Why does video chatting at a bus station feel awkward?

Maybe it's just me, but this does not make sense.

Say I'm waiting for the bus and I get a phone call. Picking up and speaking is normal. It does not feel awkward. Some people don't care about sharing their business and speak loudly. Some maybe move to the side or talk low to maintain some privacy. That's fine, no problem. Now say I get a Google Hangout invite. Now I feel like an elephant.

Technology is ridiculously embedded in our culture now. I like it. And it's not just any technology that we carry around in out pockets but it's powerful, flexible and, most importantly, cloud enabled. Video conferencing, as long as you have service, capabilities extend far beyond at home on my couch on a set time in a predetermined environment. We walk around with enough bandwidth to have a casual short video conference session any time of the day.

Where is the future?! It's been 20 years+ that Homo Sapiens Sapiens have walked around with a brick attached to their head, communicating with their loved ones or doing business. Maybe it was awkward in the beginning as well.

We treat video conferencing like a whole sacred ritual. "OK Bobby, let's Hangout at 6pm. Let's both plan to get home by 6, sit in our couches by 6, have a time slotted at least 30 minutes at 6, and have a regular conversation to catch up". Or no, how about instead let's just casually catch up whenever and invite me to a Hangout any time! Just like you would call me. No need to have to strictly allocate 45 minutes at a specific time.

I want to be able to take a Skype invite like I would a telephone call. Likewise, from the other side, I want people who want to call me to instead just video conference me. If they were going to call me to have a conversation, the conversation can similarly happen, even enhanced, in a video conference. I would love to see my friends' faces for even just the short 2 minutes it takes to get a message across. Can you imagine this?

Yes, sometimes it's not practical or even safe. They might be driving a car or maybe in a gym locker room. But otherwise, if they can speak loud enough to have a phone conversation, then they can speak loud enough to have a video conference.

If I saw Sally at a bus station with a smart phone in front of her having a normal conversation, in my head I would yell "The Future!" and smile at another win of humanity. We are meant to evolve and our daily life has to keep up.

The Root of the Internet

My studying has brought me to one possible root organization that puts structure to the ginormous hodgepodge of chaos that is the internet.

Tech Conference cross Parallel Computing cross Hackathon

I made new friends.

One Cluster

Virtual and real.

Virtual Rubber Band: gmail Starred

I figured out how my usage of Starred works, and maybe this is for everyone as well, but it is not the way it was intended to work.

I find that my memory saves the clicking of the star, which transitions it to yellow, as a type or rubber-band-on-the-wrist type of reminder. My little neurons keep that memory in my mind to remind me I have something I have to get done, but not what. Just like the rubber band.

Ethnography

I think I do this every day.

According to Wikipedia, ethnography is a qualitative research design aimed at exploring cultural phenomena. It means not just reading about a culture