July 24, 2006
Your VoIP Says Yes But Your Body Says No
Thousand-person VoIP conferences might not be my thing, but 4- to 8-person video conferencing seems like a manageable sort of meeting. However, despite being impressed by Sightspeed's 4-person video conferencing ability, I'm not entirely sure yet that I really look forward to videophones, VoIP/ WoIP-based or otherwise.
As I've more than hinted at, I work from home, and that means being scruffy and unkempt for most of the week. Regardless of my own preferences, WoIP (Video and Voice over IP, aka video-VoIP) will probably become commonplace when more people have broadband connections (and more RAM on their laptops).
When that does happen, there'll be some etiquette rules to follow. Nuno at 21 Talks has a screenshot of a Japanese poster showing recommended body posture and body language for video conference calls.
Here are my own 5 rules of appearance for home VoIP video conference attendees:
(1) Shave, if you're a guy, and have three or four days of stubble. (Unless you're growing your beard, of course)
(2) Brush your teeth. We may not have SoIP (Scent over IP) yet - thank goodness, you don't have to bathe - but no one wants to see you repeatedly running your tongue over your teeth because they feel furry. And your hand over your mouth isn't fooling anyone.
(3) Comb your hair, for crying out loud. Didn't your mother teach you anything?
(4) Don't get caught with your pants down. Clothe yourself and spare us the view of your ripped wife-beater undershirt and the boxers with something stupid on them - or for women, torn bra and granny panties.
(5) But seriously, make the area of your home that you're working from at least somewhat presentable. What will the neighbors think?
I'm praying that VoIP video calls are not common practice for a while. (At least until I have time to clean my place up.)
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