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The current crisis is forcing us all to consider how we can maintain face-to-face social contact at a time when that simply is not desirable, or even permissible. To this end we might look to video-calling  as a possible solution. Let’s look at the options – this list will undoubtedly be updated, so please check back and also add your thoughts and experiences in the Comments area below.
WhatsApp is the simplest means of keeping in contact face-to-face and works well for a one-to-one call; you can also use it for audio calls and of course chat – but you can use it for calling up to four others. Here’s how you do it. It’s available for iPhone (iOS) and Android phones and you can use it from a webapp that runs on Windows or MacOS. It’s encrypted which means that your conversations should be secure, but it is owned by Facebook so one can never tell what might happen to it, or your data, in the future. You can also use Facebook Messenger to connect to up to 50 people – but I wouldn’t go there!
If you are a Mac/iPhone/iPad user wanting to call someone who also has Apple equipment you should really just use Facetime and look no further. Here’s how to use it from mobile devices, and here from your laptop or desktop. If you want to do a Group video-call then you can – up to 32 people can be on the same call! Here’s a User Guide which is applicable if you’re using the latest versions of Apple’s MacOS – Catalina (or Mojave), and here’s one for the mobile users. You cannot use Facetime however to chat with someone who doesn’t have Apple equipment.

So we turn to Google Hangouts which has the benefit of working cross-platform (that is Apple, Windows, Linux and Android users can all use it) and can also support Group video-calling as well of up to 25 people. This is the application that on the surface of things is well suited to most group video-chat situations, and is the one I’ll be focussing on using most over the next few weeks. It has the real advantage that whilst there are dedicated apps for mobile devices, it just requires a browser and a web-address on desktop/laptops. Here’s how to get started with Google Hangouts.
There’s a Microsoft offering as well – perhaps the oldest and best known piece of video-calling software, so much so it’s been adopted as the generic term for video-calling – Skype. It’s the most obvious competitor to Hangouts as again it’s cross-platform and indeed it’s hugely scaleable as you can have up to 50 devices on a single call (how do you manage that?!) but I’m afraid I find the way of calling, the potential for charging (why and when), the connection with your phone number and account, and general way to go about using Skype just a little bit too complicated for me. One day, maybe I’ll find the time to research it more, but for the moment …
Finally, in this first pass of applications you can use for video-calls, there’s Zoom. We’ve used it and set it up for a call from a Mac to an iPad. It is cross-platform – so that’s good. It has a good reputation for person-to-person calls where it’s free but a little fiddly to setup, but I believe it won’t scale well for Group chat – as it’s principal focus is Business. I believe you’ll have to pay for that facility, so for the moment, I’m discounting it.
[Update] Since writing this I’ve been pleased to here that several U3A members have been using Zoom – I’ll be trying it out myself shortly. However there are a few things you should take notice of which are described in this article and this one. I’d suggest you take the time to read both of them and don’t think they’re not relevant because they’re from a Mac user website.
There are a couple of other articles I’ve come across just recently on setting up Zoom, and using Zoom for online meetings, and again I’d suggest that you might read them. One hint/tip that seems quite sensible – get someone else to setup the meeting/server – don’t host it yourself. Selfish but safe!
Please add comments on your use of Zoom, or any other video-calling software in the Comments below.