The Power of Video

As you may know, I am a huge lover of video collaboration and thoroughly enjoy seeing and hearing about video being used for more than just standard meetings. Over the years some of my favorite projects and customers have used video for outside-the-meeting-room applications like saving stroke victims (Riverside Health), bringing together students on two continents while educating them about the process of Cocoa making (Hershey), and delivering healthcare services to low income DC-area residents (CCIN). It continually amazes me how video can change people's lives.

It is with these types of really amazing use-cases in mind that I wanted to share a personal story that recently impacted my family.

My 94-year old grandmother has been slowly declining in health over the last few years. As she lived over in England, getting our growing family together was no small feat. We typically plan things around the Christmas holidays and rotate visiting every other year.

My daughter Audrey was born 9 months ago during one of the "off" years where there were no plans to visit Grandma. Grannie was still very excited about welcoming her 5th great-grandchild into the world and when we spoke over the phone you could hear the joy in her voice.

About three weeks ago, Grandma took a turn for the worse. My siblings and I received the call that it was "now or never" to go and see her before she passed. So within 24 hours of hearing this, my sister and I were on a plane and heading to the UK to say our goodbyes. I didn't have the time or resources to bring my wife or children.

Now picture in your head the perfect English village, in the green countryside, with thatched roofed houses, and only two pubs (one of which you have to crouch down as you enter through the noticeably small front door). Painswick is by no means technologically advanced (although a pair of stoplights in the center of town allow cars going in opposite directions to rotate using the road), so it may have been a village-first when we arrived with our Apple devices and found a way to access the internet.

This is the moment when my 94-year old - D-Day Nurse - Grandmother met my 9-month old daughter over a video conference:

Now, that's a moment I will always treasure.

After 48 hours of visiting my Grandmother, we returned to the U.S. Four days later Grandma died. This past weekend I returned to England to lay her to rest.

Reduction of Travel Costs. Increased Productivity. Improved Communications. Work-Life Balance. These are the key benefits of utilizing video collaboration that everyone appears to agree upon. It's strange, though, that Work-Life Balance always seems to come last. Why shouldn't it finish first?

I would love to hear more stories about how video is helping improve lives. This technology has impacted my life in so many amazing ways. How has it changed yours?

Please leave your stories in the comments with a general focus on the power of video, not a particular manufacturer's video.

It would be a nice tribute to Grandma if we could get a "Like" for every one of her fantastic 94 years.

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