Face-to-face communication: Is it really necessary in a digitizing world?

Many predictions regarding the extinction of face-to-face communication have themselves begun to disappear. While emerging information technologies are substantially altering the face of business communication, close-quarter discussion and debate remain important, as evidenced in the productivity of the medium and what we have recently learned about social behavior. Still, the possibility of dramatic change cannot be completely discounted. If technology ever manages to deliver what it has promised, there could be a significant shift toward digital communication. Although this will not likely occur over the next decade or two, beyond that, it should not be excluded from the realm of possibility.