My Human Network Effect
As a new member of the Cisco community, I was given the opportunity to work on the Digital Cribs New Hire Project. Seeing how technology and home networks affect the lives of our three Digital Cribs personalities, I started thinking about how my home network has changed my own life. What is my favorite aspect of my Digital Crib?
Siblings and cousins gathered around our computers in Paris during the Holidays.
My mom recently took her sister on a tour of our new house by carrying her webcam equipped laptop around. Soon enough, my aunt’s familiar critiques of certain decoration choices came pouring out. Ten or fifteen years ago, a monthly phone call or a fax (I am indeed old enough to remember using the facsimile machine) was our standard means of communication with our family in France. Now, our home network has revolutionized how we seamlessly communicate with the people we love about the big, the small, and anecdotes of our daily lives…
Lately, the benefits of my home network escalated to a new level when I began video chatting with my cousin in Paris. The cross-continental communication and interaction my home network enables is definitely one of the best aspects of my Digital Crib. A Telepresence set-up would be ideal for my family but we content ourselves using Skype. My parents immigrated from France shortly before I was born and we go back bi-yearly to see family and friends. Though fortunate to hop across the pond regularly, the six month waits are long and unpleasant for me and my cousin Alison. She finally installed a suitable and debatably reliable internet connection in her Parisian apartment (I’ll have to send her Cisco gear to further escalate her bandwidth) and we’ve been video chatting on a weekly basis. The ability to see each other while we talk makes the long distance seem momentarily insignificant. Last week, I showed her a new dress I bought, only to find a disappointed look on her face from what she deemed was a poor choice. Like mother like daughter, I suppose—but the ability to see each other face to face and criticize poor fashion choices are the small things that you can’t easily share without a home network.
Let us know how home networking has affected your life!
Posted by Marie Gassée at 11:09AM PST
).
. I was able to read things into the situation. It’s almost like, for that small moment, I was having sitting across from them, in their Parisian flat. The smiles, facial expressions, demeanors, and mannerisms were all there; as clues and benefits to the entire exchange. 
Alicia Kwok Oct 13, 2008
really interesting blog! i video chat all the time too with the fam in NY! =)