I’m reading here that Skype is finally going public and I had been meaning to talk about a great experience I had recently involving the king of VOIP (Voice-over Internet Protocol).
A few weeks ago I had the problem of trying to meet up with some great guys you will soon be hearing about over at KosmicMath. I met them at my first ever Salty Waffle event in Seattle and we had meant to get back together for quite some time. The problem was, I moved back to Portland and various responsibilities were not allowing me to come up for a visit.
The solution: Skype. One day we finally found some time and hopped online for a video chat. It isn’t something that I do a lot because it can be cumbersome, but Skype has made the process seamless and pleasant. I was able to meet with Jerry Ketterling, as well as his associate over the course of almost two hours. He showed me their latest product on the iPad and even shared his screen with me so that I could see exactly what he wanted to show me.
We discussed strategy, twitter, schedules, and by the end of the conversation I forgot that I wasn’t actually with him. Skype even now supports multiple video chats and the voice quality we experienced testing it out with Salty Waffle was better than on our conference call.
The best part: Most everything from Skype is still completely free and small businesses and individuals everywhere are taking advantage. Want to have a quick interview with someone in China? Go Skyping. Need to have a little face-to-face but can’t travel? Go Skyping.
Anyway, I just wanted to remind everyone that even though Skype may once have been thought of as a play thing for teenage IMers and family video chats, it is a serious business tool. Simple equipment and almost universal compatibility make it simple and effective for all levels of users. It can save travel expenses and allow for instant connections. Try it out, it will be one more great free tool for you employ in your always cost-conscious business.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIzrCEfRPaA[/youtube]