Zooming is a fad [see photo].
Zoom is a fad that will not last long; it will fade because this technology creates a bunch of "meaningless meetings" that end up wasting scarce resources.
This technology will fail because:
Zoom meetings do not provide us with an efficient, or effective, online learning tool [ask the kids, and their parents, who use it for home schooling].
Zoom meetings do not save time and money because they upend the value of work. For example, a zoom meeting is of little use unless there is a narrative. This means that a lot of time is wasted on finding, agreeing, or progressing a narrative. All this is make work.
Zoom meetings do create a collaborative workplace culture where "group think" [based on a prevailing narrative] is the common thread for all who present on a screen. Whenever "group think" prevails then rational analysis and critical thinking is shadow-banned. In such circumstances it is commonplace for participants to agree to ludicrous proposals [courses of action that everyone knows will fail]. Each participants agrees so that he or she can be seen to be collaborative on this zoom event. Mistrust builds amongst these folks and, perversely, more and more zoom meetings are conducted to talk about "them" [you know those who are not currently on the call].
Zoom meetings are like the icons on your computer: they are inert actors in any workplace where real productive effort is focussed on purpose, discipline, and deadlines. However... in the short-term [2-3 years] all these zoom meeting will be deemed to be the workplace. On returning to the kitchen from his or her den the tired worker will declare: " I deserve some weed because I have had such a hard time in the office today as I spent 10 hours on zoom calls that took me all around the globe".
And so on and so on......
Richard.
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