Are you using Skype?  I’ve been using Skype for a year or so but have finally discovered the power of Skype when my wife and I visited France this past week.  Every day we were able to talk and see our daughters and other family members half way around the world in an amazing way.  The video and audio were almost always in sync, and the ability to have a visual face of our loved ones while we were anxiously telling them about our trip is beyond my wildest imagination. 

As a professional speaker and trainer I find myself traveling a lot, and with Skype my wife and I can still have our morning coffee together and enjoy a visit even if it’s long distance and via this new telecommunicating medium.

Most people have heard of Skype, so why all the hype for a blog?  First, I think Skype is probably one of the best new technology innovations we have and yet many people are not taking full advantage of it.  In Europe, real estate professionals have their Skype name on their business cards and use it more frequently than their cell phones.  Years ago when I got my first Yahoo Instant Messenger account it was so cool to talk to people through that tiny chat box, and in the early years it was all done through typing.  Skype allows you to text, talk by audio only or audio and video.  You can even join calls and have more than one person on for the audio portion of a conference call.  For multiple video conferencing there is a cool program called oovoo.  www.oovoo.com  

I have begun telling my students from my classes what my Skype name is and that if they have a question to visit me on Skype so we can talk and resolve any technology issues they might have after I’m gone.  It’s a GREAT tool that I think everyone should embrace and use on a daily basis.