The question that kept swirling around in my head this week was “What’s the future of 360 video, will it replace 2D video storytelling in journalism?”

Certainly, i don’t know the answer. It seems pretty cool, but it is somewhat limiting as well. Before anything can happen, the price of the gear is going to have to come down, the size of the gear is going to have to become less obtrusive, and the public in general is going to have to become more accustomed to seeing the gear.

And I think all that will happen. There seems to be a tremendous forward momentum right now, and that will spark the advancements necessary to make it more mainstream.

It wasn’t that long ago that only the media and hobbyists had control of the digital film industry, utilizing $10,000 DSLRs. Now, anyone with a phone can take a 12 megapixel photo or hi-def video and post it on their webpage.

So once the technology gets there, and any kid can stop playing Pokemon long enough to click a 360 camera onto their iPhone and shoot some video of a flood, or traffic jam, or someone getting shot by a cop, everyone will be doing it.

And that will eliminate some of the journalistic ethical concerns about having to set up shots or unintentionally capturing someone in the video, or scaring innocent bystanders because a rig looks like a bomb with six flashing red lights.

But does that mean it will become the preferred method for video storytelling for journalists?

I don’t see it. The two forms are very different, and while each has its own advantages, I just don’t see 360 video lending itself to traditional storytelling, with a beginning, middle and end, with a conflict, with all the elements we learned about in Sutherland’s and Takahashi’s classes. It’s too straightforward, it’s chronological, it’s emotionless.

That doesn’t mean that it can’t be a good tool to sit alongside text, photos, video and any other elements that make up a story package–especially if it’s coverage of a flood, hurricane, fire or other emergency where a few minutes of “You Were There” will be powerful, but it’ll never be the end all, be all of digital reporting.

It’s a novelty now, it’ll be interesting to see how the technology–and interest–develops in the near and distant future.