What if Zoom Were Steam Powered?

Education
Holographic communication concept

In this era of virtual chat sessions and Facetime, can you imagine something akin to this in a steampunk fashion?

Wild Wild West movie poster

The film Wild Wild West showed us that there’s a fun version of steampunk in alternate history. What if we took modern video conferencing and re-imagined it through a steampunk lens?

1870 typewriter

For input, imagine an antique typewriter-like device — something from the 1870s, where each key press could encode and transmit your words in real time.

Dune-style microphone

For audio, a victrola-style earphone combined with a dramatic Dune-style microphone would pick up your voice and broadcast it via steam-powered signal.

Wild Wild West scene

And for video — holographic projected images, of course, with the appropriate sepia tones and gear-work frames.

What do YOU think would make a cool Zoom chat in the world of steampunk? How would data be transmitted across the distance limitations of steam-powered technology? Leave your thoughts in the comments!