Things I Need To Do More Often #15

on October 27, 2009
in Things I Need to Do More Often

Use Skype to stay in touch with friends and family.

I feel a little slow to the party, but I just discovered Skype.  In case you haven’t heard of it, a Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet…. FOR FREE.  Yes, free.   All you need is a WebCam (if you want to share videos) and a microphone.  Pretty cool!

 

Today, I spoke to a reporter in Croatia (for free!) and I video chatted with my Dad (for free!). Can you tell I like the free part?

 

I wish the Husband and I had Skype when I lived in Pennsylvania, and he lived in Florida.  :) 

 

To download Skype, go to the Skype website and download the free application.  And then start chatting!

 

Do you Skype?

{ 49 comments }

 

  • Lauren October 27, 2009, 4:32 pm

    one of my best friends is in the czech republic this fall and that is how we are staying in touch – so easy and fun!

  • Kirsten October 27, 2009, 4:33 pm

    I love skype! I lived in Ireland for 3 years and never had it, which was not so smart. But I have it now, my boyfriend is still over there so its great to videochat.

  • Evan Thomas October 27, 2009, 4:34 pm

    Skype and Twitter I cannot get behind no matter what. I suppose it doesn’t help that I don’t have a webcam.

  • Julie October 27, 2009, 4:34 pm

    I LOVE Skype!!!! My boyfriend is in the Army in Iraq and we use Skype all the time! We both have webcams – it’s fabulous!

  • Erin October 27, 2009, 4:35 pm

    Isn’t Skype the best?! I use it when I live abroad to keep in touch with people at home, and now that I’m home, I talk to my international friends… for FREE! 😀

  • Diana October 27, 2009, 4:37 pm

    I’ve never used it but I’ve known about it for a while. It’s definitely useful 🙂

  • Jessica @ How Sweet It Is October 27, 2009, 4:38 pm

    I’ve never used it! I’ve only used iChat on my MAC, but you have to have a Mac to participate.

  • Amanda (modernation) October 27, 2009, 4:39 pm

    Love Skype. We started using it at my office last summer when we had no phones for awhile. The chat(typing) features are great and we still use it for conference calls all the time. So nice. And I get to talk to friends all over the world, like you said – FOR FREE!

  • Sarah @ The Foodie Diaries October 27, 2009, 4:40 pm

    Skype is the only thing that kept me in contact with the non Europe world when I lived in Spain; it made keeping in touch effortless!

  • Mellissa October 27, 2009, 4:46 pm

    I love Skype! Used it when I was in Costa Rica and Italy!

  • Leah @ Simply fabulous October 27, 2009, 4:54 pm

    This is how I keep in touch with my family across the ocean.. we talk for FREE all the time and it is the best thing ever. I also wish I had this a LONG time ago. Especially when I lived in Australia. That would have saved me a ton of money!! Isn’t it great?!?

  • Tracey@tropicalhappiness October 27, 2009, 5:06 pm

    I love Skype! I have been skyping with my niece who is 16 months old. We seriously started when she was born– my brother would hold her in front of the computer, or else lie her on the ground and point the web cam at her. I used to tease that I would “babysit” across the miles if they wanted to go shower while I watched her on the computer.. ONLY KIDDING, of course!!!!! 🙂
    Now, they have the webcam in their family room, and I watch her dance around to her videos, or play with her toys. It really makes the distance a little easier!

  • Aneta October 27, 2009, 5:07 pm

    i love skype.
    i lived in korea for years, and used it with family and friends all the time!
    love it, love it!

  • Ashley October 27, 2009, 5:09 pm

    My boyfriend just moved to London. We would be LOST without Skype!!!

  • Allie October 27, 2009, 5:13 pm

    Love it! I just moved to California, so I use it to chat with my brother who lives in Utah, friends back in Chicago, and my parents in Michigan all the time! I wish I had it back when the husband and I were doing the long distance dating thing. Also, I wish they had video conference calls because I’d love to do the annual Christmas party with my college girls that way. We can’t get together in person this year!

  • Adrienne October 27, 2009, 5:17 pm

    We use Skype to keep in touch with family living in France – a few days ago I got to watch my little niece having her breakfast! It was nice to see what everyday life is like for them (which you don’t get from phone calls/emails etc).

  • Grace October 27, 2009, 5:20 pm

    I have skype, but I don’t know anybody that uses it! I wish I did!

  • Tay October 27, 2009, 5:23 pm

    I love to skype with my sister! We just leave it on for an hour or two while watching TV, doing our HW, and it’s like we’re hanging out in the same room 🙂 Except mine keeps freezing. Hmm…

  • Tiffany October 27, 2009, 5:27 pm

    I love Skype, it is one of the main ways I get to communicate with my boyfriend who is on the other side of the world for a year, 9000 miles away. I agree, thank goodness it’s FREE! 🙂

  • Marina October 27, 2009, 5:30 pm

    I’m from Croatia!!! can we know what did you talk about? 🙂

  • Annalisa October 27, 2009, 5:32 pm

    I love skype! If you have an iphone you can DL an app and Skype on your phone (only where there’s wifi – you can’t use AT&T data service with Skype).

  • Erin October 27, 2009, 5:34 pm

    I’ve never used it, but my parents use it all the time when my stepdad is traveling for work. Especially when he’s out of the country. They’re so happy they don’t have thousand dollar phone bills any more!

  • Sana October 27, 2009, 5:55 pm

    Its soo cool! I use skyped to chat with my bro when he is at college!

