Skype hype

From the New York May issue: Facebook, Twitter and iPhone apps, move over. Skype is now infiltrating the city’s brokerage world, transforming the way agents reach clients — and vice versa.

“It’s hysterical because you’re at home in your pajamas and it’s like, ‘ping!'” said Daniela Sassoun, a vice president of the Corcoran Group, of Skype’s trademark alert that lets you know when someone wants to start a video chat. “That’s the thing about teleconferencing: You have to be dressed up from the waist, at least.”

Potential sartorial pratfalls aside, Sassoun and other brokers say the program, which allows you to make free video calls over the Internet, has helped business. “Phone calls [to foreign clients] end up being really expensive because, literally, you can end up spending two hours on the phone with somebody,” Sassoun said. [more]