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SkypeSkype launched Beta version 0.94 today with several enhancements, including language support for Spanish, Finnish, Polish and Romanian. There are also several improvements to text messaging, call-quality, network reliability, and support for USB phones. Please see our release notes for a complete list of enhancements.
Have you been wondering what the impact of Skype might be on Content Center Practice Management. Skype provide both potential opportunities and may also make short term marketing perspectives more difficult to manage.
When I bought my new IBM recently I wish I could have just Skyped with the operator. Instead I had to hold a phone, dial a number and wait. I couldn't send the URL of the page... With Skype you can reduce the cost of the calls and begin to integrate screen, IM and voice connections when received. I know I can connect immediately. Simply illustrated by the "SkypeMe" button on my website. Similarly if I miss the call then it's logged. They can call me back.
Clearly, there is no Skype "call center" capability yet, although TDavid illustrated how Various reps might be online / engaged etc with a simple system. I'd imagine a "next available" agent could work from a list that is periodically checked or notified when the agent is again free.
However a Skype strategy may lose the capability to do things like reverse address look-up, telephone number searches and providing quick demographic profiling data dependent on the callers location. Then in certain situations, a smart operator may find ways to run Google searches, Ryze checks etc. The real determinant will be... what degree of anonymity is the contact using. We'll use less if we learn we get better service. Similarly if the contact center has some "privacy" and reputation criteria, I may allow a more detailed "inquiry profile" through.
Then there is the contact center opportunity to press better profiles into the customers hand. When I get the rep on the phone "they aren't personalized" when I get one in Skype I may demand a more detailed profile in return. It helps to know who I am talking to. Humanize the connection. Enable me to rate the calls on completion etc. Now both parties are empowered to better connections.
No matter how you look at it... this can't be done with the phone. The potential for a richer contact environment is here. What's your strategy for success?
Will Skype have an enterprise play? When does it make sense to try it out? If I'm a small professional services company does it make sense to start using it? Examples. PR firms, Patent Attorneys, Systems Developers, Trade Advisors. Any firm with global alliances and a large number of international calls.
When to start? Certain businesses will depend on understanding Skype. However most IT security departments would probably suggest that I am getting ahead of myself. Skype is still in beta. However I know a few businesses that are semi-virtual and operate around the world. Some of these have VoIP services although not all. Most aren't particularly sophisticated about tech, and have either a hard time managing it or find themselves paying big bills to keep things going. Frankly Skype is less likely in in current format to create holes or crash systems than anyone of the many other "venerabilities" they are likely to have.
Consider Costs: For many small businesses upgrading their phone exchanges is an expensive business. For the more international practices communication costs are a key budget item. It is one the company doesn't like to think about. It is a cost of doing business. However, substantial reductions in cost and wasted time in terms of telephone tag suggest it may be an effective solution.
Simple maths. At $20 per person this represents at 20cents per call it represents 100 calls with a duration of 10 minutes. At 1 dollar per call it is less than 20. Call India and the payback is probably one call.
Is there a Trial Solution? However there's a simple solution you can create and populate immediately. Here's my 50 person dispersed office solution for today! We know Skype will come out with a corporate solution eventually. Give every employee Skype now. In the fifty person firm your investment will be about $1000 for the headsets assuming the computing equipment is less than three years old and are not a Mac shop. There are a few other pieces you need dependent on equipment available. The question is... what's the payout period?
Short-term using two computers side by side you open accounts for everyone. Create a name that matches the e-mail name before the @. You create one master directory account for the company where you authorize all the accounts you just set up. Then when ready to go you issue the "memo" including the benefits. You may choose a couple of helpers. You send the e-mail with the download and install Skype instruction along with their log-in details and password. When installed they are to call your master directory account. You answer and using "tools" right click on their incoming call and "share all member directory contacts".... As the rest of the company gears up... each will be authorized. Time for 50 accounts? Less than 2 hours for the initial account definitions. Probably then fifteen minutes per person for their e-mail response. With a little help from some helpers... all done in a day.
Benefits:
Make sure to have your employees go through the "File" - "Options" with you. Complete their profiles, make sure they tick the "privacy" settings!
