In Praise of Virtual Conversation

 

In Praise of Virtual Conversation

September 03, 2013

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Can a virtual conversation ever substitute for a face-to-face encounter?
It is conventional wisdom to assume that face-to-face is always better. But I would argue that isn’t always the case. In today’s Internet driven world, virtual connections can be just as good as face-to-face encounters. Certainly, they should not be considered lesser.
We are facing this debate specifically in Japan around the delivery of items such as over-the-counter drugs and education. Some argue that these are examples of items than can only be properly delivered in a live setting. While this particular debate is local to Japan, it is one to consider on a global scale. Has the Internet advanced sufficiently so that virtual delivery of information around important items such as a medication or an education can be delivered virtually?
We say: yes.
You can deliver far more information online than you might be able to do in a live setting. A live encounter may be limited by time or space constraints. Not so online, where an unlimited amount of information is available any time you want it.
Online you can track more carefully whether or not your message has been received. A teacher in a classroom may wonder if all her students were listening and following her lecture. A teacher in a virtual classroom can access metrics that will tell her this instantly.
A virtual connection is one that can last a lifetime. Once you communicate with a merchant online, that merchant can send you updates and additional information. Consider how valuable that might be in a pharmacy relationship. New information, such as a newly discovered side effect, could be communicated to a patient virtually. If that patient had only received information in store, that connection was broken as soon as he left the building.
It is time to acknowledge that the Internet is a strong forum for communication. As good as a face-to-face connection. Maybe even better.
My book: Marketplace 3.0

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Hiroshi Mikitani

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