Monday reading

Business

Skype's 2008Q4 contribution falls from Q3, but still profitable. (Jean Mercier)

20% off the Emerging Communications Conference with 'skypejournal' discount code. See you at the SFO Marriott this week.

UK's O2 and Orange oppose Nokia+Skype phones, T-Mobile support them, and Vodafone hasn't said. "if you spend upwards of £40m per year building your brand, you don’t want to be just a dumb pipe do you?" Sounds like hard bargaining to me. (P.S. Wishing/Branding you're not a dumb pipe doesn't make it so.)  (Mobile Today)

AIM for iPhone comes out. AIM Free is ad supported. AIM Paid is... price TBD. Now supporting multiple accounts and free SMS to people in your iPhone contact list. (Ars Technica)

Community in action

Eurojust retracts news release attacking Skype. "NOTE: This is an update of the press release issued on Friday 20 February 2009. Some of the information in this press release was issued prematurely and is therefore incorrect, as there is not yet an official case reported to Eurojust." If only the Sopranos or The Wire were still running. (Government Technology) SJ:Eurojust coordinating anti-Skype project; SJ:Evildoers trust Skype encryption, Cops seek more power

DataPortability.org calls for volunteers to fill a steering committee vacancy. One conference call per week until elections. [disclosure: I'm on the steering committee.]

Twitter Friends and the Influence of Influentials in Word of Mouth Marketing. On research performed by the HP Social Media Lab and explained by BT's JP Rangaswami. (Skillful Minds). Attention to statistics describing social conversation behavior can improve the choice of features in software like Skype.

Future visions

Theme for Supernova 2009 is "Change Networks." Think innovation/value networks but looking at how change propagates. December 1-3 in San Francisco.

Microsoft Office Labs vision 2019. Utopian vision, clutter-free, ten years' out, all feasible, if only for the wealthy. Videos and screenshots. (istartedsomething)

Marriage beginnings and endings

Father (Poland) gives daughter (Texas) away at wedding over Skype. (Killeen Daily Herald)

Ex-Wife Haunts House over Skype. (Ask Bossy column)