Since joining b5media, I have discovered the benefits of Skype - something I wasn't able to appreciate given I was using an eight-year-old Mac at my last job. While the call quality can be spotty from time to time, it's a great tool, especially for cost-conscious start-ups. I wonder, however, when SkypeIn will become available in Canada? I suspect there are probably issues with e911 preventing SkypeIn from being launched north of the 49th parallel but it seems odd to be missing out on the party.

Disclaimer: I don't understand the virtual world phenomena. Living in the real world with all its ups and downs is a full-time job. Still, millions of people are - for whatever reason - spending time living in virtual worlds such as Second Life. If that isn't weird enough, they're spending real-world dollars to dress their virtual selves, pimp their cars and buy real estate. Never ones to miss out on a marketing opportunity, a growing number of companies are establishing virtual ventures - Toyota's Scion being one of the more prominent. So does it surprise anyone that Reuters will start publishing text, photos and video on Second Life?  Reuters also said its reporters will wrote financial and cultural stories about Second Life. "In 'Second Life,' we're making Reuters part of a new generation," Reuters CEO Tom Glocer said in a statement. "We're playing an active role in this community by bringing the outside world into 'Second Life' and vice versa." Granted, there's lot of money being spent in these virtual worlds, and I suspect there will be opportunities for investors interested in buying Second Life shares (if and when they go public) but I don't get this trend (other than, perhaps, people playing fantasy games against each other online). In fact, when I think of these virtual worlds, the quote: "A Fool and his money are soon parted" quickly comes to mind.