Co-operative video gophers

Developments like videoconferencing and wireless satellite communication open future perspectives for new services that may alter the way public broadcasting services and the press address a larger audience. In this paper, a view on the possibilities of co-operative video gophers is presented. Video gophers are young people who are equipped with a video-camera and wireless phone that help people in meeting their visual and communication needs, be they for pleasure or work. Video gophers set up a one-way broadcast of TV images and two-way communication of speech. The idea is to set up a global network of video gophers that react (or even proact) to client demands for moving images and live contacts with people all over the world. These images are presented on your TV-screen, perhaps via a call centre (thereby sharing the video gopher with others), or, extrapolating on current technology, in real-time, thus assuring personal contact with feedback possibilities ('commanding your own gopher'). Video gophers are young people (student jobs!) whose salary depends on the duration of calls they were able to set-up. This ensures client-friendliness and pro-activeness: the gopher will position him- or herself in a situation that is visually interesting for the client population, so that no time is lost when a call comes in.