A couple of weeks ago I called my cousin. We chatted about how hard the life of the freelancer can be: like the proverbial London buses, you wait for ages then three come along at once.
We also chatted about health and health care, and keeping pets. And how our families are. And, yes, a bit of politics.
We talked for over an hour.
Nothing too significant in all that – except that:
he lives in the USA, I in the UK
the call cost us nothing, because we did it through Zoom
we last saw each other in person ten years ago, and before that in 2006
It struck me that what Zoom and similar services has enabled is not just more communication, but better communication, conversation of a higher quality. Thirty years ago, we would not have called each other, unless there was a hurricane here, say, or an earthquake there. And the call would have consisted of:
You ok?
Everyone else OK?
Yes we’re all OK.
Must fly: this is costing me £1 a minute.
I know that because back in the 1990s I had a friend who lived in America, and I very stupidly called him about something from a pay phone. I was feeding one pound coins into it every minute!
The world is not just flat; it’s softer too.
This is partly what the 'C' in Information and Communications Technology was about. It's also another example of the effect of technology on society. I also think it's useful for kids to realise how expensive transatlantic calls used to be, in order to really appreciate the benefits of services like Zoom.
That reminds me: I owe him a “phone” call.
