---
title: Telepresence
date: '2008-01-18T08:53:40-05:00'
permalink: /telepresence/
tags:
    - technology
---

I spent a big chunk of yesterday (and will be spending a similar chunk of today) conducting a series of interviews via video conferencing, and I’m having one of those, “well, duh” moments: video interviews are *different* from phone interviews, because you can *see* the subject. And she can see you.

Despite how much of a tech-junkie I am, I’ve resisted video interviews until now, partially because of the many glitches I encountered in my few previous attempts to use the form, and partially because of my own overdeveloped self-consciousness (for a deeper understanding of the functioning of which one might see the ‘why the videophone failed’ section of [Infinite Jest](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316066524)). And for both of those reasons, I’m stunned by how well yesterday went — I feel as though I have a much better sense of the folks I was talking to than I would have gotten otherwise.

The technology is still imperfect, and I wouldn’t exactly call it the next best thing to being there, but it’s better than I expected, and it’s better than the phone.