Face-to-Face Communicating on the Web

Skype on the iPhone while Video Chatting on the Computer on Facebook Chat

Our current technology is making it easier and easier for almost, in-person contact though thousands of miles might separate us. Skype, a software application, has the options for three different kinds of communication:  typed chatting, voice and video.

“Grandparents on Skpe: Video Chatting Redefines Family Time” by Johnny Diaz, a recent article in the Sun Sentinel spells this out.  I’ve heard stories of toddlers pointing to the computer calling it “Grandmom” because that’s where they see her.

I had fun last night “playing with a friend” who lives across the country, 3250 miles from me.  I recently learned that Skype is an application that is available for the iPhone and other Smartphones.  Wanting to test it out, I searched the app for Skype in iTunes and downloaded it to my iPhone. I then called a friend, asked her to Skype me.  I discovered that it seemed even easier to connect with it on the phone than on my computer.

Then I asked her if she realized we could video chat on Facebook. To do the latter, one needs to have a camera built into the computer or a webcam that attaches to your computer. Although it may seem to some that all our technology is, to an extent, dehumanizing us there is this whole new level of communication that is so rich for us.

It was especially appreciated by my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter were able to communicate with each other both through voice and live pictures.  She was in Moscow studying and they were here in Florida.

Are there people whom you would like to be seeing and communicating with in this way?  If so, what would it add to your life?  Please share in the comments below.


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