“Nobody, but Nobody Can Make It Out Here Alone”
~Maya Angelou~
One of my favorite new ways of connecting with friends and colleagues over the last six months is Skype. While you may not be able to engage in face to face conversations with your fellow librarian friends on a regular basis, Skype can close the distance and allow you to brainstorm, dream, laugh, and problem solve across the miles. While I may be a technogeek, it never ceases to boggle my mind that I can talk in real time with my cherished colleagues via my computer or iPhone. My regular Skype conversations with dear friends and librarian change agents like Michelle and Elisabeth, who live on the opposite coast of me and are thousands of miles away, inspire me personally and professionally.
If you haven’t tried Skype, consider how you can use it to connect, create, and collaborate with your librarian friends across the miles. Many thanks to other librarian friends like Justin Hoenke, Polly Farrington, Andy Woodworth, Brian Hulsey, Joyce Valenza, and Peter Bromberg as well as teacher extraordinaire Wendy Drexler who have shared a little corner of their day or evening to listen, reflect, dream, and debate with me via Skype.
The Unquiet Librarian 
Buffy, I’ve had skyped installed for a while but never really used it. YOU got me using it 🙂 (even from my iphone-which was pretty cool.)
I’d like to hear more about how you use it and how it intergrates into your life. Do you schedule all your skype interactions, or do you leave it on, use it more like a telephone or chat space? Do you only skype with other skypers or do you ever pay to use it? I’m still trying to figure out where it fits for me.
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Hi Peter!
I am enabler that way! 🙂
I typically do schedule my Skype interactions ahead of time—whether is an informal call to just catch up or more of a planned event in which we are going to have a “fireside chat” experience to do some planning and discussion, I always use the free option. It can also be handy if you need to interview someone as well. I normally do not leave Skype up and open mainly because my laptop is four years old and gets unhappy if I run too many apps at one time!
In essence, I use Google Chat for more daily and impromptu discussions and Skype for more extended conversations.
I hope this helps you think through how Skype might fit into your world!
Best,
Buffy
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methinks there’s a possible webinar here…
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Alice, that would definitely be a cool topic!
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Thank goodness for our Skype chats!
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Skype was my lifeline when I worked as a web developer in the tech industry several years back because so many of our developers, contractors, and consultants lived in different states and countries.
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