Webinar Wire

Oh to See CO2 Sanity

Posted by Ken Molay April 17 2009 1:50 PM EDT

Martin Ferguson wrote a fun column on ttglive.com fanning the flames of a feud between Cisco WebEx's marketing division and a spokesman for a travel agent consortium.

The column jumps between facts and assumptions in several areas. Ferguson starts with a statistic that Cisco WebEx increased its customer base by 42% in 2008. That is particularly impressive given their overwhelming market share to begin with. I haven't been able to independently find the statement that Ferguson references, so we'll take it on faith for now.

A WebEx UK manager takes a stab at one of the causes for this growth and says that as air travel declines, web conferencing is picking up the slack with more remote collaboration. Seems reasonable enough.

But then the travel agent spokesman jumps in with "But it [WebEx or web conferencing in general?] will never replace travel. I'd like to know how many deals are done by video conference. Probably none."

Well, first of all, nobody said anything about web conferencing replacing travel. It should reduce the need for travel in certain situations.

And secondly, I happen to have worked with two client organizations who rely exclusively on web conferencing for their sales activities. Their salespeople don't travel at all. And yes, they do deals.

Then the spokesman jumps to a completely different topic -- One that has obviously been bugging him, since there doesn't seem to be any setup for it. “They’re quick to point out how much CO2 this airline or that airline emits, but does anyone ever ask how much carbon is produced by sending these satellites up into space that allow the WebEx systems to work? And of course the carbon footprint of maintaining them and replacing them?”

Now as a former engineering student, I am no fan of the pseudo-science that some web conferencing companies employ in their "calculations" of carbon savings. They make a lot of assumptions that can't be proven. But there is certainly some savings going on.

And I have no idea about the size of Cisco's WebEx operations, but somehow I would be surprised if they launch and maintain their own satellites just for web conferencing communications. I think web conferencing just makes use of the satellite and land-based Internet communications framework that this guy relies on every day for his email and for surfing the Web. But even on a non-share basis, the relative infrequency of a space launch pales into insignificance when compared with ongoing burning of fuel for everyday travel and the ongoing use of remote communications to help reduce that travel.

Oh well. Fight the good fight and keep fear and anger at the top of your arguments list. It's easier than figuring out how to adapt and prosper in new socio-economic/technological conditions. Bow and arrow makers probably had lots of arguments why people shouldn't use those new-fangled guns in battle. How'd that work out?