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Chatting with strangers – over the Internet
“Skype Me”
With the popularity of internet phone calls rapidly gaining ground, more and
more people, curious to learn more about this new-found convenience, sign up
for free internet calls through providers like Skype. This facility has allowed
many to be interconnected via the Internet, mostly to acquaintances, family
and friends, but at times to strangers as well. In fact, Skype has a status
message called “Skype Me” which allows the user to be messaged and
contacted by anyone on the lookout for someone to chat with.
“I need a friend”
This was reported in an article by Ethan Todras-Whitehall published in the New
York Times, where newly subscribed Skype user John Perry Barlow was messaged
by a woman named “Kitty” who was seeking for someone to talk to.
“I need a friend”, she said. It turned out that this caller was
Dzung Vu My, 22, a worker at an oil company in Hanoi, Vietnam. She explained
that she wanted to talk to someone in order to practice her English. They ended
up chatting for a long time, exchanging photographs and Web addresses, had discussions
on economic issues and Kitty sharing her father’s army experiences.
Random phone calls are welcomed
A thing which had been close to impossible in the past, random phone calls over
the Internet are currently the norm, through facilities provided for and supported
by applications such as Skype. In fact, many unsolicited contacts are received
by Skype users each day, and in contrast to unknown phone calls through email
and conventional phones which are most likely rejected, these contacts via the
Internet are often welcomed.
Obtaining information through a random call
Although some strangers claim to contact people in other countries to practice
their speaking, others may have more valid and impelling reasons to do so. For
instance, John Andersen from Juneau, Alaska was contacted by a couple from Sydney,
Australia who apparently wanted to ask for advice on the best helicopter glacier
tours and fishing excursions in Juneau. This is a case on how random phone calls
can sometimes be helpful in assisting people to obtain information in a quick
and efficient manner.
Good and bad experiences in Skype Me mode
Those who have opened themselves for random calls in the Skype Me mode have
also received their fair share of experiences, both good and bad. A writer shares
his encounters when he set his status message to Skype Me mode, and received
more than 30 calls from callers around the world. With some callers, he chatted
with and mutually exchanged views on common interests, while from others he
obtained tips and links to websites containing information related to his job.
On the other hand, there were also a handful of spammers, scammers and perverts,
some of them trying to convince him to deposit money into a bank account. Apparently,
telemarketers who were on the lookout for users in the “Skype Me”
mode also bombarded him with calls, actively trying make a sale over the Internet.
Using personal judgment
In conclusion, chatting with strangers over the internet is certainly a practice
that can be either beneficial or harmful. It is then up to the user to practice
the use of personal judgment when receiving or even making random calls.
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