Video calling – seeing is believing
Posted: February 6th, 2009 | Author: Garrett Smith | Filed under: VoIP News | 5 Comments »When Vidtel CEO Scott Wharton and I started chatting about his company’s video and voice calling service, I’ll admit I was a bit unsure. I wasn’t unsure of Vidtel’s service offering, I just wasn’t sure if video calling was really for me.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of speaking with Scott, he’s quite convincing, so I decided to throw uncertainty to the wind and give his video calling service a try.
Two month’s (and many calls) later, I’m a convert. Not just of Vidtel’s service, but of video calling in general.
Many of you out there are probably like I was – unsure about video calling. Your uncertainty is understandable. After all you’ve gotten pretty comfortable with the mask your desktop phone has provided you.
But I have to tell you, video calling has increased my engagement on the calls in which I use it, not to mention increasing my comprehension of what is being discussed thanks to the presence of non-verbal queue’s like facial expressions. The result of which is increased focus and productivity – both of which leads to greater profits.
Like me though, you probably won’t believe it until you see it.
That’s why over the next few weeks I am going to be taking a closer look at video calling. Service likes video calling, video conferencing and telepresence have been slowly gaining traction and as the “next big things” for the prosumer crowd, it’s important to learn more about them.
So stay tuned for more on video calling and if you are using Vidtel’s service already, let me know so we can connect.
Garrett,
Great to see you’re now a convert
Of course, for those who don’t want to have to pay for their video calls, there’s always Skype
@Tsahi
It took some poking and prodding. I am glad I decided to give it an honest try. I can really see a ton of benefits.
@ Peter
Thanks for commenting. While Skype video is monetarily free, it does come with a cost – you have to be at you PC or laptop.
The way today’s video market is shaping-up, Skype is positioned well at the consumer/desktop and there is Polycom/Cisco at the enterprise level, but neither address the needs of the “mid-market.”
This is where Vidtel (and others) sit. I see the greatest potential for video calling in this area.
It’s a way’s off of course, but once the smb and upper-middle class get a hold of video phone calling you will likely see video calling “take off.”
[...] if you’re a Twit like me you can follow me on Twitter HERE. Enjoy the post.Propelled by the “seeing is believing” phenomena video phone calling is continuing to increase in popularity and usage. [...]