9 ways to stay in touch

Showing off what a great time you’re having—isn’t that at least half the fun of a vacation? Here are nine fun ways to impress your friends and keep in touch while you're on the go.

Sending a photo email with Windows Live Mail is as simple as sending a regular email. And your friends won't get a bunch of bulky attachments. Instead, they'll see a slick, full-screen slide show that's automatically created on Microsoft SkyDrive.

Speaking of SkyDrive, it's a handy place to store your vacation photos and videos. Throw them up there and get to them from anywhere you're online. Want to keep them private? You decide what your friends can see and what's only for you.

Catching up with a friend on Messenger? Drop a few photos into the conversation and they can see them right away. Just drag a photo to the Messenger window, or click Share, and then choose Photos from your computer.

Want to go for a more high-gloss, Hollywood approach, with titles, transitions, and music? Do it in minutes with Windows Movie Maker (another free download), and share it anyway you want, including on Facebook.

Learn more about creating video cards.

And if you're using Messenger, you can make your status appear on Facebook, too. Click add in the lower right corner of the Messenger window, and—voilà!—you're connected to Facebook. And once you connect, you can also share photos with your Facebook friends via Messenger.

Perhaps a blog is the right venue to share your vacation exploits. Download Windows Live Writer for free, which allows you to write beautifully formatted entries that you can upload later.

But maybe photos and videos aren't enough. Maybe your friend needs to experience you having a good time. If you're both online with webcams and Messenger, start a video chat right away and wave that drink in your friend's face.