Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This week on the Overflow Podcast, we get into one of the tools of the trade. 
We tend to talk about high level social media strategy or changes in the marketing landscape, but we don’t want to forget about how we are able to make this whole thing happen. Cameron and Joe focus on using Skype for personal and business on this week’s episode.
It also came up that I recommend the use of the Plantronics 470 USB headset (paid link) for recording podcasts, and while we’re at it I’ll also throw in the recommendation for Logitech Quickcam MP (paid link).
After our decision to take our marketing office to a virtual environment, we needed to have the ability to communicate via video conferencing as well as a simple solution for recording our weekly podcasts. Skype easily meets both of those requirements.
Cameron shared a family holiday scenario for using Skype to bring all family members into the celebration, no matter the geographic difference.
There is also a simple Skype add-on called Pamela (paid link, again) to help with the recording process. The software is a simple download and install, that records your calls and saves them in an MP3 format for editing and production. If you have any additional questions about creating a podcast, please contact me at jmagennis @ befluid <dot> com.
This functionality, combined with cell phones and now Google Voice, is making the old telephone closet, and eventually our telephony provider obsolete. We anticipate going away from our VOIP provider as soon as we can port over our numbers into Google Voice.
Over the years there have been some signals that security concerns may be something to consider when evaluating Skype. We cannot adequately communicate the exact issues so we’ll link to the experts so that you can decide for yourself.
Businesses can also look at virtual meeting tools such as GoToMeeting and other Citrix products as secure means for effective communication.
NOTE: Can’t believe we didn’t mention the impending IPO of Skype (I’ve got to start writing things down for these podcasts) and the impact it might make positive or negative to the service. The stated intention for eBay buying Skype in the first place was to help buyers and sellers communicate more efficiently. That has not come to fruition, and in fact the opposite appears to be true in the auction world, where less communication is the preference.
Keep and ear to the ground to see what happens with Skype, but in the meantime take advantage of the flexibility that this peer to peer communication functionality can bring to your personal and professional lives.
The opening and closing theme for the Overflow Podcast is called The Information Age, by Anthony Fiumano and you can find it at the Podsafe Music Network.
You can subscribe to The Overflow Podcast directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.