A Private Intercom: Now you have a private corporate Intercom system. From a security standpoint it is better than the current telephone systems. The IM function currently doesn't allow send files. So unless I'm told otherwise the risk looks to be close to "zero" here.
I'd expect in time employees will add some other "buddies" at the moment you can't monitor this. The employee instruction is they are to treat Skype like an additional phone on their desk. Thus they can't turn it off, just like they wouldn't think of pulling the cord out of the wall.
So in the future what with the small to medium enterprise version provide?
Willing to test? For companies in the useability and design industry I'd see this as a simple trial. I'm looking for a fifty person test! I'll help you put the case! I'd like to get the statistics one month later on the savings! Plus run a small survey. Any takers?
Here's a small request for my readers at SKYPE. What I want is a version of the client that enables me to start playing with Next Generation CallerID. It's not a big ask.
It goes like this. Next Gen Caller ID is where Skypephony really takes off. It's the point that enables all sorts of new social capital exchanges to happen. Similarly it enables the market for smart directories and other anonymous matching services. It's will also mandatory if we are to solve longer term "Caller Spam". Skype must enable smarter connections, Skype can't manage or even foresee all the filters we might each personally want. While companies and enterprises will have other requirements. So this says create the market. Facilitate the growth of next generation Caller ID services.
For all purposes the traditional phone is limited to dumb or obvious connections. Augmented directories and friends of friends will enable a telephone system to revolve around social connectivity rather than electronic switches. Connections we want will lead to higher call rates and increase usage. More calls make Skype more valuable. Making the desktop part of the phone/communication management solution further changes the phone paradigm. It will also create other new products I'm not even going to speculate on here.
So? What do I want? Skype should provide the client with the capability to turn on or off a Caller ID plug-in capability. Plug-ins may only work with premium versions. When activated my super Caller ID will be able to handle incoming call detection, putting it on hold, or post check... enabling it to resume and connect. It may link to various profiling services. They will be specified by me. It means I'll get a lot more than just a phone number when you call. It also means... those ID providers that fail me will simply lose my business.
Do this right and it pays. There's a positive business model here. When can I have it? Thanks Skype?
Now while I believe that communication management is a good thing. I'm not sure that a Skype plug-in is the only solution here. I'd appreciate any info on how to sniff out incoming callers, ID them and potentially relate them to other databases or information requests. Seems I ought to be able to do this on my desktop!
There's a place in the Skype forums for stories. For me even one story a week would make Skyping worthwhile. My latest --- I said I was going to Skype with Matt Mower and yesterday we did for over an hour. Think it was 1:00am in England when we finished. Still it was a neat call, and it covered more than just K-Collector.
A good story has a twist or an unexpected connection. That what calling other SkypeBloggers provides. It's so often the unintended consequences of ones actions that are likely to pay the biggest dividends. Matt and I brokered a Marc Canter / K-Collector intro, a Phil Wolff Skype link in to something that potentially means much more than just reading another blog. On the K-Collector front, I'm keen to see his MT solution. Matt describes their Real-Time KM solution that will further accelerate conversations and learning. Matt used a phrase in our conversation "Bubbles to the Surface", it one we used in KCI many years ago round the Knowledge Capital Engine, an approach to spiraling value creation. Great ideas just bubble up just like a great champagne. Good conversations flow like Champagne.
It's no mystery. Putting a real voice to a blog makes it much more personal, the words more important.
While exchanging names he also mentioned Martin Hall, well known for his Systemic Values approach. Just happens that when I meet with Charles Savage - in the Bay Area later this week that he too is hoping to meet with Martin. As you can see from Martin's post, values analysis just provide another twist on how K-Collector may be stretched and I learn that he's been connecting with Terry Frazier too. Without Skype I would have missed all this.
With this little twist (thanks Matt) Martin and I now just need to complete this new Skype connection. I'm sure we will tomorrow. Now that's what is neat about the combination of blogs and Skype. There's a lot more exchanging taking place. Take K-Collector and create power topics, get Skype to give us Conferencing capability and that may just rachet up another notch. Blogging alone was merely publishing. SkypeBlogging is more about networking and accelerating ideas. That certainly suits me just fine.
