7_5 Skype Ideas

I had the pleasure of Skyping with my classmate, Marie, yesterday. What I loved about being face-to-face with my peer was that we can see each other and converse freely. It was nice to put a “real” face with the person I had been communicating with via the computer over the past six weeks. Conversation flowed quickly as opposed to the typical email or discussion forum where you had to wait for the other person to be online again before receiving a response. It also allowed for a more free-flowing type of conversation where we chatted about various different topics with ease. In email or discussion forums, participants tend to stay on the specified topic in that email stream. If someone jumps topics, it is harder to follow the stream of thought as opposed to Skyping which allowed for easy transitions and clear understanding. Hearing the tone of the other person’s voice is also much easier that trying to get it from writing.

The main drawback to Skyping as I see it is that not all people have the app on their phone or computer. It seems outdated since it is so easy to use Facetime now. I do, however, believe that it is a wonderful way to connect to colleagues from around the country and world! We can communicate via blogs or other online means, but it is just not the same as seeing each other and speaking directly to one another! I can see my company using a video chat tool to communicate, especially with the field, so that when they run in to an issue with equipment, they can actually point the camera at the equipment and a specialist can walk them through exactly what they need to do. That will be invaluable and save the company a lot of time and money!