Definition: 

You can communicate with colleagues and friends using chat, videoconferencing, voiceover IP, and other technologies.

Tools:

• Doodle: Doodle makes it easy to schedule meetings. You can set up an online poll in minutes, and participants can quickly mark when they are available. (Free, web-based)
• Elluminate: a hosted, "real-time virtual classroom environment designed for distance education and collaboration in academic institutions" (Commercial, web-based)
• Open Huddle: users can hold multi-user videoconferences with whiteboards, chat, and more; can archive sessions (Free, web-based)
• Second Life: chat room designed as a virtual world:  “chat for free with people from around the world using both text and voice…in a fun, interactive 3D space”   (Free, cross-platform)
• Skype: allows you to "make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users", especially over long distances or out of the country (Free, cross-platform) [Review]
• Twitter: a "microblogging" service that allows you to write short messages about your thoughts and experiences and find out what your friends and colleagues are up to (Free, web-based)
• Yugma: "web collaboration service" that enables users to share screens, hold an online conference, use an interactive whiteboard, etc. (Free, with Pro version available; web-based)

Resources:

See Also: