GREAT 65 IDEA: Use Skype for Business

After interviewing Kawasaki and Smith, I was ready to build customized social networking pages to promote this book. Since I am not a tech-head or a designer, I contacted Brian Hanson, an Indiana-based Web designer who has several companies, including www.customtwit.com.

Although I spoke with him once on the phone, he prefers to work with clients via Skype. I was a bit skeptical. I love Skype and use it to chat with my kids and friends, but I was puzzled about how we would use it to design my customized Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.com pages.

“I find Skype much easier and personal than e-mail,” said Hanson. “It lets me communicate directly with clients in real time.”

Working with Hanson on Skype was a great experience. We set a time to “meet” on Skype. Before the session, he asked me to have all my photos, logos, and book images ready to upload. I also gave him the password to my accounts so he could access the pages.

Via the chat function, Hanson told me when to use the “share” function to upload the next image or photo. A total pro, he works very fast. Within a few minutes, he sent me a link to my new Facebook fan page.

Every time he added or changed something on the page, he instructed me to refresh my browser so I could see what he was doing. If I wanted something changed, I just sent him a note.

The pages came together quickly. It took about four hours over two sessions. I paid him $208, about $50 an hour, for three very cool pages. My only challenge was learning “Web-speak.” Now I know k means okay and LOL means laugh out loud.

Hanson totally rocked the design process. He's been designing sites for his own business, including www.nationwideclassifieds.com, for about 17 years. In recent years, he's created custom social media pages and Word Press sites for about 50 clients, including Facebook expert Mari Smith.

Working with Hanson proved to me that Skype is a viable tool for collaborative work. I will definitely use it for other projects. Obviously, lots of people are using Skype 24/7. In fact, while we were working online, there were 23 million people using Skype.

Right after he finished my three customized pages and sent over the files, he shared this poem:

“Skype, Skype, the wonderful tool, the more you use it, the more you drool.”