me about video chat is the live video of myself in the corner. I find it incredibly distracting

deleted 4y ago

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