8/8/2019 Four Modern Communication Tools for Immigrants

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Modernommunicationoolsfor lmmigrantsJmmigrants often feel as f theyarestrangersI in a strangeand. ndeed, eavingbehindyourIhomeland andyour family is no easy ask.Butimmigrationdoesnot mean hatyou would never alk tothem again thanks o technology, ommunicatingwithyour family canbe oneeasyclick away.

SocialNetworking SitesIf you have nternetconnection, ocial-networkingsitescanbe great ools.Facebook www.facebook .com)israsitewhereanyonecansignup free.Onceyou oin,you will be able o link not only with family and riends,but alsoyour former community.Anotheroption s tojoin groupswho share our cultural nterests, r createa group for the family by invitation only.you can alsosetyour proflle to be viewedonly by your contacts, ndthencustomizet with personalnformation.Uploadphotosof your work place,or createan event eminderfor up0omingbirthdaysandcelebrations. ou canevenshare ideoclipsofyour daughter,s raduation r photosof Canadawith your family back n thehomecountry.Another nteresting eatureis theability for you to writeregularstatusupdates uchas "l passedmy citizenshiptest" and Justgot backfrom work".MySpace(www. myspace.com)sanetworkingsitewith similarfunctions ike photoandmusicsharing.Thedifferences re slim betweenthe two - Facebookocusesmoreon buildingconnectionsandhasa wide varietyofapplications uchas games,while MySpace lacesemphasis n self-expressionthroughcreativeuseofonlinemedia.54

by Lin WangInstant MessagingDo you imagine alking to your family back homedir,mntlyhrough the computer?While time differencesommet n theway, nstantmessagings an incredibles,KPgr-,tence.MSN Messenger www.msn.com/)s the mostpopular ool used or talking live. ..It's free," commentsCherieCheong,a teenwho immigratedherewhen shewasa child. "Nowadaysalmosteveryonehasacomputorand an MSN account my family is hundredof kilorneters way,but they seemso close,and t,s sooosyto keep n touch."rrirr,.'ir8t, you would have o createan accountanddownload he messengeroftware.Then,addyourfamily to the contact ist.As long asyou go onlineat thesame ime asyour family, you will be able o talk, sharefiles,or evenplay a gameof chess. f you want to makethemostof this experience, et a camera, setofspeakers nda headset.Thiswill allow vo u to actuallyseeyour family andhear heirvoices. ftherearemore han wo or morecontacts nline,you canevenhavea sharedconversation nd alk tothemall in the samechatwindow.

Of course, omeof youmay prefer not to botherwith downloads. f you arelooking for a simplermessagingool, try GoogleChat,providedby Gmail(www.gmail.com). s longasyou and your family areboth loggedonto Gmail,you canchatwith eachother hroughanywebbrowser. hi s function svery handyandeasy o useCanadian I{ewcomer Magazine- May/June2009

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Photo & Video SharingWould you like to sharephotosof your new carwith the family? What abouta video our of youra$artment? very momentof living in a foreignCo+ntrys quiteexciting,so do not hesitate o capturethe experience.Then, share he photosand videos online throughFlickr (www.flickr.com), often describedby usersas the"S.pb"tt onlinephoto-sharing pplicationn thewholefiisiid." This applicationallowsyou to uploaddihotosand videos from your desktop, hrough email orwen usingyour camera hone. t also etsyou edit themto your heart'scontent!Whenyou are done.organiz,ehem into setsof similar themesand sharethem with your family. They can do the sameandinform you of the changes ackhome.Lastbut notleast,Flickr is offered n multiple languagesangingfrom Mandarin,Dutch and French o Italian,Portugueseand Spanish.Sign up free n whatever anguage ou arecomfortablewith using.Again, Googleoffers ts own versionof photosharing hroughPicasaweb albums.You have heoption of downloading he software o organize ourphotoson computeror to uploadphotosdirectly.Youtube www.youtube.com)oo offersusers he abilityto uploadvideos,or evenstartyour ownchannelof broadcasts.Websites& BlogsW-ebswww.webs.com) ffers reeweb hostingunder ts domainname.You can createa personalizedpagewi,thanythingyou will everwant to sharewithyour ftmily. Thereare more han 300 emplates ffered,along,With ageeditors.Photoand video sharingfufltctirbnsre also available, hough not as advancedaso#sidreatedsolely or thosepurposes. ou can evenqtbatea,'oring" o connectwith your family,or add hemtb yhur mailing list. A function of interest o familiest*yifig to stay n contact s the personal orum. You andyour family can create hreads,and thus sharediscussions ithout anyworry over ime difference.Ask about heir healthandpostany excitingnewsyoumay have.A simplerversionof web-creatings the PageCreator,offeredby Google.Blogs arealsogainingpopularityacross he web.Userscanpostannouncementsnd writing alongwithvideosandpictureson the blog. Set he blog status oprivate,give each amily memberan accountandyouwill be able o network.Blogger(www.blogger.com)and Wordpress www.wordpress.com) oth host hemfree, and heir functionsare similar.Whetheryou are ust preparing o leaveyour homecountry or you are a landed mmigrant, there are waysfor you to stay connectedwith your family and oots.Distanceshouldno longerbe an obstacle or immigrantfamilies rying to maintaincontact. GnnCanadian {ewcomerMagazine May/June 009

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