(Migrated weblog post from LSR)
WOW ! I just couldn’t help posting another weblog entry about the latest, and awesome, plugin for Skype called Video4Skype and which I talked about yesterday. So far today I have been trying it out with a couple of friends and work colleagues and I am very much impressed not only for the quality of the image but also because of the ease of use, set up and configuration steps that need to take place in order to get it working. Literally, in less than 10 seconds after install it is all up and running. Fantastic !
For somebody like me who has always been very passionate about social networking and social software the new plugin from Skype may be the beginning of a new era where IM chats, VoIP and videoconferencing come together under a single platform that allows folks to decide which medium they would like to use to communicate depending on the level of trust they may have developed in between the different parties. So, for instance, somebody who may just be getting started to know some other person (an acquaintance, or a work colleague) may prefer to use IM chat and start the chat that way and build up from there.
However, somebody who may have had already a number of different contacts with a particular individual and feel that there is already some trust in place may venture into starting an VoIP chat and let the voice come through. And now with Video4Skype people who have got a much more comfortable level of trust, like in family, friends or close work colleagues, things can be taken into another level by allowing people to see each other at the same time that they may be having an IM chat, or exchanging files or even on an VoIP chat.
As I said, what Video4Skype enables now in Skype is the possiblity of people to break the space and timezone barriers and get closer to one another, not only to get in touch with your family or your friends but also for your day to day job, where you can now put a face to that person behind all those e-mails, phone calls or IM chats. Just fantastic !
