My favorite way of connecting with family and friends is email and Facebook. Although seen impersonal by some/many, the timezone difference between me in the West Coast and most everyone else on the East Coast, makes electronic communication a solution for me. I prefer face to face communications, but I have come to enjoy the richness of words and pictures to connect.
If an important issue arises, short of a quick flight east, a phone call or text message to connect for a phone is a must.