Up In The Air

A couple of weeks ago I watched Up In the Air. It resonated with me because its about a person, Ryan (George Clooney) who is totally disconnected and ungrounded. Always on the road, he feels more comfortable flying in an airplane than at "home" in Omaha, Nebraska. He makes a living by flying out to companies around the US and firing people. Ryan does the dirty work for cowardly bosses. He glamorizes a lifestyle that is free of relationships and material objects. I don't fire people for a living, but I couldn't help but draw some parallels.

In this movie, a young woman, Natalie (Anna Kendrick) joins his company and totally turns it around- using technology. She suggests that laying people off by video conferencing would be much more cost effective than flying out their employees. Ryan and his lifestyle is threatened by this change and he fights it. Things happen and Ryan ends up on the road with Natalie and she starts to realize that firing people is an art. She pilots her program by attempting to fire someone by video conference and realizes that it just doesn't work.

Why am I writing a movie review for my tech blog?

Ryan, a character who is disconnected from people, relationships, and places should thrive from firing people by video conference. No need to create a meaningful connection with people you're delivering bad news to, right? You'll probably never see them again. Why fly out to see a person face to face, when you can just fire them from your desk?

The convenience of video conferencing is undeniable. The fact that I can Skype my mom and teach her how to use her new iPod is great. International school principals can conduct interviews from the comfort of their own homes. Having a Skype guest from another part of the globe is a norm in our tech class.

But are we missing something?? Isn't there something to be said for meeting and talking to people face to face?