Dear Miss Applesassy,
My family lives hundreds of miles away, and I can’t afford to visit nearly as often as I would like. Are there ways to use the internet to bring us closer?
Signed,
Out Of Touch
Dear Out Of Touch,
Oh my, yes! The internet is a wonderful tool for bringing family and friends closer together and there are many ways to do it.
The first and most commonly used resource is e-mail. Writing e-mails are just like sending letters, but it happens instantly, and you have no need to pay for a stamp. Just write your letter, attach a digital photo or two if you like, and hit the send button. Within minutes your message will be at its destination.
For the more advanced computer user, sites like Skype offer video calling services. Many of thee newer computers come with a tiny camera and microphone built right in. If you have one of these, just sign up with Skype, and you can make video phone calls to everyone you know who is using the service. Grandpa and Grandma will not only be able to talk to you, but see you as well! It’s delightfully fun, especially around the holidays. If your computer does not have a camera, the skilled and helpful technology experts at your local computer store can help you find the products you need to get set up. Installation usually only involves plugging in the device and activating it, although some technical glitches have been known to hamper users running older systems. Calls made from one Skype user to another are free of charge, and the cost for a camera set up is usually well under fifty dollars.
Miss Apps also enjoys the use of blogs for keeping in touch with family far away. A blog is a public on-line diary of sorts, where the author can write their thoughts, post pictures, and provide links to other sites of interest. You can set you blog as private, only allowing those with a password to view the contents, or let it be public, so any friends can find it.
Similar applications gaining in Social Networking popularity are sites like MySpace and Facebook. On these sharing spaces, the user sets up a profile, then connects to friends, joins groups, and posts updates for all to see. So even if Grandma lives a world away, she can still be in the loop on the kids’ daily activities, just by checking her facebook friend updates. This is delightful, and leads to much more interesting conversations at the holidays.
With warm holiday regards,
Miss Applesassy