How big is Skype Country? How quickly are the settlers moving in? It is time to start thinking about Skypers like we think about country statistics. Already it is a group too small to ignore. As we approach 2 million downloads and 120000 Skypers online we are looking at an interesting group of people.
Let's introduce some numbers from the 2001 New Zealand Census. At that time they had 1.24 million housholds with access to a phone and 482K with access to the internet. It's a real country. Is Skype already bigger?
In Skype Country everyone has Internet even if only 50% completed the install and began using it. We are still approaching ONE MILLION SKYPEPHONES.
Statistics like these raise more questions than answers. I'm still not sure how Skype counts entries into the cloud (or exits). So let's just stick with the idea that Skype Country is a very habitable place, rapidy growing.
I'd also spend a moment to think about how people are spending their time in Skype country. Some are working hard, using Skype as a new work tool. Others are using it for more personal connections. In the end... Skypers are likely to be spending more time in front of their computers, away from traditional phones and possibly more away from the TV.
That means there are marketing implications for Skype Country. Take a tour, immigrate, see what you think. Some early settlers are already putting down stakes and claims.
Perspective Note:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) publishes an annual report which gives an overview of telephone usage in the United States. The most recent data were for 1997. Since US local calls are unmetered, the call cost being included in a flat-rate monthly tariff, the FCC gave an estimate that 2,683 billion local dial equipment minutes were used in 1997. This was based on a complete two week measurement of all local, intrastate and interstate phone traffic which the FCC requires every telephone service provider in the US to perform each year. When this two-week data set is expanded to a full year, the FCC considers the yearly figure to be accurate to within 10%. Because dial equipment minute data counts double for each phone call minute, and because it also includes the dialing and ring time, the FCC advises that it should be divided by 2.07 in order to convert it to phone call minutes. On this basis, 2,683 billion dial equipment minutes equates to 1,296 billion phone minutes or 20.3 minutes per day of local phone calls per local loop. Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications - Features
The articles on Skype keep rolling in. This one from Slate illustrates the impact that disruptive technologies have on incumbents. It's better late than never.
In the less than two months it's been available, 1.6 million people have downloaded the software, setting a world record for this kind of thing. As a crude measure of buzz, after six weeks of life the word "Skype" generates more than 2.8 million pages on Google. As a point of comparison "KaZaA," which is Skype's progenitor (the two Swedes who invented KaZaA invented Skype), appears nearly 4.4 million times. You Can Hear Verizon Now - But can you hear it later? By David S. Bennahum
Yes Skype is on a roll and yet how many Bloggers on Skype are there? What is a SkypeRoll when you are tired with BlogRolls (See Jim's Comment) and want to start a new collection? How might SkypeRolls be used? What's the benefit of creating a Skype enabled posting and sending it out through an RSS feed? I think there's an angle for Classified Ads, and similar personals.
First what have I done? I've started an experiment. It's prototyping in its crudest fashion. I'm not a programmer and don't really want to be. First I created a SkypeRoll.
SkypeRoll borrows from the smart thinking behind using an MT Blog as a BlogRoll. I've just modified the fields to capture:
Bloggers on Skype
Uses the above information to read the RSS feed and thus capture the latest post in from the Skypers blog(when rebuilt). Note if you are in Bloggers on Skype you can enter your name and search for your page.
Note it is equally simple to enable a SkypePeople. The first thing that new Skypers want is a buddy to talk to. It could take a number of forms and similarly be enabled by RSS feeds. Thus you could subscribe to categories that you are interested in. Later this could evolve. Eg I'd like to talk to someone about taking a trip to NZ... (You may just find a friendly bed n breakfast Skyper down under answering it.)
I've used Mt's OtherBlog Plug-in to import the latest "Bloggers on Skype" entries onto this blog.
Want to Join Up? Join here! Similarly if you want all the Skype Links they are here. This isn't the world's best method for registering people. What it needs is a log-on system so individuals can register and then confirm without human intervention. So I thoughts or RECOMMENDATIONS PLEASE. What platform might enable this quickly?
