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You can save a lot of money using Skype.

In fact, you can use the service on your existing phones and avail of the technology on their computers to save you money on regular phone-to-phone calls!

Here’s the Lowdown on Skype:

1. Create your own account on the Skype website.
2. Pick a user name. The best name is probably your own name so that people can find you. You could also put in your birth date and location so that people know that you = you–and not, say, that crazy kid in Chicago. However you should set your privacy options such that only your contacts can message you.
3. If you want to use the service on a computer, Download and Install Skype software from here. With Skype on your system you are able to make free skype-to-skype audio-calls and, if you have a camera, video-calls.
4. Many of your contacts may not be on Skype so you might want to buy credit to allow you calls to regular phones. You can buy credit, and arrange automatic refilling (which we find good value) at the Skype Shop
5. Now people can always reach you by skyping your User Name. But they could, if you wanted, also reach you at what appears to be a landline number with a regular state code prefix. Another advantage of a landline alias number would be that callers could use their phone to reach you on Skype–just by dialling a number. Again, you can go to  the Skype Shop to see how much this costs and if you consider it money well spent.
6. You can also take advantage of your Skype credit while calling abroad from your own phone (cell or home). This is called a “Skype To Go” number. Once you sign up, you are given a local number to call before dialling your overseas calls. Here is the link for Skype’s Page on Mobiles.

If you were to pursue all of the above options, you could of course (as we’ve done) ditch your existing landline.

However, there is a drawback: one cannot make emergency calls with Skype.

We hope this Lowdown is helpful. Let us know through the Contact page if you have any questions.

Both Fin and Fiona of mendr.net are giving talks tomorrow as part of Ignite the West, a prepared presentation event: 20 speakers each given 5 minutes to talk alongside 20 slides of their choosing. Please come if you are in the area: it should be a lot of fun!When: 8pmWhere: Mill Times Hotel, WestportOrganizer: ignitethewest.comIgnite the West is:

an exciting networking phenomenon that is designed to fuse the explosive power of ideas and vision with the West’s popular reputation for craic and banter. Ignite is for anyone who wants to laugh, talk and be inspired.

More at the Event Website

As part of an evening hosted by Network Mayo, Fin Keegan from mendr.net will deliver a short, sharp round-up of the new media landscape that challenges businesses today.Or on the new opportunities abounding online…to put the point in positive terms.Where: The Traveller’s Friend, CastlebarWhen: February 24th, 8pmMore info from Network Mayo

We hope that this weblog will become a forum for both users and creators of internet content and stimulate discussion and refinement of the mendr.net working method. To start, let’s look at the six principles as they stand:

1. Gather the Best Content
2. Your Data is Their Data
3. Sweat the Small Stuff
4. Smart Design is Vital
5. Be Open and Authentic
6. Show High Expectation and Warm Regard for Your Users

In coming weeks we will look at each of these in turn.

Join the discussion: Subscribe and comment via mendr.net/weblog

Flickr Image by Joe Shlabotnik