Can you describe what your life will be like 20 years from now?

This was a very stressful moment.
My anxiety began earlier that day.
Now I had just a few minutes of freedom left.
I’m next up in line.

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In a few seconds I’ll have to walk up to the podium. Sweat was already running down my back.

On anchor in a remote area. Great cellular reception. South Turkey

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In front of everyone

Now I stood there in front of the whole class. Afternoon light from Lexington Avenue poured into the classroom through wall-size windows in front of me, throwing a nice backlight over the students’ heads. The building rattled in a familiar way as the 6 train entered the 68th street station a dozen floors below. All one hundred pairs of eyes stared at me. They were checking me out.

Small orderly swell coming into the bay, Greece.

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Sweat

I began speaking. Dark circles of wet shirt grew rapidly under my armpits. Can everyone see how badly I sweat? My eyes run across the room, trying to find something to settle on. The view of buildings across the avenue gave me a glimpse of hope - there is a world out there full of people who already gave their talks and are free. Soon I’ll join them.

Take a break. Paddle to shore. Throw a frisbee. Playa de los muertos, Spain. Photo: Maayan the crew

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Maria's Tattoo

My eyes lined up with Maria’s, the Puerto Rican student who was always sitting one row below mine. During class I usually stared at the back of her neck where I was surprised to find a tatoo in blue Hebrew letters: שאול (Shaul), a common Hebrew name for men.

Early morning. Calm. East peloponnese, Greece

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Stares

Fixing my eyes on her face gave me some respite. I was talking to one person as far as I’m concerned, not to 100 people. I never liked public speaking. I never liked people staring at me.

Sea. Somewhere in the mediterranean

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1999

This was Media 201, a slightly advanced media course in my B.A. self-crafted degree curriculum. It was 1999 and video conferencing was kind of new. Chat applications were already very popular but live, multi user, multimedia applications were just born. Voice over IP was beginning to replace traditional voice communications technologies.

Day break. Sao Pedro island, Cape Verde

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The assignment

The professor instructed the class to pick one internet technology and one company involved with that technology, and give a 20 minutes long talk about how it might be applied in the future and how it might change the way we do things.

Uninhabited island. Santa Luzia, Cape Verde

Obliterate an industry

I went for video conferencing. I was personally using iVisit extensively, a free desktop application developed in the 1990’s that was ahead of its time. It allowed up to 10 people in a virtual room, one moderator, and separate controls for each user. One could mute or unmute separately any medium from any user in the room: video, audio, text messaging, graphics, file sharing. All other users could see who muted what from whom, a transparency that added another dimension to the experience. I was also freelancing as an Audio Visual technician, with a specialization in setting up and running hi-end video conferencing at top investment banks operating in Manhattan. In addition, an Israeli company just came out with a new digital audio and video software and hardware solution that was likely to change the old school telecom industry or obliterate it.

On anchor in Papagaio, south Lanzarote, Canary Islands

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Video conferencing

So I had the technology, the company, and my life was already changed by it and will surely change drastically by that technology. I crafted my speaking points in advance on a paper and added a nice final conclusion, sort of a futurologist vision of things to come. That vision, I realized today, exactly 20 years later, is more or less what happened.

After I described video conferencing technologies - how they work, how people use them and how they already affect providers and users, as well as how it’s changing the corporate landscape - I moved on to the sweet part of my talk - using my descriptive powers and my imagination.

Barbados anchorage. Photo: Michael the crew

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Fantastic vision

In a few years from now, I told the class and its professor, I will be sitting on my yacht somewhere in a remote or deserted paradise island, working for my clients. I would have all the tools to communicate with the world, as if I’m sitting in a well equipped office in Manhattan. I’ll participate in conference room meetings, communicate both synchronously and asynchronously and probably have an edge over my competitors since I am located in a unique environment living a different lifestyle.

How to improve cellular reception in remote anchorages. South Turkey. Video: Dan the crew

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Life is what you make it

It all came true, more or less exactly what I described to the class two decades ago as a fantastic future world.

YET:

Working while sailing is challenging to say the least.

Boat work, weather, take precedent over all and any client work.

Must have some sunshine to run my gear. I am solar powered. My old car batteries don't hold charge well any more.

There's no substitute for real world eye contact with people, clients. Technology or not.

The boat a less than ideal work space.

Would Steemit make it possible to realize a 1999 class presentation?

Much of it depends on you!
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