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Do you ever have video convos with people?

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Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
Do you ever have video convos with people? If so, do you get really nervous when you have them?

I watch my Skype contacts go on cam from time to time, but can't go on cam myself since my old webcam broke like four years ago. I'm going to get a webcam either late this year or early next year so that I can start having video convos with people on Skype and also so that I can make videos of myself to upload to YouTube. Perhaps doing this will help me reduce my social awkwardness. I just hope that I won't be too nervous to ever go on cam. Even if I am, I'll at least still have a new gadget to play with. :p
 
I've had a few, but less recently [usually just my parents now].
I quite like them when I did though. It's interesting.

The strange this is, I find a video chat to be a bit more relaxed and easier than a voice convo.

I'm never good on phones and am never quite sure what's going on or what to do, and it just reminds me of that. However, a video chat you can kind of see what's going on and the silences. are less awkward somehow. I think it's much easier to find conversation topics over video chat- just ask them what's going on around them...show them stuff....etc...until you find a topic.

It's always a bit weird at first. But I think that's talking to anyone, it just takes getting used to. Then again, most everyone I've spoken to over a webcam were people I already knew (or talked to for a while first). So maybe I'm a bit biased that way.

I think it's a good way to practice, particularly if you have social anxieties or general awkwardness. It still feels just safe enough, because you're still alone and can just X them out whenever you want to.
 
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I've always wanted to video chat with people, particularly fellow aspies, but I'm very shy with that sort of stuff. Voice convos over a phone or headset is a fear of mine. That said, I have managed to video chat about once or twice with family who are living over in America.
 
Droopy said:
I've always wanted to video chat with people, particularly fellow aspies, but I'm very shy with that sort of stuff. Voice convos over a phone or headset is a fear of mine. That said, I have managed to video chat about once or twice with family who are living over in America.
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I've a feeling it would be easier having video convos with people you know in real life than people you only know online.

A little off topic, but: What kind of webcam do you have, Droopy? You seem to be fond of high-tech gadgets. I can't see you using a built-in laptop webcam.
 
I've never done a video chat with anyone (and only one or two voice chats on Skype with my uncle a long time ago), but I'd like to give it a try sometime. Maybe if both parties agreed to keep it fairly short at first, like maybe only 2-3 minutes, it might be a little less intimidating. I like kasmanaft08's idea of doing a little "show and tell" with random nearby objects to keep things going during the lulls in the conversation.

I got my first laptop with a built-in webcam just this year, so that's still a little bit of a novelty for me. If I were a bit more serious about having video chats with people, I'd probably invest in a better one (Do you have to have a really fast internet connection to use an HD webcam?). The one on my computer will get the job done, but it's pretty low-resolution (the picture quality is fairly decent during the daytime but looks like crap at night even if I turn the lights on). I wonder if there would be some way to set up a DSLR to use as a webcam.

(UPDATE: After using my Google powers, the answer seems to be "no," at least with the kind that I have.)

It occurred to me the other day that one thing people here could do on Skype would be to help each other rehearse a little bit for job interviews and other potentially awkward situations. I don't know that I would do a great job of playing a prospective employer (and you'd probably have to give me some kind of script to work with), but I'd be open to giving that a try sometime if anyone wants to do that.
 
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Aillas said:
I've a feeling it would be easier having video convos with people you know in real life than people you only know online.
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Yeah, I also have this feeling too. My brother no longer lives with me as he moved to a different town to attend University. I am hoping to keep in touch with him via Skype, webcam and online gaming. Hopefully if I can build up my confidence speaking with family and friends then I will eventually be able to speak with people I know online.

Aillas said:
A little off topic, but: What kind of webcam do you have, Droopy? You seem to be fond of high-tech gadgets. I can't see you using a built-in laptop webcam.
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It's a Logitech Webcam Pro 9000 HD but rarely gets used at the moment.
 
I just had my first-ever video call with someone on Skype a while ago (it was also what may be my first voice conversation with another aspie [that I know of], which is kind of a novelty too). It was kind of neat. There were some connection problems, and the video quality was kind of poor, but it was still an interesting experience. Not as weird or awkward as I was worried that it would be (I did feel like I had a few issues with the general "flow" of conversation and unintentionally interrupting the other person, which is pretty standard for me, and I kept looking down at the picture of myself in the corner of the screen instead of at the other person just to see how stiff and weird I was coming across [maybe I'll do that a bit less next time; that might make me come across as a little less stiff and weird :)]). It ended up lasting about 20 minutes, which I found a little surprising. I do think it was a bit less awkward than a voice-only call would be; I think maybe when it's a video call, there's a little more of a sense of just "hanging out" for a little bit and less pressure to constantly find something to talk about.

I'd like to try voice calls with some other people here and on Spectrumville. I'll probably be up for one any time I'm at home and on my main laptop (sometimes when I'm logged into Skype, I might be away from home somewhere on my little netbook that doesn't have a webcam or microphone). I really like the idea of me and other people here having a "safe" opportunity to hone our social/conversational skills a little bit, and maybe also just generally get a little more comfortable with talking to people.
 
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I'd love to try a Google+ Hangout with some SV/AC people sometime, it seems like it's probably the best group vid chat option:

Google+ Hangouts Is the Best Free Group Video Chat We've Seen


It sounds like this would be a good way for people to just hang out together even when they're not in a very conversational mood. Also, a group vid chat might be less awkward/intimidating for some people than a one-to-one vid call; you also have the option of turning your sound off in a group vid chat and just doing text chat, which might be more comfortable for some people. And I love the idea of watching weird YouTube videos together with other people here and commenting on them.

I've been a little hesitant to start a Google + account because of the "no pseudonym" policy, but Aillas told me that you can probably get away with using one as long as it's not really obvious (so probably not "Sanjuro Kuwabatake," [a reference to the movie Yojimbo] which is my Skype pseudonym). I'll probably ask one of the people who have Google + invites to send me one soon.
 
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For the last couple of days, I've been trying to do Google+ hangouts with people without a lot of success. It's kind of hard to stay connected, the sound doesn't really work well, and the Youtube video thing doesn't work well either. Can't really tell if it's just still slightly buggy due to still being in kind of a beta phase or if it just requires a slightly faster internet connection (the time of day I usually get to chat with people is in the afternoon, which may be kind of a peak usage time for my ISP, which may not help).

Tinychat may be a better video chat option for the time being. I like doing video chats with a chatbox, it takes away a bit of the "sitting and staring at the other person" awkwardness factor during conversational lulls. Tinychat gives you the option of turning off the sound, which, as I've probably said before, may be a good way for people who are a little shy about doing video chats to ease into it a little. I would advise anyone who's interested in doing vid chats but is a little shy about them to just give it a try, it's really not that scary.

I really would like to get together with at least two other people sometime for a vid chat sometime. The more, the merrier...
 
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