Electronic Meetings

(1979)

With Robert Johansen and Kathi Spangler-Vian

Electronic Meetings is more about meetings than electronics. It is about meetings that happen to be held over such media as audio, video, or computer-based teleconferencing. It is about alternatives to face-to-face meetings.

To explore the dynamics of use in detail, Electronic Meetings takes readers on an imaginary leap to a future world where various forms of teleconferencing are available for an international meeting. The meeting is triggered by an impending crisis – a drought in the fictitious African country of Camelia. It is a bilingual communication situation involving a mix of data interpretation, information exchange, negotiation and group decision-making. Participants represent local, regional and international perspectives. The setting is tense and demanding; the use of electronic media could either ease the tension or lead to total breakdown in communication.

A set of eight story-like scenarios illustrates these possibilities, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of audio, video, and computer-based teleconferencing, as well as face-to-face meetings. Each scenario probes the ways in which media can be used both very effectively and very ineffectively. Together, the scenarios allow would-be users of teleconferencing to draw informed speculations about future uses and practical conclusions for present applications.