I have released a brief whitepaper summarizing my contrary position with respect to “videoconferencing”. The paper is titled: Practical Applications of Low-cost Network-Based Video: Beyond Videoconferencing as a Substitute for Face-To-Face and is available at the following link: http://www.toyz.org/whitepapers/video_social2009.html
This paper was originally written in 2003 but I was not able to publish until now, for various reasons. But I stand by the research and conclusions.
Some of the more controversial positions include:
The present work totally abandons video as a substitute for face-to-face communication, and in fact suggests uses that are not videoconferencing, in any existing sense, at all. Further, we conclude that another common application of videoconferencing, that implemented by most desktop software, specifically the person-to-person video call, is nearly void of utility, particularly for business communications.
Please look it over and flame away.
hai