Jason's WEBD220 Blog

Google Hangouts is a re-brand of their Google Chat service.  Hangouts feature the much of the same features of Skype without ads to distract our attention.  We use Google Chat at our office because we have had a better experience with Google compared to Skype. Our experience with Google Hangouts has been very positive because of call and video quality with easy file sharing.  "Google Hangouts is super easy – you just need a browser, an add-on, and a Google account, which most people already have and use for a lot more than just Hangouts. Meanwhile, Skype requires downloading the application, and your Skype account isn’t good for much else" (Lee, 2016). Sources Lee, David. 2016. 12 Reasons to use Google Hangouts over Skype for Conference Calls.  Retrieved from http://www.meetingmogulapp.com/blog/12-reasons-to-use-google-hangouts-over-skype-for-conference-calls/

Skype is an online VOIP service that allows users to place voice or video calls either free of charge or paid depending on your location.  In 2011, Skype was purchased by Microsoft, after being purchased by Ebay in 2003.  "Its instant messaging and voice and video call features are broadly similar to those found in Windows Live Messenger, though arguably more refined" (Bright, 2011).  Our company used Skype for years to communicate with a worker in the Philippines and quickly noticed the issues with unreliable service.  The calls and video were never consistent and we could not rely on using the service when she was calling customers on our behalf.  The Skype interface is easy to use and Microsoft has made some great enhancements, but they have integrated ads into the service to generate more revenue and that has caused some users to move away from the service. Sources Bright, Peter. 2011. MICROSOFT BUYS SKYPE FOR $8.5 BILLION. WHY, EXACTLY?.  Retrieved from https://w

LinkedIn is social networking platform that is geared towards professional and business networking.  Over the years LinkedIn has taken a few turns, most noticeable is after it was purchased by Microsoft.  LinkedIn used to be a totally free service for professionals to communicate, but now has several tiers of paid tools and a very limited free service.  LinkedIn has changed its interface to resemble Facebook which some users like because it feels comfortable to them.  "In that light, copying Facebook registers as even less of a cop-out. “People keep expecting these sites to look similarly and for them to interact with them similarly,” says CU Boulder’s Brian Keegan, a specialist in human-computer interaction" (Gonzalez, 2017).  LinkedIn is pretty easy to use since the redesign. Source Gonzelez, Robbie.  2017.  THE NEW LINKEDIN LOOKS JUST LIKE FACEBOOK. SMART MOVE.  Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2017/01/new-linkedin-looks-just-like-facebook-smart-move/

Social Media Platform Facebook Instagram Pinterest Uses Sharing of news, photos, videos Sharing of photos and videos Sharing of product or DIY photos and videos Built-In Chat Yes Yes No Notifications Push Push Push Number of Users 1 2.1 Billion 800 Million 200 Million Female 2 (Online Users) 83% 38% 45% Male 2 (Online Users) 75% 26% 17% Supports Video Yes Yes Yes Supports Sharing Yes Yes Yes Supports Advertising Yes Yes Yes Sources 11.      Statista.com. 2018.  Most popular social networks worldwide as of January 2018, ranked by number of active users (in

http://tinyurl.com/ya72n8ne