July 2009

Americans have become increasingly interested in wines. Accordingly, the number of vineyards has been exploding.

Bonny Doon Vineyard, the Santa Cruz, Calif.-maker of wines from rare grape varieties, has remained competitive in part by using Skype to hold virtual tastings with distributors around the country, noted Burke Owens, the vineyard's communications director.

Virtual tasting? The distributors actually taste the wine. The live connections via Skype video calling is the virtual part.

Burke said Skype makes it possible for the vineyard to reach out to more distributors than it could otherwise, saving on travel time and expense.

Randall Grahm, founder and "president for life" of Bonny Doon, explained this in June on Oprah Winfrey's "Where in the Skype Are you?" program devoted to Skype.
Randall broke new ground on Oprah, taking wine tasting to new levels. Literally.

Randall conducted a tasting of three wines with Oprah here in Chicago, Skype CEO Josh Silverman in London and couple on board a Virgin America flight above San Francisco.

It worked great. ml

Could virtual tastings be in the offing for consumers? Maybe, Burke said, though he advised using official Bonny Doon spit cups to protect computers. Plastic covers on the keyboard might be in order as well.

The Big Apple's 311 service now is linked with the Big Apps, including Skype.

NYC Mayor Michael gave the 411 on 311 via Skype video calling on a Big Screen projection at the Personal Democracy Forum.

Joe Pompeo reported in Bloomberg News that among the Big Apps were enhancements to NYC's 311, New York's municipal information service, "which many consider to be the mayor's most significant technological achievement."

311 now can be reached via its Skype name (nyc311) or via Twitter (@311NYC).

Big Apple Mayor Michael announced a series of "Big Apps" to help New Yorkers, and one of them is Skype.

Hizzoner made the announcement of the city's new Skype No. via Skype video calling.

The mayor, who couldn't make the announcement in person, spoke to a press conference via Skype video projected on a large screen.

"We've always thought of [311] as a customer service, and what we're trying to do is treat our citizens as customers," said the mayor.

Bloomerg added: "Through NYC Big Apps, 311 Online and services offered by Skype, Twitter and Google, we're working to provide public information to New Yorkers in as many ways as possible."

"We applaud New York City's leadership on delivering a more open and innovative government," said federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra. He added that the announcements "align well to President Obama's Open Government Initiative and reflect best practices worthy of replication to achieve excellence in public sector performance."

Mark D. White, editor of "Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test" from John Wiley & Sons, has held what may have been the first virtual book signings via video calling with Skype.

The book introduces readers to philosophical ideas touched on in the Watchmen graphic novel, which has been on best-seller lists since it came out in the '80s. Watchmen, recently released as a movie, is based in an alternative world in which super-heroes actually lived.

White was pleased that his first stop was at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, where he attended graduate school. His image was projected on a screen in the author event space.

He said he could easily see the fans and they could see him as he called via Skype from the kitchen in his New Jersey home.

White, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, Economics and Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY, said he had a good turnout. Pre-signed books were available at the signing.

"We were very happy with the event and the level of discourse between the author and the audience. While the event was in progress, curiosity got the better of people who stopped by to join in," said Michael Link, publisher relations and events manager for Joseph-Beth Booksellers.

White, who also had a virtual signing at Schuler Books & Music in Lansing, Mich., said virtual touring saves time for authors. "An actual in-person book tour would be a significant burden. I have young children and lots of responsibilities," he said. "This way I could tour--and sleep in my own bed."

We all know that Skype helps people make connections, but now, there's a brand new way we're helping people connect: busy singles - without the time to mingle - are using Skype's video calling to meet Prince Charming or Ms Match without leaving the comfort of their couches or wasting cash on a not-so-hot date.

Skype and Glamour magazine are teaming up to explore this new trend with the very cool Skype and the Single Life series.

Glamour.com's 'Single-ish' bloggers Erin Meanley and Ryan Dodge each recently completed a series of face-to-face speed dates via Skype video calls. Beginning today, you can visit Glamour.com to view recordings of these dates, and vote on the daters you think have the best chance of making a love connection with the two bloggers.

The speed daters with the most votes will win real-life dates with Erin and Ryan and you'll have the chance to win a Skype Certified High Quality Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks and FREETALK Wireless Stereo Headset.

In addition to keeping in touch with family and friends via Skype, you too can now save money and time by dating with the click of a button. It's a whole new dating world with Skype in the mix.

Libba Bray, the New York Times best-selling author of the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, managed to get a shower in before I interviewed her via a Skype video call. I thanked her for that.

Our subject was her virtual book tour to a half dozen cities conducted using video calling with Skype. It was the first such tour arranged by Random House, her publisher.

On her first stop at the Oak Park Public Library in suburban Chicago, Libba messed upon the time. So she was caught off-guard and un-showered in her Brooklyn home when she received an incoming call on Skype.

Libba enjoyed the virtual tour via Skype. She noted that it saved money and enabled her to be home her with her family instead of on the road. It also allowed her to be in touch with fans without being in a "buy my book" mode.

