Videoteleconferencing: Why is it disadvantageous for group collaboration

Teleconferencing is the use of a telecommunication system to electronically connect physically separated people [3]. In collaborative working environments, videoteleconferencing is perceived to be an alternative when face-to-face meetings are not possible. The assumption is that the audio and visual capability can replicate the face-to-face environment of ‘being there ’ [3, 13]. Nonverbal behaviour such as gaze and gestures and verbal behaviour such as backchannelling are used as feedback in face-to-face communication to naturally regulate the flow of conversation by providing cues for turn-taking and floor control [1, 8]. According to Sellen [13], one’s head and shoulders are an essential part of the interactive process of conversation and explains why videoconferencing software, both commercial (e.g. See-it, ) and non-commercial [11], focuses on providing a face-to-face perspective. For over thirty years, videoconferencing has continued to be a marketing success waiting to happen. Why has it not been successful? Perhaps its purpose should be redefined: specific tasks rather than general purpose functions as it is now commonly used for. This paper reviews videoconferencing literature to draw lessons from its faults. I will try to answer th