Hi, this is Gary with MacMost.com.
Today let's talk about how you can keep in touch with other people using your Mac, iPhone,
or iPad.
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So right now a lot of us are more isolated than we usually are.
We're working from home, avoiding getting together, and avoiding traveling.
So that makes it more important than ever to use our computing devices to stay in touch
with people.
Fortunately we live in a time where it's easy to send electronic communication whether it's
email, text messages, internet phone calls, or video chatting.
If you're using Apple products this is pretty easy.
So you've got FaceTime for Apple user to Apple user communication.
FaceTime, of course, comes with your Mac and is built into the operating system.
You can easily run it.
You'll see yourself there.
You'll see previous calls.
All you need to do to start a video call is enter in the person's name, if they are already
in your Contacts, or their iCloud or Apple ID email address or their phone number if
they have an iPhone.
Any of these will then allow you to start a video chat with them and they will be able
to talk to you on their Mac or on their iPhone or iPad.
You, likewise, can use the FaceTime app here on your Mac or iPhone or iPad.
So from Apple user to Apple user FaceTime is the best way to keep in touch with someone.
But what if they're not an Apple user?
What if you need to communicate with them from your Mac or iPad or iPhone but they are
on Windows or Android.
Well, there are tons of good options.
Probably the most obvious one is to use Skype.
So Skype is an app that you can get for your Mac.
Of course it has been around a lot longer than FaceTime or almost any other method of
video chatting.
Of course you can use Skype to make regular phone calls even to regular phone numbers.
That's kind of a premium thing.
But chatting from Skype app to Skype app is free.
You can do it audio or you can do it video.
You can also text message on Skype as well.
So all the person on the other end has to do is get the Skype app on their phone, on
their Windows computer.
Whatever it is.
Sign up for a free account and then you can use their Skype ID to then talk to them.
Do video chat or audio chat totally free around the world.
So this is a great cross platform solution.
You can get Skype by simply going to skype.com.
It's owned by Microsoft now.
You just download the app, install it, and it will walk you through if you need to setup
an account.
But if somebody doesn't already have a Skype or they are not good with technology you may
want to go with something they already have.
They probably have a Facebook account.
Right?
Well you can use Facebook Messenger not only to send quick little messages to each other
but you can use it for audio and video chatting.
You can do that on an iPhone or iPad using the official Messenger app on Facebook.
On the Mac there is no Messenger app yet although one is coming really soon.
In some countries it's already out.
Until then you can go to Facebook.com on the web, click on the Messenger button and you
can actually video chat from your Mac to another Facebook user right there on your Mac using
your Mac's webcam.
For non techies this may be the best option if they are already using Facebook.
They're used to being in there and you are already are connected to them as a friend
so it's probably a little easier for them to figure it out.
Now FaceTime, Skype, and Messenger aren't the only options.
There are tons of other options out there.
So if you're already using another app with some friends and that has video chatting in
there certainly stick with those.
Do whatever is easiest.
It doesn't really matter what system you use or what app you use as long as you are able
to communicate.
Now text messaging can be just as important.
Just checking in on people.
Letting them know that you're thinking about them.
You can, of course, use iMessage to go from Apple user to Apple user.
If you have an iPhone then you can use iMessage interchangeably with SMS for people that are
on Android phones and other devices.
A lot of people just use Facebook to send messages back and forth.
That's good too.
There are apps like What'sApp.
People communicate on Instagram, on SnapChat, TikTok.
Just about any other social system has a way to message people.
Don't forget about email.
Most people have email accounts and email is a great standard way to get in touch with
just about anybody.
If you want the accessibility to message them or to do video chats with them you can start
with email deciding on the platform you both want to use and setting up times to look for
each other and things like that.
I'd love to hear from the entire MacMost community what ways you are using your Apple products
to stay in touch with other people during this difficult time.