Video Conferencing: A Brief History and Evolution

By: Kwame Osafo-Affum

While to some, video conferencing may seem to be a contemporary innovation created in perhaps the last 15 years, the truth is that the concept has a history tracing back more than a century. Long before the advent of platforms like Skype and Zoom, developers and organisations have worked towards the possibility of establishing digital face-to-face communication. This endless drive, advancements in technology and good old-fashioned human ingenuity would eventually lead us to where we are today. Within this short write-up, we will take a brief look at video conferencing through the years.

          The late 19^th century and the entirety of the 20^th century would see much innovation in what we call video conferencing today. As far back as the 1870s, Bell Labs began to conceptualise transmitting images with audio over the wire. Progress would continue, with the first video transmission between US government officials in Washington, DC and AT&T president in New York City in the year 1927. Other innovations would continue throughout the century such as the creation of various iterations of the AT&T picturephone to varying degrees of success, the first use of the term video conferencing in 1967, the launch of the first commercial group video conferencing system in 1982, the first free video-conferencing application in 1992 for Mac and 1994 for Windows as well as the emergence of the internet and digital platforms.

          The 21^st century would see continued advancements in video conferencing. Skype would launch in 2003, introducing 25-person video calls with free download and internet access. It would eventually be sold to Microsoft in 2011. Smartphone video conferencing would also begin to emerge due to the creation of phones with front-facing cameras. By 2010, Apple would launch its mobile video call application called. FaceTime. The video conferencing platform Zoom was created in 2011. Instant messaging application WhatsApp in 2016 would add a video call function to its system.

While all these platforms existed and saw varying degrees of use and relevance, the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic would force their usage to become more popular. Zoom in particular would grow to become the most prominent of all the video conferencing platforms, seeing high levels of financial gain in turn.

Overall, it seems that video conferencing has become a part of contemporary life even beyond the pandemic. The concept has direct applications to present learning, work and even regular day-to-day living. I believe it is safe to consider video conferencing a media and information literacy tool due to its continually growing presence in contemporary living. It also raises concerns about ethics and matters of representation, topics which we will cover in subsequent blog posts. We hope you have enjoyed this brief look at the history and evolution of video conferencing. Please share and leave a comment below. Thank you. 

References

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/03/how-zoom-rose-to-the-top-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic.html

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220715105742.htm

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/video-conferencing-market-100293

https://www.nojitter.com/video-collaboration-av/brief-history-video-conferencing

https://www.lifesize.com/blog/history-of-video-conferencing/

https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/The-history-and-evolution-of-video-conferencing

cover photo sourced from here