One of the many features that iPhone 4 users could not wait to use was Facetime – the ability to video chat through your phone was a “must have” feature for most.
As I made my first facetime phone call I could not help but think of the many ways this new feature will change the way we communicate.
Here are 5 things that Facetime will inevitably change…
1. Communication
This does not replace actual face to face conversation, but it does get us a little bit closer. One of the difficulties of being separated by distance is the frustration of not being able to talk to a friend or family face to face.
But now, with the use of WiFi and Facetime you are able to see the person on the other line. Being able to see who you are talking with not only enhances the conversation, but also takes the frustrations of not being able to see all the non-verbal communication that you miss.
2. Travel
One of the biggest down sides of traveling is missing your family and loved ones. There have been examples of people using technology to stay in touched with their kids or spouses.
But the ability to chat with your family from your phone helps the distance that separates you from them. Not only that, being able to show them where you are at and what you are doing with the two different camera angles is an added bonus.
3. Meetings
Whether you hate ’em or love ’em, meetings are a must for any company.
Most of the time the members of the company meet face to face to talk about strategy, ideas, or the future. One of the dreaded things that people continue to say they hate about meetings is the time that it consumes.
The ability to click the facetime feature now takes away the waisted time that it takes to assemble, start, actually start, and then finish meetings. Providing you with a quick and easy way to chat or conference call makes meetings something to look forward to (maybe).
4. Attention Span
I am the king of multi-tasking. No I am not talking about one of the new features on the iPhone 4, I am talking about the ability to do two task at once. This is not always a good thing.
I usually have a hard time focusing in on one task at a time. If I am on the phone I like to surf the internet, if I am talking with someone at a meeting I like to have coffee with me to keep me busy. With the new feature of facetime you are no longer able to mask what you are doing while you talk on the phone. Why? Because the other person can see if you are paying attention or not. Facetime helps you focus in on the person on the other line.
5. Family
My first facetime chat was with my sister. She called me to tell me that she was at my other sisters softball game and that she was up to bat. She started to provide me play by play. After the first pitch we both realized that I could just watch instead of have to listen.
We started our facetime phone call and I was able to watch my younger sister get a base hit between the shortstop and third basemen. Events such as the one that I just described can now be available for the whole family. Whether they are in attendance or 20 miles away, facetime provides you a chance to see and not just hear.
Being able to share an event with your family now takes on a whole new term. You are able to now talk about it as well as show them.
These are just a couple of the things that Facetime will change. Though it does not replace face to face interaction, it does a great job of providing you the chance to interact with others.
What is one way you see Facetime benefiting you? How is it going to change the way we communicate from your perspective?
Tim Owens says
Your sister’s softball field has wifi? Get out! 😉 I love the idea of FaceTime and I’m hoping it takes off, but I’d love it even more if they could work out the kinks to getting it working over 3G.
Kyle Reed says
Ya I was surprised as well. It was at the YMCA, so I think she was connecting through their public WIFI.
I tend to go back and forth on wanting it to go to 3G. It would be awesome, but also think about how slow the network would be and how much problems you would have if tons of people are facetiming? It already is bad now, let alone that much data and network stress added to the mix.
stephaniemarie says
how can i chat with my boyfriend by useing a dell laptop if he has facetime