I hope you are not thinking just another blogroll. There are reasons this could be both a good and bad idea. For me this represents a prototype to demonstrate the potential for a rapid broadcasting system (with categories) of individuals looking for conversation with possibly short lifespans for the connection. A CraigList on vocal steriods, a Match that is more synchonouse. Then approaching it another way could provide a notification system for new company leads in conjunction with both matching and profiling services.
There are also some issues that I'm sure many of us are aware of. From Spam Calls to the need for mulitiple profiles and callerID type programs. Is it person to person or person to business? Etc. I'd like your views. What's good? What needs to be solved? Where might it go?
I've been recognized for evangelism!
The need to evangelize Skype to use it, also helped the products success. Also, blogs like Unbound Spiral kept the meme alive and kept pumping new information about the product. Design Media:
I'm both pleased and concerned. I'm passionate about the changes that are emerging and frustrated I'm the "free" evangelist referred to below.
Evangelists are needed during the design phase to put in killer features and test their "wow factor". Currently, the features the alpha users like are become more important to the success of the product. Some of the alpha users, if impressed, may turn into a free evangelist for the product. Design Media:
The 'Wow factor' and a products success: All products need a "Wow factor" to grab the attention of the target audience. Usability comes at a later stage, but the wow factor is what gets the user to try the product. It might be a new look, a new use or a new feature. What is important about the wow factor is that it should be completely 'new' to the user, nothing similar to any other product. Design Media:So what should my Skype and broader personal strategy be??? What do you recommend I do?
Danah Boyd asks a few questions that Stuart Henshall answers with verve. My own answers to Danah...
Danah: I’d really like to understand the excitement of social software enthusiasts. What is it about Skype that motivates you?
- Skype engages people who believe their ears more than their eyes. Give Skype to someone in the music business. Or to a dyslexic or someone with ADD. Or to someone who listens to sports or talk radio. This is their linear, visually simple medium. Things should fit people.
- My Skype addressbook is local. It's unmediated by a third party (unlike my AOL buddy list) and lives on the edge of the cloud, not on a server. This means my addressbook is private. It also means that software/network extensions to my addressbook can scale well and be diverse. My contacts are mine.
- I can call anonymously. Just log out as me, log in as Mary Had A Little Lamb, and call someone. Then log out and never use that ID again. Unless they recognize my voice, I'm safe. Anonymity (or at least pseudonymity) is vital in larger communities. This assures that 911 calls are made. That whistleblowers reveal secrets. That journalists get tips. Anonymity enables individuality and civility.
- Skype recognizes the social importance of privacy. Not only is my data kept locally, I control my profile, I control who can see when I'm available, and my conversations are encrypted from my headset to yours. IM, especially at work, is often monitored; phone calls less so. Skype creates a more trusted room in which to talk. Privacy leads to stronger community.
- Skype moments are exposed by the software. Those user moments are your impulses to use yellow pages, white pages, caller-ID, call waiting, and file sharing. Those moments can be perceived and aided by programmers. So you will shortly be able to leverage your existing online social networks to find a relevant stranger to call, to populate your address book, to see a thorough profile of the stranger calling you (including whom you know in common), to have a side chat explaining the purpose of the call, perhaps to charge the caller for your time, or to securely share that song you're teaching them to sing over the phone. Skype informs phone calls with everything we've learned about software and the web.
- Skype makes calls more like SMS and IM and less like One Ringy-Dingy, Two Ringy-Dingy. Multimodal, contextual, and soon with time shifting.
In short, Skype promises to bring everything I love about my TiVo to my phone.
Danah: Do you think that its popularity will be limited to specific communities?
No, but some communities will come first.
- Early adopters will be computer users. Millions of us.
- As people buy smarter phones and POTS-to-Skypenet gateways arise, everyone who has a mobile will use Skype-powered services.
If Skype was just the conversation triggered by your connection in your online community, that would be nice.
But it's more.
Skype's address book and phone logs can inform community. How about if people I Skype show up higher in my friends list, or get promoted from my fans list? What if recent frequent callers in my work-related address book show up in my intranet blog's Skyperoll?
