Much has changed about the way we communicate, and people who have family and friends located halfway across the world are no longer limited to talking over the telephone. There are a plethora of methods that one can utilize to engage in conversation nowadays, and speaking to a colleague who has taken a business trip to Hong Kong can be reached via cell phone, a text message, or even an instant messaging program.

Among one of the most popular ways to communicate with others is the cell phone, which has made significant changes since its first inception in the 1990's. The first cell phones were big, clunky, and awkward, and its only function was to make and receive phone calls and possibly store contacts. Nowadays, a basic cell phone can be used not only to make and receive phone calls but for text messaging and for accessing the internet as well. Some of the top-of-the-line models boast many features, including walkie talkie capabilities and using third-party applications that are downloaded onto the phone for entertainment, productivity, research, and even keeping track of expenses.

The telephone is still a very useful way of communicating with others, although it might not be as popular because there are other methods. Even landline telephones are getting a facelift as companies are finding new features to implement into the common device. Companies are already including a webcam-type of camera with a small screen, which will allow you to speak directly to the person on the other line and see them, too. In a few years, it will be interesting to see what else will be available on the landline telephone.

With the computer, there are many ways one can communicate with family, friends, colleagues, and even complete strangers. There are social networking sites, which allow the user to make a profile, find friends and family, and add them to their "friends list". Pictures, interests, and goings-on in a person's life can be posted on the profile for anyone or for friends and family only to see. Chat forums and online video games allow the user/player to communicate and engage in discussion or play with strangers from any part of the world. Although there are many new ways of keeping up with events in others' lives, chatting through instant messaging programs are still a popular way of communicating. It is, quite simply, short, sweet, and very effective.

It is amazing to see what technology and various digital peripherals can offer to people, and it can only be predicted, at this point, that the ways in which we communicate will only improve in the future.

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