Let me give you the rundown. I only focused on those that were cross platform, mainly between Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, so that it didn’t matter which of these you use since you can talk to someone on the other without problem. All the apps were tested with 3 connection sets – both on wifi, both on mobile, and one on each. Obviously take into account available data speeds, network congestion and signal quality with all of it.

One thing to note on all of these is that the audio quality in my testing has been excellent. I think in all these cases the quality of the voice calls has been far better than that of a regular phone call. Definitely gives reason for your mobile providers to get their act together and get “HD Calling” going. By that I mean technology like Voice over LTE (VoLTE), etc. But that’s another topic.

So let’s get into the apps.

Skype

I’m starting with Skype as it’s very popular worldwide and has been used on computers for quite a while now. What they’ve done here is taken almost the full desktop client and moved it to your mobile phone with some interface changes obviously for smaller screens. Where it differs from your desktop is the ability to initiate group chats or calls. You can take part in them just not start them. Oh, and you can’t send files through it either. The chat works as well as it does on your PC and the audio quality for voice calls is quite good.

The video quality is good but not the best out there. It tends to get a little choppy even when using the phones side by side on the same network.

The biggest advantage with Skype is the ability to use it on virtually every platform under the sun which makes it incredibly easy to keep in touch no matter where you are.

Fring

Fring and Skype are really quite similar. On the instant message front Fring gives you the advantage of adding other messaging clients to its core program so you can chat with your MSN, AOL or Google Talk friends through the same program, which is nice if you use that a lot.

Video quality here is very good. Fring adjusts to your data speeds to keep the video quality as clear as possible. This is one of the two areas where Fring stands out above the crowd.

The other area is built in group video chatting right on your phone or tablet. Want to sit and talk with 4 of your friends? Feel free. It’s there for you.

Qik

No chat, no voice calling. Just pure video. And not just pure video.. it’s really good pure video!

This is where Qik shines. Of all of them I think this is the best video quality for calling. Okay, not only calling but for recording videos and sharing them on your Qik profile site. Yes, you can do the same with your video camera apps and YouTube or Vimeo or others… but it’s still quite solid and even though there are other options it doesn’t take away from the quality of what Qik has put together

The video mail feature is only really good for other Qik users but that’s a nice addition if you need or want it.

Tango

Tango is interesting in that there is no special registration. You put in your phone number and your email address and that’s it.

And you don’t have to use your cell phone number. Want to use a Google Voice number? Go for it. For those who have only a tablet or media device, that’s fine, you can use your home phone number if you want. This makes it incredibly simple for anyone to pick up and use.

There is a downside to that however. If you have multiple phone numbers – work, home, mobile, etc – or you’re like me and use Skype or other services to have international numbers… well you’re stuck with using one with Tango at this point. I have no idea if they’re planning on giving us some account options where we can add more numbers allowing more people to contact us.

Tango also integrates with your contacts on your phone giving you the option from their entry to call them on Tango for voice and video as easily as you would opening their entry and calling them using your regular calling plan.

Side note – Tango is coming out with a computer based version allowing the same type of video calling experience that Skype does from computer to smartphone.

Worth Mentioning – Google Talk

Nope. No video here yet unless you’re using a Nexus S and have the Android 2.3.4 update. But it’s coming. The folks in Mountain View have said so - http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2011/04/video-chat-on-your-android-phone.html

The Wrapup

This is tough as all these services have their good points and bad points.

Fring is the best out there right now. However, the most flexible is Skype. And don’t get me wrong. I use and love all of them but this is how I see it at this point. As that changes I’ll post something about it.

And I know that all this will change quickly. With more and more of these services coming out or current ones being improved on this will be a fluid market without question. I’m really looking forward to seeing what someone comes up with next!

But here’s a few things people seem to have forgotten along the way. Oh, and my policies are in the big boxes.

1. Be yourself at all times. You are interesting. Your laundry is not.

There’s only so many times you can tell people that you’ve finished doing laundry before people stop caring.  Come on, what do you want? A round of applause?  Listen, if your day includes a mound of laundry I sympathize, but if all you share of your life online is the mundane people will lose interest in you. Share more of who you are not what you do.

