Web Cams: Watching, Waiting
They are as gargoyles on high, static fixtures in stationary orbit. Staring with an unblinking eye these deliberately framed tunnels connect in real time, stream without bias, refresh as needed. There are more of them than you might think.
With the basest of resources these antiques march on, mid 90's HTML steadfast in its measured delivery of that city square, campus, or landmark. It is only in the basest sense that these grainy windows exist in our Web 2.0 world, geo-tagged and meta-filtered despite any tangible functionality.
But there's still an element of magic.
Nothing impresses like that added fourth dimension. Even the most ghost ridden frame rate treasured for its instant validation, telltale low quality only strengthening veracity and granting instant trust. An added layer of communication, arguably the closest replication of face-to-face interaction no matter the distance spanned.
I've seen a $5 dollar web cam with spotty satellite connectivity bring a gorilla-necked man to tears, first glimpse of the baby he couldn't see born transforming a blank-faced and lethal door-kicker to proud Papa. It's old tech but sound, potential for maximized web communication that seems squandered in flat, time-lapsed images of the Eiffel Tower or a nondescript city skyline.
Quality of service limitations are lower than ever with expanding cell-based data and cheaper portable electronics, services like Yelp and Qik continue to encroach on each other's territories. Eventually functional mash ups will emerge, hyper-local assets for better, more useful web content. Community self-policing will work out the kinks and word of mouth information, the very best kind of information; will bleed over to the medium where it can have the most impact. Where those looking can find it.
So it was with excitement that I installed Worldview from the App Store. If I scroll fast enough through those vigilant, sub-mega pixel refreshes I can almost see the future.
