Monday 9 March 2015

Talking with Mobile Things

Thing 7 is Communicating.
I found it interesting that the 23 People's first paragraph states "It often seems as though distance and time are the enemy, yet there are many opportunities to work together using technology to break down the tyranny of distance. In this Thing we’re taking a closer look at Skype and Google+ Hangouts to see how libraries are using them to deliver client focused services and to work together as teams."
As 'Tyranny of distance' is the title I used for the slide on my 'IT in history' presentation, where I discussed this topic - I've reproduced it below.
 
Here are just 3 of the most popular methods of talking & conferencing online.
Facetime - make video calls with WiFi on your iPhone, iPad or Mac computer.
Skype
- is the most popular application on the market for making video calls, mobile calls, and sending instant messages and SMS. Good for group teleconferencing as it works on most devices phone, smart TV, PC or Mac.  
With Google+ Hangouts you can make video calls, send messages and photos, it works on computers, Android and Apple devices. Users can share documents, or over Google+. 
All basic services are free, until you reach 10 or more people, then you start paying money.

 
We use Skype to communicate with the rest of the Swift libraries, it allows people spread 'round the state to communicate remotely, and coupled with screen-sharing products, allows staff to work together without spending half their time traveling. I've seen Google+ Hangouts operate, but with people who already had Google accounts (if it can be utilised by the Space Station, then there's really no tyranny of distance). I think using it for bookclubs is a great idea for those people who avoid joining bookclubs due to time or location limitations - you could even participate in a session in your jim-jams.

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