If you are a Microsoft Messenger (MSN) user, we have a bad news for you. Skype is officially replacing Microsoft Messenger as from March this year. Well, it looks like another social media outlet is vanishing into the great nothingness beyond. On March 15th, 2013, Microsoft Messenger will be replaced by a new version of Skype which is being designed specifically for tablets and smartphones.
Skype is currently the premier video chat program used by long-distance relationship gurus around the world and it features the ability to talk in real time with one friend or a handful of friends. Not surprisingly, it is a very useful tool in the business world where so many people now work from home.
But is video chating really something we should take lightly? For all you conspiracy theorists out there, what are the potential ramifications linked to putting yourself out there over the Internet waves? After all, to quote one of my favorite movies, “You can’t stop the signal, Mal.”
For those of you who foolishly think your personal information, photos and now video images and chats are secured, I need only point out the many instances where celebrities find their mobiles hacked and nude pictures of themselves suddenly on the Internet. Such was the case with poor Scarlet Johansson, who had sent naked images of herself to her boyfriend. Think those stayed private? Nope, that mobile phone in her pocket got hacked by a person hundreds of miles away.
So, when we’re all on Skype, talking about what we want to do to our significant other—or worse yet, showing them, who else might be tuning in? Perhaps a better question would be, who else would want to tune in, but there are plenty of perverted weirdoes out in the world.
Any time you introduce a signal into the atmosphere, or even through a complex system of wires and cables, that image is leaving the security of real life and entering the world of hackers and signal gods. If it’s lucky, it sneaks through the hell fires unnoticed; if not so lucky, that signal will be rerouted and go viral, entertaining millions of Japanese anime fans half a world away.
What is the solution to this problem? I will give you a clue, it has nothing to do with regulations or policing. The only solution to this problem is to just not give a damn about what other people think. If you’re brave enough to do something over Skype, you should be willing to take responsibility for your actions. Danced around in your underwear did you? Well, stand up proudly and own that embarrassing moment for all the world to see. After all, someone, somewhere probably had a good laugh at your expense. Don’t give them the satisfaction of seeing you cry.