Communication in 2017

WhatsApp. Facebook. The bane of my life and the only way some folks communicate.

And well, I guess that’s ok. But personally, being aware of the issues around privacy, it’s not ok for me.

Here is how I’ll be communicating in 2017.

Messaging

I think this is the big one, where the biggest change can happen. I use the following for messaging:

Email. It really is a better solution for all but those times when you want to instantly “chat” to someone (or need encrypted messaging) and my preferred method of communicating. It is also the ONLY truly federated and open communication standard we have. I.e. if you have a google email address you can email someone that has a yahoo email address no problem. An example of non-federated – you cannot send a whatsapp message to someone if they don’t have whatsapp… you see the problem…?
Signal for free messaging (aka like whatsapp) to users that also have Signal but it also handles SMS for users that don’t.
Telegram for close friends and family. This really is a drop-in replacement for Whatsapp in terms of messaging.

Links:

I use the following for voice calls:

My mobile phone for local calls
Skype for video calls to friends or video conferencing, for receiving work calls (anywhere in the world with a decent Internet connection) and making international calls.