Personal Video Services -- A Lifeline for the Deaf Community

"Personal video services" -- especially IP video calling solutions like SightSpeed -- can provide a critical lifeline and communications/interactive tool for the deaf community. What most of us take for granted -- e.g., a simple phone call to our loved ones, or ordering a pizza by phone for home delivery -- can be an ordeal for those who are hearing impaired. But, video calling can change all that and empower users, especially with video relay services who "translate" sign language and help bridge communications. According to the Wikipedia, 500,000 to 2,000,000 people in the U.S. alone communicate via "American Sign Language" or "ASL" (which is the dominant sign language of the deaf community in the U.S.).

Some of the most gratifying parts of being the CEO of SightSpeed are the personal stories of those -- including many who are hearing impaired -- who depend upon SightSpeed to keep them connected to others, including loved ones. High quality is essential for those who use ASL to communicate -- you can imagine that 30 frame per second quality with no latency is essential for effective communication when signing. SightSpeed is uniquely positioned to serve the deaf community due to its ongoing commitment to this kind of quality -- quality which, according to PC Magazine and essentially all other reviewers, no other free consumer-based IP video calling service comes close to matching.

Another interesting thing happened recently when SightSpeed launched its new interactive online video community called Vlip at http://www.vlip.com/ -- we noticed that several of our early users were recording messages in ASL.

For more vlips, visit www.vlip.com

As part of our continuing commitment to the deaf community, we have added a new "ASL" category to foster outreach and interaction among those who communicate by signing. Check it out and spread the word.

Our goal is to make Vlip the easiest to use and most fun and interactive online video community.