She said she appreciated being in "intimate" contact with her fans. In fact, she took her fans on a tour of her home. Her cats made cameo appearances. She showed them where she makes the macaroni-and-cheese magic happen.

This summer is an off-season for Libba. The paperback edition of her "The Sweet Far Thing" came out, finishing the trilogy. Publishers don't like to spend money on tours for paperbacks.

During the virtual tour, she was also able to schmooze with booksellers. So now she has their Skype names and can call them in the fall to promote her "Going Bovine" book about a teen who contracts mad cow disease. It's described as a "dark comedy."

Libba said she recommends authors take virtual tours via Skype video calling.

But she noted one drawback: She had to ship signed bookplates ahead for the events.

Libba urged Skype to develop technology to enable authors to sign books remotely. Is anyone in the Skype labs listening?

Over the past few days, I've spotted some interesting news stories like this and this about "The Connecting Families" program in the state of Alabama. It sets a great community service example and is a wonderful use of Skype. Through a partnership between the Alabama Public Library Service and Alabama Governor Bob Riley's ConnectingALABAMA Broadband Initiative, 100 libraries across the state will participate in a program that will help connect troops and their families who are thousands of miles apart.

Earlier this week, Tuscaloosa Public Library in Alabama kicked off its participation in the Connecting Families project. Three new Apple Mac computers, loaded with Skype software, were installed in the library to allow military families to communicate over video calls with family members in the U.S. armed forces.

"We're grateful not only for our troops but also for the families who serve by their side, even though thousands of miles often separate them," Gov. Bob Riley said in a press release. "Like our soldiers, the families sacrifice so much. Anytime we have an opportunity to help our brave troops and their families back home, we must take it."

My understanding is that Alabama is the only state today that offers such a program. I think Alabama is onto something big here, and sets a great example for other states. Being in the military can no doubt be a struggle, coupled with isolation being apart from family and children. We're proud and inspired to see that Skype can be used in such a way that brings comfort to military families in Alabama, giving them an opportunity to connect with loved ones overseas in meaningful ways.

Myron and Kari Glaser have been making handcrafted bags for business travelers in San Francisco for the past 30 years.

Often, their customers reach out to them on the phone to have the bags and accessories described verbally.

Recently, Myron began using Skype video calling in a virtual showroom-where he can explain to customers how the bags, designed by Kari, can work for them.

When talking about Skype with me, he used word "miracle".

And in an audio interview with Central Valley Business Times, he said:

"We think it's quite miraculous this Skype video call stuff so that if customers have the time to call us we can show them the product as if they were here. It's as real as anything else, they just can't touch it."

He said he enjoys speaking with his customers and can provide answers to their questions about his products in real time and in detail, a bigadvantage over a passive e-commerce website.

"I think very quickly it will be the equivalent of visiting a store," Glaser told CVBT.

Breana Michel, of Owatonna, Minn., may have been 6,384 miles away from her groom, David Luedtke, a Marine stationed in Iraq.

But Skype bridged the gap for a very 21st century wedding, Associated Press reported.

The couple met Oct. 10, 2001, the old-fashioned way--at a barbecue while they were teens. They went their own ways, but reunited a year ago on Facebook. They became engaged while Luedtke was stateside. The Marine returned to Iraq.

The tech-struck lovers decided to get married over the internet via Skype.

"We viewed it as an opportunity more than anything," Michel told AP. "We were like, 'Oh my God, we can do it over Skype? Let's do it! We didn't want to wait. It's been seven years."
They ended that seven-year itch with a hitch on Skype.

The Marine had to rush off on a mission minutes after the ceremony ended.

And so love goes in the tech age.

Let's hope they stay in touch via Skype before he returns home for Thanksgiving.

The people at Say It Visually have put together this fun little video. It's a neat summary of what Skype can do.

I've featured Canadian portrait artist Barbara Muir a couple times on this blog.

Her work caught on big time after Oprah Winfrey recently featured Barbara in her program, "Where the Skype are you?"

Barbara drew a Skype sketch of the talk show queen herself.

Now the artist's story is being told in Canada, including an interview on Toronto's CityNews. Barbara said she gets five to 10 calls a day from people who want to be drawn by the Skype sketcher.

CityNews reporter Jee-Yun Lee describes how she herself is using Skype from Toronto to share images of her new baby with her in-laws in Vancouver. "Oh what technology can do," she wrote in her blog. Indeed.

Skype 4.1 for Windows is now gold, and is ready for you to download.

We've fixed a number of bugs found in the beta release, and recommend that you update now.

We've added useful features like screen sharing, which is a great way to show off your latest creations and presentations, or help a friend with their computer. We've also included birthday reminders (though you'll have to bring your own cake).

What's more, we've listened to your thoughts and feedback and further refinements have been made to audio and video quality - so your calls should sound and look better than ever.

Download Skype 4.1 for Windows now