I'll always take tacit data from user behavior over expressed content when understanding social networks. For the first time, my telephony behavior becomes useful as a sociocultural informant.
Danah: My skepticism increased dramatically when i read that Skype thinks it’s better than IM clients "Because it works!" What on earth does that mean?
It works as promised. Ummm, that's novel. Exceptional, even. Especially considering that it works over dialup, with encryption, on pretty average machines. Lots of geek cred under the hood to instantly replace hundreds of billions of dollars in telephony infrastructure with a 3 minute download, a headset, and an Internet connection.
From an industrial engineering and user experience view, they slashed the distance from thinking about calling someone to talking with that person. Skype cuts the number of tasks, clicks, typing, memorization and thinking that lead to the call. If both parties have Skype, you can even Skype me in one click.
Skype also helps with discovery. Can you imagine looking for books if Amazon only took ISBN codes? Skype's lookup works well when the other party is online. And this will only get better.
About IM, when you're talking to someone, Skype lets you IM them using its own chat client. A personal backchannel, great for passing urls back and forth.
Assuming you're running Windows, please try it. Get the feel for it. Skype me or look up someone in a far away city and just ring a stranger to say "hello, how's the weather?"
Jeff Pulver blogs the Skype story. His view of Skype appears softer less bullish than mine. The overall post focused on the technology, and the length of time "similar" VoIP has been around. However, strip away the extra verbage and this (my bold) is what he says...
Skype provides a freely available product that well, just works. And this is a breakthrough and is a significant step forward in the evolution of consumer VoIP services.The Skype team has proven to me that there are millions of people who don't mind using their PCs as a platform to communication. Until now this was an open question in my mind.
One should thank the Skype team for an application which is helping to introduce a new generation of people to the killer app of the Internet...Voice.
As Skype continues to evolve as an internet application, it will be real interesting to watch how extensions to Skype based presence starts to evolve and the kinds of additional connectivity which becomes available as a result of the advent of Skype.
. [The Jeff Pulver Blog]
Interesting how one well designed user experience can shift a whole paradigm of thinking. Skype is moving voice management to the fringe or edge of the network and beginning the integration with your desktop. If you read this blog and I've not convinced you yet to SkypeMe! (except for old computers etc.) then I should be ashamed of my persuasive powers.
If you run a small virtual business... start using Skype as an "intercom". You can bet the Skype guys do. If you run up international phone calls it makes sense in minutes. My capability and access for collaborating globally has increased n-fold since Skype. Small business put a button on your site. You might just learn something.
If you have any interest in the "desktop" and user behavior then get Skype. If you want me to run a research project for you on Skype I will. Similarly, if you are one of those doubters, or tried it but only have one or two names still on your list. Go out and get some more. And this is why. Because this is becoming my directory. It is more rewarding than my e-mail contact list. It also provides better information symetry. I'd prefer to know how to call someone and text than not call and only send e-mail. Plus with this why do I need Plaxo?
Finally, with all the talk about digital identity.... I find myself with a real name on a real system, simply because it is almost always on. Skype has a lot of real names on it. Ask yourself why is that? Then start thinking about Social Networks for Spam Control. I am!
Slashdot is having fun with Sipphone and Skype.
I found this quote lost in with the FBI.... "Having run Skype for a while now, it seems to have fairly low latency - on the order of about .4 seconds which is far better in my use, which is far better than the 1.5 - 2 seconds of many other VoIP programs I've looked at." It's not a table and isn't specific. It sounds material...
NY Times on VoIP, Skype Profile and the FBI
Slashdot
There's a much better VoIP discussion here for those that care.
MICHAEL Robertson Talks VoIP With Voxilla
Slashdot
At the moment I just use it. I'd happily pay something for some additional functionality. See earlier postings "What will you pay for Skype?" and "Skype Wants Functionality" For the first Slashdot on Skype link here.
Michael Robertson has the opinion that SIPphone will overrun Skype. I'm not so sure, and maybe it doesn't matter. What is emerging is the looming battle for putting the phone in your desktop. Plus in all of the scenarios I've read so far... the one card that is never mentioned is Video.
