Video conferencing is a big part of the modern online and offline business world. And we don’t just mean a big part in the sense that it’s something important but hardly noticed the way printers and Internet routers are; we mean something whose value has to be both understood philosophically and practically if you want success as a professional or entrepreneur today.
When we talk about video conferencing, we’re being pretty broad, and a little definition is in order, since there are several different levels on which this stuff is operating as of today.
On the first and most basic level, we can be talking about all the different applications and software that you can install on any of your more capable mobile devices or almost any computer and use to have a face to face conversation with anyone else in the world who has the same app and a decent internet connection.
Yet on another level we’re also discussing a whole range of online platforms that let you host multi-person video meetings or one-on-one multimedia conversations over an internet membership system, or through a teleconferencing room that costs thousands of dollars to install.
However, to keep things basic, just understand that any system that facilitates real-time video calling between you and one or more people can basically be considered a video conferencing platform.
Now, since video conferencing technology is something that you will sooner or later absolutely need to deal with at some point in your business life, understanding the following key concepts around the technology is vitally important for your professional success.
Video Conferencing Might Free you from the Tyranny of the Office
The first and most important part of the whole video calling game as it applies to you is all the potential for freedom it can sometimes provide. To you as a young professional who probably wants as much personal time as possible, this is great news.
Combined with other online data sharing services such the various branches of cloud computing, social networking, and a powerful mobile and fixed internet connectivity, video conferencing is helping delocalize more businesses than ever, letting contractors and employers have the flexibility of not only no longer needing to have their employees actually show up in person, but also in giving these same employers the freedom to hire employees wherever they can find the most flexible labor.
In other words, if you want a more flexible work schedule and a more relaxing career path, now is the best time in all of history to find just that without even having to be the owner of your own business. Take advantage of this opportunity by foregoing the companies that demand a rigid work schedule and instead look for a career among the growing number of firms whose employee location and scheduling policy has more fully adapted to the latest in efficiency increasing technology tools.
Job Competition and Business is Getting Stiffer
For you, video calling technology is also a two-sided coin. On the one hand you as an employee might soon find yourself either hired at a job where you don’t need to work the classical 9 to 5 office schedule and might even be able to work from home completely if you look for the right careers or occupations.
And on the other hand, the people most likely to hire you might also be looking overseas where labor is cheaper in order to find someone with the same skills as yours at half the price or less of hiring you.
This is something you need to adapt to, and the best way to do that is by keeping yourself in demand despite cheaper alternatives. If you’re looking for a career, especially a career in IT or any other mostly service related sector, then make sure that your skills are diverse, unique, and specialized enough so that you can’t simply be replaced with any one of millions of other people at the drop of a hat.
Your Own Business and Young Entrepreneur’s Guide to Video Conferencing
Just as today’s climate is one of the best ever seen for getting hired on a flexible basis and from companies that are far from you physical locations, it’s also one of the best ever for starting your own digital micro business and giving it the tools to act and respond like a much larger company would, despite a highly limited budget.
The business service, collaboration, and international coordination tools that any of the varied and even the cheapest video calling applications give you access to are truly powerful communications allies that it might be easy to take for granted just for being used to them. But don’t make that mistake, understand just how wonderful and powerful a business tool you have in video conferencing technology and learn to use it to its fullest in any business you start for yourself as a young professional. You’ll gain a lot of ground on any competitors who are still a bit behind the technological curve.
The number of free communication tools available to any low budget entrepreneur today is staggering. Not only are there several dozen video calling and conferencing apps at your disposal for whenever you want to incorporate them into your business, you can also make use of online hiring resources, data sharing cloud services, and free collaborative analytics tools that can all be combined together with free video conferencing technology in a way that will make even a company thats been started in a single day capable of things only major corporations could do 20 years ago or less.
Steven Chalmers’ storied career as a technology expert, specifically in the video conferencing field, has allotted him an wealth of knowledge. When he’s not writing poignant articles, you can find him working with Intercall’s web conferencing services
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