Connect Online...Here's How

I do almost everything online these days. Here's how I keep connected:

• I keep up with the kids and grand kids using FaceBook. I opened this account with a new GMail address because I didn't want to compromise the contact list of my regular email program. The platform seems too "chatty" for me but I do learn quite a lot about their lives that I otherwise wouldn't have known.
• I use email for nearly all of my communications. I have a variety of accounts for a variety of purposes. Yahoo mail, Hotmail, Gmail, and Hushmail are some good services. I rarely use the email through my ISP or web hosts as I have crashed Outlook far too many times to rely on it.
• I use Skype on occasion for "face to face" communication and when my cell phone service doesn't work but I have internet access.
• I use Chikka to contact friends and business associates in Asia.
• I use text messaging through my cell phone more and more although almost no one my age texts. Younger people, however, can't survive without texting from what I have seen.
• I mainly use my cell phone however I do still keep a land line which I could use with a hardwired phone during an emergency.
• When possible, and in areas that Chikka doesn't reach, I often send text messages to people's cell phones through my regular email program (ie: if someone you know has Verizon cellular service you can email them at XXXXXXXXXX@vtext.com with the XXs being their entire cell number).
• Depending on which country I am trying to contact, local cell providers may have websites through which you can send text messages or web messages (this seems to be quite hit or miss in developing areas).
• With some business friends who travel often, I find that we use Twitter and blog comments quite a bit to communicate.
• I always carry an "unlocked" cell phone with me when I travel overseas. As soon as I land, I buy a SIM card and a "load" from the local cellular provider and then I have cell service which is much cheaper than using your state-side cell service overseas.