2. You don’t have to carry the big lighted sign to build your business online. See point 1 and be yourself. Create interest in your business by creating interest in you.

No one likes to be advertised at. Yes, I used “at” not “to”. Social networking is a great place to grow your business, but the same rule as above applies. If all you do is promote your business or try to sell a product people will turn you off just as they would the television. People are very capable of figuring out if they want to talk business with you or buy a product from you.

I’m a network marketer. I make no secret of that, but that doesn’t mean I’m out there always talking about my business or trying to recruit people. I’m more than my business. I’m a gamer. I’m a nephew. (Ok, starting to sound like a Steve Miller Band song so sing along if you feel so inclined) I’m a friend. I’m a son. Let’s face it, I’m a lot more than just one thing, just as you are. So be you!

3. If you’re going to babble on, at least be interesting in your babbling.

I’m coming across more and more like a broken record when I say that your content is vital. In social networking it’s not about writing a great article or putting out a great video on YouTube. Your content is YOU! Be yourself at all times. Share your thoughts, your ideas and your life. People are attracted to and follow interesting people.

That brings me to the people on your friends or follower lists. More specifically that brings me to Twitter. I’m a huge fan of Twitter. I believe it to be one of the greatest pieces of the social networking puzzle. I use Twitter every day not only from my computer but also from my Blackberry. It’s more than just a computer thing. One of the keys to Twitter is generating a strong list of followers and following those that interest you.

4. Follow people you are interested in following. Don’t just follow someone so they’ll follow you back or vice versa.

What’s in a follower?  I see so many people out there advertising programs to get you thousands upon thousands of followers. So I looked at them and found that the majority of success stories show people who are following more people than are following them. One guy in particular has over 87,000 people following him, which is great. The problem is that he’s following 90,000 people.  Another has about 39,000 and is following over 41,000. Yet another has 60,000 followers and is following just a few more than that.

My question: how is it possible to follow so many people? The answer is very simple. It’s not.

If everyone posts just once a day, do you actually have the time to read 30 or 60 or 90 thousand posts on Twitter or Facebook or MySpace or any of the countless social networks out there? That doesn’t include the links in those posts that you may want to check out.

There are two interesting articles on DoshDosh.com about Twitter and followers. The first, “Twitter Marketing: Why You Don’t Need to Mass Follow Users“, calls it right about the programs designed to get you so many followers and is definately worth a read.  The second, “How to Get More Twitter Followers: Some Methods That Work“, is a great article about getting real followers on Twitter and elsewhere.

You should read both of these articles if you’re serious about making an impact on Twitter and other social networking sites.

5. Never be afraid to speak your mind.

When it comes down to it people are either going to like you or they’re not. So just be real and say what you think.

Those five points pretty well make up my policy on social networking. But two words keep cropping up in the whole thing. Be real!

If you’re interested in more of my ramblings on a daily basis, follow me on Twitter@WillFuhrman.

This is a republishing of an article I wrote a while back on GoblinNetwork.com in 2009 and I am not sure the links are still active, but I didn’t want to change the article text. Some formatting changes were made to the font sizes. And I no longer use a Blackberry.

And on the ridiculous front it seems the White House is trying to keep Geithner in as Treasury Secretary for “market stability”.

Market stability?? Really????

Will Geithner Remain as Treasury Secretary? – Fox Business Video – FoxBusiness.comFBN’s Charlie Gasparino on the White House putting pressure on Timothy Geithner to stay on as Treasury Secretary for market stability.

via Foxbusiness

Just a few short years ago if you went on vacation you not only had your mobile phone, but you had your still camera and maybe a video camera. And all the power cables, maybe film for both cameras, batteries, etc….  well, let’s face it, you needed an extra piece of luggage just for all that stuff.

Now, it’s in your smartphone. One device that is more than just for making calls. In fact, most people I know use their calling and messaging plans less and are more reliant on their data plans.