  • Steph October 27, 2009, 6:09 pm

    Skype is a godsend for my husband and I! He is serving in Iraq right now, and it helps the 12-month deployment seem a *little* easier!

  • Beth @ DiningAndDishing October 27, 2009, 6:28 pm

    I love love love Skype! I went to college up in Canada and now I’m back in the US I use it to stay in touch with my old friends. I love that you can use a webcam. It feels like we are in the same room!

  • Samantha October 27, 2009, 6:44 pm

    Skype is a wonderful thing! We’re stationed on Guam, 14 hours ahead of the East Coast so keeping in touch with friends/family in real time is already a challenge. My kids skype with their grandparents and friends regularly, and it helps me have chats with clients without either having to foot the bill.

  • chandra h October 27, 2009, 7:11 pm

    ♥ skype!! i talked to my boyfriend on it constantly the first 6 months of this year, and i keep in touch with my dad when he’s in india part of the year on it. i have the web cam thing too and it’s sooo cool to see people & talk to them! it makes me all giddy and cool-y futuristic feeling lol

  • Joelle (The Pancake Girl) October 27, 2009, 7:46 pm

    Oh my gosh, I totally just discovered it too haha you’re not alone. Actually I haven’t used it yet even! Those youngins and their crazy technology… 😉

  • Island Girl Eats October 27, 2009, 7:48 pm

    Skype is awesome. And like you said, it’s free! Most times, I find the quality better than my cell phone. My husband uses it for his business and believe me, it saves him a fortune. Love Skype!

  • Amanda October 27, 2009, 7:57 pm

    I had planned on using Skype when I studied abroad in Australia, but it ended up being more expensive to use internet (you had to pay per usage) than to just make a phone call home! Plus I didnt have a webcam so it didn’t really seem worth it. Buuut my roommate in college LIVED in her bed with her Mac when her boyfriend was abroad in Italy for the semester. We’d walk in and be like “Hi Jeff!” because we knewww they were chatting.

  • Kristin - runningsongs October 27, 2009, 7:57 pm

    I skype! I love it… I go to lots of places where using a phone is difficult… but I can skype the hubster anywhere… for free!

    Can I verb skype? I think I just did.

  • Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca) October 27, 2009, 8:08 pm

    Nope, I’ve never tried it … I am behind the times too 🙂

  • Britt (Runnerbelle) October 27, 2009, 8:11 pm

    I’m behind the times too…. haven’t skyped……

  • Anne P October 27, 2009, 8:19 pm

    when i was living in Prague skype was the best thing ever! especially when using the video option. although i actually like google’s video/voice chat better now, it’s faster!

  • Priyanka October 27, 2009, 8:25 pm

    Skype is what keeps me in touch with my family apart from the cell phone. But as you mentioned I like the free part.My family is thousands of miles away and skype is a great medium.

  • Anne Marie@New Weigh of Life October 27, 2009, 8:43 pm

    I don’t Skype, but it sounds like such a great thing. I didn’t know you used to live in PA. I’m a Philly girl myself 🙂

  • Angie (Losing It and Loving It) October 27, 2009, 8:50 pm

    I use Skype for my daily business accountability calls. Love it! I don’t think anyone else in my family uses it plus I prefer the phone because I can’t get up and walk around while on Skype at least until I buy the wireless headset I want ha ha. Not even sure that would work but can’t hurt to try!

  • Julie October 27, 2009, 9:10 pm

    I don’t skype, but Oprah does!! Oprah is so down with technology it’s not even funny.

  • Allie (Live Laugh Eat) October 27, 2009, 9:11 pm

    I downloaded Skype when I went abroad to London last year! Now my brother is there so I Skype with him! It’s so convenient and like you say…F-R-E-E!!!

  • Fit Vegan Girl October 27, 2009, 9:34 pm

    I love Skype! It’s the only way my husband and I keep in touch with our families since we’ve been living abroad in Australia. I can’t imagine how much we’d spend on cell phone bills if we were using our phones to call my family in the US and his in Ireland all the time!

  • Jenna October 27, 2009, 9:41 pm

    skype is a great idea! although i don’t use it i ahve heard great things about it!
    jenna

  • Sarah @ See Sarah Eat October 27, 2009, 9:42 pm

    I love Skype! We used it to stay in touch with people while we were on a mission trip in Nicaragua last summer and we use it now to keep in touch with friends who are overseas. It’s awesome!

  • stephanie October 27, 2009, 9:45 pm

    I love using Skype for my 11 month old to see the grandparents in North Carolina….we live in Cali. It’s so cute to watch her try to touch them and wave at the computer screen!

  • Deirdre October 27, 2009, 10:13 pm

    I haven’t Skyped in a while but I did it all the time when my sister was in Hong Kong. Its awesome. I also iChat which is also free.

  • Anna October 28, 2009, 12:21 am

    Yes, I LOVE Skype! It’s perfect for overseas communication. I skype my parents in the US and my friends who are studying in London all the time.

  • Lisa October 28, 2009, 2:35 am

    I skype with my sister and her kids – it’s a great way to remind my nephew (2.5yo) who I am when I can only see him 1-2x/year.

  • Marika October 28, 2009, 8:25 am

    Love Skype!! I use it all the time because my family is in the USA and I live in Estonia… which, by the way, is where Skype was developed! 😀

  • RhodeyGirl October 28, 2009, 8:26 am

    We use Skype for work but more for the instant messaging, although we do use it to speak to our Jordan office.

  • Lizzy October 28, 2009, 9:37 am

    Love skype!

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