Guest Post: Rocky Kurien

Rocky is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here he writes about virtual communication.

“The world is a smaller place.” This is a phrase all of us use in our daily lives. But have we ever wondered what it is that has made this world a smaller place? Apart from the improvements in transportation the innovations in communication have played the biggest role in bringing all of us closer. Virtual communication is now widely regarded as the next big wave.

So what is virtual communication? Virtual communication refers to all means of communication which happen in virtual reality (computer media). This involves a plethora of technologies from a series of communication technologies which enable users to communicate real-time and range from synchronous methods to recent trends in Web 2.0-blogs, wikis, etc. which are classified as asynchronous.

Synchronous virtual communications range from VoIP calls, internet chat and video conferencing to some technologies which we only imagined in the realms of science fiction. Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP phones have tremendously impacted the communications industry. It involves routing of audio calls via the internet instead of traditional phone lines. This service has drastically brought down the costs of audio calls. Initially starting off as a means of personal communication through providers like Skype, this technology has scaled up and is now leveraged by major corporate organizations for their business communication. Despite its benefits, audio communication has its limitations, the most important being the miscommunication which occurs due to lack of face-to-face conversation. Video conferencing is a revolutionary virtual communication technology which overcomes this limitation. It enables users to see each other via computer screens while conversing. Cisco Telepresence is the most well known video conferencing technology, has widely been adopted by industry, and enables teams from far flung corners of the world to work efficiently and collaboratively without any of the traditional travel costs and inconveniences. Another rising virtual communication technology is holographic communication. Something we have so far seen only in the Star Wars movies, it is fast becoming reality. It involves projecting a real-life hologram of the person you are communicating to giving the feeling that she/he is right there in the room with you.

Asynchronous virtual communication involves technologies like wikis, blogs, online journals, social networking sites, etc., which have drastically impacted our daily lives. Initially starting off as social media, it has enabled people to express their views, share ideas and communicate with others on a much global scale. The Facebook revolution and rise of Wikipedia and online blogs are examples. Businesses have also started adopting these technologies in the form of corporate blogs, wikis, etc., to enable collaboration and sharing of knowledge.

Virtual communication technologies have truly transformed our daily lives. It is an exciting field and we can hope for many more innovations which will further shape our lives in the future.