One thing that we haven't talked about all semester is virtual communication. We talked about Second Life, which is more of a social networking tool, and about AIM and such but never about talking with people face to face on the internet. Skype can be used just as AIM is used to meet people. The only difference is that you can make your name public so that people do not need your screen name to find you. You don't have to enter a chat room or anything. However, this can be very scary. The moment I attempted to make my name public, I was getting at least four or five instant messages and invitations to chat in a matter of minutes. These people were clearly looking for conversations that I was not willing to have. I blocked them immediately and made my name private again.


When my boyfriend was in Spain studying abroad, Skype saved us. Communicating to Spain is cheaper than in previous years but still very expensive. We would plan on times to talk during the day that he could be in a location with wireless so he could Skype. However, this was not easy seeing that there was a five hour time difference. I would have to wake up really early or he would have to stay at school very late in order to talk (the house where he was staying did not have wireless). I can see why companies doing Business with each other have a difficult time having conferences. There is no convenient time for everyone when people are trying to work together from across the country.


Another problem with Skype is that the face to face chatting had to be done with wireless. If the computer was simply plugged in to an internet line, the connection would be too slow and cause the screen to freeze up very often. Video chatting is very fun and makes internet communication more personal. Computers no longer have to take kids away from personal interactions because they can do the same thing through the computer. However, Skype should develop some restrictions for younger users to prevent creepy people from contacting them. All of the random chats freaked me out and there is no telling what more naive children would think or get themselves into.