MR "So Skype is a nice little experiment but it will get quickly run over by SIP."
However, his comment on behaviors are more interesting. That is where the real value added opportunities are. Controlling our communications from our computers. As many note. The number is not important. What can the profile tell me? The real opportunities are cast in simple language below. There is lots more we could do and will see.
Micheal Robertson - more:
So I would love to see, from my computer, who's on the phone. I want to see that it's so-and-so who lives in such-and-such country. I would love my instant messenger to pop up and for me to be able to say: 'I'm in a meeting right now, send that guy to voice mail.' I'm not going to be able to do that from the phone handset. I need to be able to do that from some interactive, instant messaging type program. It would be great if I could see someone's name, click 'voice mail' and it would send the message on to voice mail.
.....
You're going to see a lot of things where there are intersections between the phone, instant messaging and email.
.........
They want to go cordless. They don't want to be tethered. And we're working on that. We'll have a cheap adaptor that we'll sell that will allow you to go to Walmart, buy a cordless phone, plug it in and use that as your SIPPPhone. That'll be before the end of the year at about the same price point. So they want cordless. They want conferencing. They want to be able to conference two or three, primarily offices. That's another big feature request that we get.
Nothing really new on Skype from the New York Times today. While on other fronts Ecademy was first to announce their Skype Club. This won't be the first. You can continue to track Skype Bloggers on Feedster
To Whom May I Direct Your Free Call?IN a recent report on the telecommunications industry, Daiwa Securities wrote that Skype "is something to be scared of, and is probably set to become the biggest story of the year'' in the telecom sector. "We think the Skype offering (and whatever may follow it) is akin to a giant meteor hurtling on a collision course toward Earth," the report said.
Flashtalk is a new "talking instead of typing" application. It's not Skype and potentially aimed at a different market. I've already discarded it unless someone gives me a real good reason to continue.
Quickly compared to Skype it doesn't offer a text chat function, is less intuitive and is a little too e-mail centric re adding friends for my liking. I managed one call using their "Find a Friend" function. The voice quality was less than I've experienced on Skype. On the plus side add more search capabilities and the dating sites will have to change their execution. It demonstrates how this would work. There can't be many on it for I'm still waiting to be connected to another friend.
A person identifying themselves as Stuart Henshall is using an amazing new communications product called FlashTalk, that lets people speak to each other over the Internet, without any per minute or per call cost, much like instant messaging but without any typing.
Stuart Henshall has defined this email address (xxxxxx ) as their primary email address when using FlashTalk, which allows people within the FlashTalk network to contact Stuart using this email address.
Don't ask Skype to add "stuart is typing" in the text window anytime soon. While all major IM's have this it isn't clear for how long. Seeing it is a big boys game Has Skype already filed their patents on IC (Instant Communicator)? Yet how enforceable will they be?
Microsoft has won a patent for an instant messaging feature that notifies users when the person they are communicating with is typing a message.The patent encompasses a feature that's not only on Microsoft's IM products but also on those of its rivals America Online and Yahoo. The patent was granted on Tuesday.
Patent No. 6,631,412 could serve as a weapon in Microsoft's battle for IM market share. Microsoft is investing heavily in IM as a springboard for selling communication software to businesses. News: Microsoft pockets an IM patent
Dina's comments on What Would You Pay For Skype? meant I caught this newsflash on Indian ISP's and VoIP. May not impact on Skype the same way. Just another way for the incumbents to drive users away. First close chatrooms, second block access, and then refuse to interconnect with programs like Trillian.
In a related development, a large section of domestic (Indian) ISPs have decided to crack down on Internet portals such as MSN and Yahoo!, which offer voice chat facilities on their websites. According to ISPAI secretary Amitabh Singhal, "From a strictly legal point of view, if these portals do not have ISP licences, they cannot offer voice calls over the Internet.Either they should get an ISP licence or get into tie-ups with an ISP that has a licence for offering Internet telephony services. Therefore, there is now a move within the ISP community to bring these portals into the revenue share loop as well." Net2Phone may share revenue with local ISPs - The Economic Times
How do you Skype in a teaching or mentoring mode and enhance the experience? I had just that experience today when introduced to Glance a simple service for instantly showing a live view of your PC screen to anyone you choose.
