Video technology has come a long way in the past thirty years. Remember the massive VHS video cameras? I do, I once carried one to the top of Mt Whitney and let me tell you that five hours into that hike, it weighed around fifty pounds. Most of us have had the rich experiences of capturing and sharing videos of the special moments in our lives. Moments like weddings or local sports we or our kids were competing in. Then there are all the family picnics and holiday videos as well as the day to day capturing of our families fun and growth. When viewing videos of those special moments, we have all felt that we were re-living the actual experiences. That is the richness of video.

Photos are great but cannot capture the true essence of all experiences, not like streaming video can. Take the same video experience, the "actually feeling like you were there all over again", and apply that feeling to your phone conversations or regular e-mails. Now, you have an idea of the richness that streaming video e-mails and live video instant messaging can add to communication.

We human creatures are very visual beings. Have you ever said "show me" to someone who was trying to explain something to you? Have you ever pulled out pen and paper and created a drawing to help someone else understand what you were trying to explain. Would you rather watch your favorite movie or just listen to it? Think of a person very dear to you that you have maybe talked with but have not seen for a long time. How would you like to receive a video e-mail from that smiling face right now? Or better yet, how would you like to engage in a one on one live video conversation with this person right now? The answers are of course, all positive. All of us that were blessed with sight, lean on it heavily from the time we rise until we retire, actually the viewing goes on as pictures or videos being played in our minds even as we sleep.

Add to the richness and pleasure of video that we remember so much more of what we see. Scientists have in fact proven, that the average human remembers around thirty percent (30%) more of what is seen and heard over what is only heard. Take the experience that video viewing has added to your life, combine that with the knowledge that you remember thirty percent more, and this should lead you to want the daily experience of live streaming videos and instant messaging over typical e-mails, letter writing and phone calls.

My fiancee Elke and I started our communication the traditional way. She reviewed my online profile and winked, I viewed her profile and then e-mailed her, she e-mailed back. We exchanged several more e-mails and a couple phone calls, and then I asked if she could post a few more photos as she only had one on her profile page. Elke responded with, "give me your regular e-mail address and I will send you a surprise!" I did not know what to expect, photos yes, but what was the surprise element? What photos would she be sending me that she would refer to as a surprise? Needless to say, I was very curious. What I got was my first ever streaming video e-mail. It was wonderful! The experience of not just listening to Elke, but listening with the rich addition of viewing her also. She was even more attractive than I had envisioned based on the one and only photo I had seen, and in the photo she looked great. I was now viewing the equivalent of hundreds, maybe even thousands, of photos as she expressed herself in that wonderful streaming video.

And people say a picture is worth a thousand words? How many words is live streaming video worth? Elke and I feel the factor is at least to the power of ten. So, one rich hour of live streaming communication is equivalent to over 100,000 photos and at least ten hours of traditional phone conversation. Actually there really is no comparison!

You have probably seen the actual film used to capture a big screen movie. It is made up of many individual photos that are passed between a powerful light (the projector) and the viewing screen at a very fast rate. This of course is seen by the human eye as action, but is really just a series of many individual photos. Here we are talking about web cam video and today that is all electronic in nature. The video I was viewing offered the same thing as movie film. In fact our videos offered approximately 28 frames per second, many different views and expressions.

I saw how she tucks her beautiful hair behind her left ear; I saw how she uses her hands in expressing herself, how that she closes her eyes when she says certain words. I saw her laugh a little and a lot; I saw her different smiles as she spoke. I was getting so much more from this video than I would have from a much longer phone conversation. In fact, some of what I was learning could never have been learned from traditional e-mails, from letter writing (yes some people still do that too, hi mom) or from phone calls. I was blown away and called her back immediately! I was so impressed that she had this done for me. Elke explained how easy it was to set up and that all I needed to do was get a web cam and within five minutes, I too could be sending video e-mails. Better yet she said, "when you get set up, we could do live one on one instant messaging. I had no idea how valuable the video instant messaging was going to be, I think my brain was on overload at that point. I did want to do the video e-mails to her and to my family and friends. I could also see the tremendous value video e-mails would lend in my Real Estate business as well.

Off to the store I went. With web cam installed, I went online and got my Hello World account set up and sent Elke a video e-mail. Soon thereafter, we shared a steady diet of video e-mails back and forth and each and every video e-mail is also stored for repeated viewings. We have both enjoyed re-visiting each others videos many times.

Another feature with our Hello World accounts was the live video instant messaging she had mentioned. WOW! Now we were spending several hours each evening, live one on one, communicating with all the richness of video. With video instant messaging you can communicate for hours on end and with "hello world" it is all done on a very secure and private site. I liked this as there were none of the annoyances of commercial ads and or pop ups found with some other video providers and no additional costs, no phone bills either. I was getting to know this woman that I had attracted so well and you guessed it, we were falling deeply in love. With every evening coming to a close, we were gaining hours and hours of quality communication, while losing many hours of sleep. Elke and I both agree it was so totally worth it.

Can you imagine this richness in your communication? Maybe with distant family and friends that you just do not get to see nearly often enough. Do any of your siblings have children you maybe have not even met? Or do any of you know someone in a long term health care or nursing home facility? How great would it be for them to receive streaming videos from family, from their minister or dear friends. And how about family and friends abroad, could this technology warm their day.

Back to dating and attracting your Perfect Match. Have you ever invested time e-mailing and phone calling someone you thought you were interested in, only to find out on the first date that they were not at all what you expected? Ask Elke about a first date she had, where as the gentlemen approached the restaurant where she waited and she got a good look, she was frantically searching for an exit door. If streaming video had been their communication tool, Elke would not have accepted that date. Can you see how that a lot of the miss-representation would be a thing of the past if we were all using video?

Oh, I'm sorry, are you dear reader one of those few that would have to get real about you and or your looks? Are you one of those that maybe need to loose a few pounds before the big date? Well if it is really just a few pounds, just wear black when you create your video e-mails. If it is a lot of pounds or you don't have the head of hair you wish you did, are you not going to be found out eventually anyway? Oh yea, and what about you beauties that are posting glamour shots that are many years old, come on, that is not fair and is not what relationships should be based on.

My bet is that those that are truly in the right emotional state for a lasting relationship are going to be fine with being themselves live on video at any weight. Again, the real value is in being able to see and read all the facial expressions of the one you are getting to know. Do you, like us feel that there is real value in looking into some ones eyes when they are answering your questions, or telling you about who they are or what they believe? Video is the key!

Would Elke and I have met without the powerful tools of the internet and video communication? We both know that we absolutely would have, eventually. The internet, specifically match.com and the video technology from "hello world" however, were major factors in bringing us together much faster, in fact, at the Speed of Light!