|
Wow, what a spring, huh? Like you, I find the days passing much quicker and I also find myself on more video calls than I ever imagined I would be on. I wonder if this was what Vebjørn Tandberg and John Logie Baird both imagined the world would be like one day when they were inventing this technology?
As someone who lives at the intersection of marketing and technology, this pandemic has forced me to think out of the proverbial box. But, not sometimes; like, all the time. Seriously. All. The. Time. I find myself pondering what things will be like, how to respond to different situations, the technology that still needs to be invented to make things “like-normal” again and how communications and networking will change.
The latter is the one I think about the most. The best parts of the events in this industry was the networking. I love new products and technology. I buy nearly everything new — rarely wait for it to be discounted. I am *that* guy. But, what I loved about shows like InfoComm, DSE, Enterprise Connect and ISE was talking to people — the serious, the casual, the accidental and the nostalgic conversations. And, poof, they were gone.
Now, if my kids were reading this, they’d say, “Just FaceTime them, dad.” And, I know, to that generation, a video call, and even a text message, is equivalent to an in-person meeting to my generation. I still love face-to-face conversations but, these may very well be a thing of the past. We may see a monumental shift in communications and networking, forever.
And, this shift massively benefits Generation Y (millennials) and Generation Z — people below 39-years-old. These people grew up always having text messaging. And, it quickly morphed into video with tools like Apple’s iChat (now FaceTime) and Skype and even voice and video chat inside of video games. We, the older ones, are the ones that seem to have a disconnect with it — we don’t see it as equal in relationship-value. But, they do.
Herein lies the dilemma and the opportunity of a lifetime. As more and more conversations are forced to be “virtual,” you will have to adapt to the so-called new normal. If you hate tech, you’ll hate the future. If you can’t find a way to bond, converse and enjoy the video call via Zoom or Teams you’ll hate the future. And, if you don’t enjoy virtual meetings, you’ll hate the future.
But, if you’re in AV, WE ARE THE FUTURE!
|
|