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Comment by losteverything | Hacker News Reader

In my entire post tech life and post tech environment I have never seen anyone use, talk or desire to have a video call. (Save 1 when a patron tested FaceTime on their new iPhone.)

What will make video calling desireable for the average Joe?

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My fiancée lives 937 miles away (not that anyone's counting). Video calling is like basic sustenance for us.

My extended family is spread across the globe, so the prospect of seeing them without having to expend considerable resources in travel makes it very desirable.

When travelling its nice to be able to video chat with my wife and kids. Its more personal than just voice and my kids seems to like the video part, before they were able to hold interest in a phone call they were interested in the video part.

I see a lot of people using it with family members (i.e. parents, grandchildren, etc.). Friends don't really use it with friends.

My daughter uses facetime every evening talking to one or another of her girlfriends from high school. I think certain demographics will be more inclined to use it than others.

So in essence this is an attempt to be a facetime competitor?

Facetime/Facebook video chat/et. al. Granted it has some limitations that would prevent it from, at least initially, being a full competitor. I suspect that over time Google will flesh out it's features with either a web version, or dedicated apps for other platforms. Right now I think they are at the minimal viable product stage.

I often use it to call my family and friend abroad. It is quite handy once you get used to it.

People talk to their families, girl/boyfriends, team mates, interviewers and so on.

I like quick video calls with friends/family than long voice calls. It's intimate and always a better way of talking to someone closer.

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