Think about it. If you’re the parent of a newborn you can whip out your smartphone, snap a picture and within seconds all of your friends and family can see your brand new baby. Video of your little girl’s first steps or your little boy’s first baseball game or the kids in the school play? From your phone to the grandparents in seconds. Better than that, you can even broadcast those events live! All from your phone! Even to someone else’s phone!

We really do live in amazing times with amazing technology. Not that Angry Birds isn’t vital. The real point of this technology is to keep us in touch with people. Whether it is for your business or personal life, the technology available today allows for communication in ways only science fiction writers could have imagined in the past.

The big thing is finding out what works and what doesn’t. And not just what works on one platform. No offense to Apple or Microsoft, but proprietary isn’t always the smartest way to go. Open source isn’t always good either. As an old English proverb says – “Too many cooks spoil the broth”.

So what I’m going to do is dedicate a little time and check out some of the “in-touch” communication services that are available on the two biggest smartphone platforms out there – Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. These services include Tango, Fring, Skype, and possibly others. I’ll post my thoughts on those over the coming weeks as I get the chance to sit and play with them.

I’m skipping on the standard instant messaging and focusing on the best video calling apps. Why? Because nothing keeps you more in touch with those you care about better than telling someone how much you care face to face.

Why am I doing this? A couple of reasons. First, I love this stuff. Second, I want to know for myself what works best out there so I can keep in touch the best I can. The third reason is because of something that really touched me. I was out having coffee recently when a man just a table away took out his phone and said goodnight to his kids just like any other dad on a business trip would do. The difference is he did it face to face. I don’t know who he is, but I’m doing this for him and his kids as well.

It really isn’t that one is better than the other. In my opinion, Joomla is superior in what it can do and the level of development that goes into it by its development community. I do believe that it is the premier Content Management System (CMS) out there. If you’re looking for a great CMS that gives you a myriad of options Joomla may indeed be the best option for you.

But that’s just it, it’s a brilliant content system, but it’s not a blog system. WordPress is the best for that and gives some great options for getting your content online.

There is some great development for WordPress out there as well, though you need to hunt for it. The plugin/extension directory is unfortunately poorly laid out making it tough to find what you want. But once you have what you want, there really isn’t anything that beats WordPress for simple or complex blogging.

For me, the one area where WordPress simply outdoes Joomla is the ability to add content from your smartphone or tablet when you’re on the go. There are some 3rd party plugins and apps for Joomla, but nothing as simple and directly tied in as the WordPress mobile apps. You can find out more on these apps on the WordPress site by clicking here.

I’m not abandoning Joomla by any means and when I find a great way to bring Joomla and WordPress together into one seamless site I’ll be working with both depending on the project.

I can’t speak highly enough of either system and I do recommend both, but it just comes down to what your needs are.

If I can help with anything feel free to shoot me a message on Twitter @WillFuhrman.

As a lot of you know I’m a BIG fan of Joomla for the depth of extensions and its flexibility across so many areas of marketing and business development. And I will continue to use Joomla for many things including this site once I have a solid way of merging WordPress and Joomla in a way that I’m happy with. There are just too many fun things you can do with Joomla.

But….

this is a blog. Pure and simple. For better or worse. Blunt and unafraid.

If you end up reading this, it’s because you have one reason or another to be interested in what I have to say. If you don’t, well then you’ll have no idea what you’re missing anyhow so it doesn’t really matter.

No topic is off limits here but I’m not going to fill your minds with drivel. From tech talk to home business to politics (Danger, Will Robinson) to music to travel to this crazy thing called real life – if it’s something I think matters I promise it will be talked about here.

Let’s cut to the chase. The time has come in our world where we can’t be afraid of what others think of us or what may happen. We must be strong and stand for what we believe in.

I believe in living life to the fullest and living the life YOU choose. Creating your own value, not the value someone else puts on you.

That’s where this site will be. Love it or hate it, pick one. I’m okay either way.

Now, without further ado, a little something that matches the original default title of this post. One of my favorite songs. I hope you enjoy.