Social Glass

I manage a number of software developers and quality assurance specialists.  Most of them live and work in San Diego.  But others are scattered across various US states and in China.  It’s challenging to create a sense of culture and community given this fact, and I’d be lost if it weren’t for Skype and tinychat.  Tinychat is a free video conferencing solution that allows me to connect my teams in a more personal way.  Body-language is an invaluable communication medium (especially with teams that speak English as a second language).  I find it easier to get a read on somebody if they’re frustrated or don’t understand what is being said, and often I’ll pause and allow those who did understand time to translate to the others.  And who can doubt the communicative value of a “thumbs up” or smile?

The audio features on Tinychat aren’t stellar, so I find I use Skype for audio and tinychat for video when in a conferencing situation.  When it’s a one on one situation I’ll use only Skype.

I’ll never go back to straight audio conference calls.  It’d be like flying international business class, then going back to economy when business class is free.  Ludicrous.