1. Skype One of the most effective and widely used social technologies around.

2. Purpose of Skype The main purpose of Skype technology is to enable people from all around the world to communicate with each other in an easy and affordable way This technology can be used in a variety of contexts including; Personal context Business context Educational context Media Context

3. Personal Context Skype can be used to talk to family and friends from all around the world Skype can also be used to share files such as photo files with family and friends Therefore Skype can play a large role in maintaining personal relationships

4. Business Context Skype enables video conferencing so that business meetings can be conducted from a variety of locations. Skype has played a major contribution in enabling 21st century society to work towards a global economy as regional boundaries no longer pose a problem.

5. Education Context Skype enables distance education to be easy and accessible as online tutorials can be conducted via video calls Skype enables students with hearing disabilities to engage in distant education as video calls can be conducted in sign language

6. Media Context Skype can be used within the media to give the public the latest news on current events For example during the Queensland Flood Disaster Skype video calls were used by a variety of TV networks to give the public the latest information on the disaster.

7. List of References Skype. (2011). Features. Retrieved March 15th, 2011, from http://www.skype.com/intl/en/home Image retrieved March 15th 2011 from http://www.skype.com/intl/en/home