I’ll bet the next edition of Webster’s Dictionary will have “zoom” as both a verb and a noun.

I have had numerous meetings lately using this app.  One of those sessions included 42 people throughout the U.S. in the East, the Midwest, and the West Coast.  The other meeting wasn’t as full, just 10 of us, living in the same community, who volunteer to serve on the board of a charity.  During both of those meetings, I couldn’t help but smile at the snafus that occur when people try something new.

SNL made fun of a reverend trying to preach to his flock via ZOOM.  The congregants wouldn’t mute their microphones and so you heard all sorts of stuff including a toilet flush in the middle of the minister’s pearls of wisdom.  When the faithful finally did mute their microphones after numerous pleadings to do so,  the minister lost it when he couldn’t hear the choir (whose director failed to reset the microphone from mute to active).   As I recall, we too had our moments in the meetings I noted above.

What I find amazing is that with a computer or a smartphone one can access the meeting from anywhere in the world and in real-time.  On cell phones, sometimes all you get is the audio, but even still, can you imagine being in a virtual meeting with 42 people?  And if you’re using a laptop, I find the quality of the video and the audio to be amazing.  Obviously on newer computer models with dual-core or better processing the video definition is even more definitive.

I always loved reading the work of Jules Verne.  That guy not only wrote fascinating tales but the scope of his imagination, considering he lived in the 19th Century, was/is astonishing.  Actually some of what Verne wrote about had already found life within the mind of Leonardo da Vinci  – who dreamed or maybe saw more than just possible in his genius.  That’s why the concept of having a Dick Tracy watch radio that Apple improved on – adding face time or video as the pros label it seemed revolutionary when first proposed prior to a prototype  – and in either case, we’re talking in the course of history a sliver of time regarding astounding technical innovations.

That’s why I still find ZOOM a marvel to appreciate.  Consider all that had to come forth to even make a ZOOM DREAM possible.  Besides the electronics, infrastructure had to be created to make such a connection a reality.  The broadband capability alone makes those pictures/videos come alive with sharper detail than versus a dial-up connection.  That dial-up stuff still exists in some rural areas of the U.S. due to the fact that making broadband universal has been a cost that does not net a substantial enough of a return on investment  – an ROI that would be a losing venture on a profit and loss sheet.   Hopefully, this will change as more and more homes in rural America turn to streaming services for their information and entertainment.  That might placate potential investors to develop delivery systems with an architecture that provides the very best broadband standard of streaming.

And look at what streaming has allowed us to do?  It brings us to places of worship, educational institutions, orchestras, theater, opera, and almost any event you can imagine from sports to cooking without reliance on TV stations or networks to deem the telecast worthy of dissemination.  That barrier is long gone however major corporations demand as always a return on investment. Their ROI  for the cost of producing a streamed trade show production will be measured SUCCESSFUL or NOT – by the number of hits garnered by social media.  I’ve had the pleasure of directing a few of those LIVE infomercials out in sunny California at the Carmel by the Sea Auto Show.  It really wasn’t that long ago when traditional measurement for a TV production was considered dependent on the HUT – Households Utilizing Televisions…so, yeah forgive me if I’m still awestruck by the marvels of the 21st Century.

If there was anything that came out of our lockdown lives, it might actually be THIS…we are more connected than we have ever been in the history of humanity.  Now if we could just appreciate the chance to GO DO GOOD and civilly agree to disagree.  And if we’re to be fair, we’re talking about ideas that are not tinfoil conspiracies because no one should have to suffer fools gladly.   But maybe that wish for good people from different sides of the aisle coming together might be a bit more prophetic than either Leonardo or Jules would or could have ever imagined?

Nah, the way it used to be wasn’t that long ago and with a bit of luck and appreciation for life post-pandemic, it just might happen.  Now wouldn’t that be a marvel?