Collaboration and Distance Communication Platforms

By Mikala Lindhardt 

            Before I dive into what I will be talking about, let me say this: I am an Apple product lover. I rarely have had trouble with it and that being said I think FaceTime is better than Skype. There is your little disclaimer.

Now before you all get defensive, let me just say that there is a time and a place for Skype, but overall FaceTime quality really has been a positive experience for me as far as one-on-one conversations with friends and family.

            I’m not saying I have not had good experiences with Skype, because I have and due to the fact my parents don’t have iPhones, Skype became our mode of communication when I would travel or we wanted to communicate. It worked well for us (for the most part). The few times I used it, there was a bad connection and not very impressive in my mind, but we were able to use the “chat” feature in Skype and communicate that way.  

            I think another reason why it is better is because of how easy it is to FaceTime. I am not very intelligent when it comes to technology and so using FaceTime is easier for me because of how stupid-proof it is. In order to FaceTime someone, just a phone number will do the trick, but with Skype I have had a hard time finding people’s usernames and their ‘Skype name’ and sometimes I can’t even find them. Maybe there is an easier way I am not aware of. I wouldn’t be surprised.

            Not only is it easier to find people and to FaceTime with them, but iPhone to iPhone communication makes it possible to be talking on the phone and with just a touch of a button you can be Facetiming them.

            The interesting thing is both of these services, Skype and FaceTime, have become verbs. I find myself saying “Let’s Skype!” or “FaceTime me later tonight” and people know what I mean. 

            Both are pretty amazing services if you think about it. An application built in to see someone across the world in a matter of seconds is quite amazing. The downfall? You need internet connection (either Wi-Fi or cell phone data) and depending on where you are, that can be limiting.

            That being said, with all the technology advances and amazing connections we can communicate with people across the world and have the potential to be very efficient. How will you use technology to the fullest?

            To see the pros and cons of Skype click here.

            To see the pros and cons of FaceTime click here.