I began by introducing Skype functions from sending contacts to sharing further links though text IM. Then Charles began sharing with me exactly what he was seeing on his screen after we both logged into Glance. All of a sudden I could see exactly what he was looking at on his computer. If I had been the instructor it would have been perfect for sharing a presentation or opening a document and pointing to specific points while we talked. I know you can synch what you are looking at in Groove. However, here I didn't have to install anything extra. I just keyed in the simple URL and I was looking at what he was sharing. (I then moved it to my second screen, thus retaining the flexibility to continue the chat and other searches that I was doing.)
Had I had a Glance account then there is no reason we couldn't have had instant two-way sharing.
Unfortunately Glance only offers a one day trial. That's not really long enough for me to work out how to commit to $20 to $40 per month. I could easily run one-on-one blog training etc with it. A two way application would be preferred. I'd see a neat opportunity to match this with TDavid's talkback broadcast approach. I'd keep it in mind if I was running an online class. If I got 25-40 to sign up tomorrow for a one hour class on Newsreaders at even $10 per head it could be an interesting proposition. It makes a conference Skype even more interesting.
Is it too expensive? Depends on your criteria. I'd think this is the type of additional functionality that could be enabled with either a plug-in to Skype or some enterprise version. Surfing together while speaking opens many new doors. Browser to browser is better than text box, hyperlink, open, is he looking???
The Register discloses how Skype gets though firewalls. (Matt Mower, Peter O'Kelly, Antville, and O'Reilly Developers get it too....
"Without being too technical, each Skype client is always connected to a SuperNode (any Skype client can become a SuperNode, the SuperNode is acting as a hub). SuperNodes are always on routable open IP addresses. When a call is set up the established TCP connection with the SuperNode is used to signal that a call is coming. Dependent on the firewall status of the client the data stream is set up either as UDP (if firewall allows) or in worse case as outgoing TCP which is almost always allowed. If both clients are only allowed to do outgoing TCP calls are routed through another peer."In other words you get to know there is a call for you and you make the outgoing connection to a known supernode to meet the call. Neat. The Register
The Register discloses how Skype gets though firewalls. (Matt Mower, Peter O'Kelly, Antville, and O'Reilly Developers get it too....
"Without being too technical, each Skype client is always connected to a SuperNode (any Skype client can become a SuperNode, the SuperNode is acting as a hub). SuperNodes are always on routable open IP addresses. When a call is set up the established TCP connection with the SuperNode is used to signal that a call is coming. Dependent on the firewall status of the client the data stream is set up either as UDP (if firewall allows) or in worse case as outgoing TCP which is almost always allowed. If both clients are only allowed to do outgoing TCP calls are routed through another peer."In other words you get to know there is a call for you and you make the outgoing connection to a known supernode to meet the call. Neat. The Register
What are some of the barriers Skype must overcome to tip the phone system? There are some STEEP barriers. It's by no means a home run. Skype is the most "disruptive innovation" so far targeting traditional telecom. Something like it has been on their radar for years. Like Napster and Kazaa are the worst nightmare for the RIAA --- Skype is is emerging similarly for telecommunications companies.
Why disruptive? What makes Skype so devastatingly effective? First adopt a sound system that doesn't require any backwards compatibility. No legacy. Better sound with lower cost. Just like moving from LP records to CD's. Ignore the established telecoms centralized regulated way of thinking and build it from the ground up. Ignore the centralized model of other VoIP startups and get going. Then redefine channels and access. Art Janke in a nice Darwin article asks "When will the tipping point be reached?"
Compared to music the barriers are different:
There is a barrier or investment required for using Skype that didn't exist with the launch of Napster. There was no cost of equipment to tip. You simply downloaded MP-3 files and began playing them within Napster. With the learning you may have gone out and bought a bigger disk drive, better sound card etc. However you got to do that after your first experience. By then you were already hooked.
Friends, and Initial Costs: The barrier to Skype's tipping point is higher. With free calls, that provides fun to begin, although I may need a headset and microphone ($15 - $25). Still there are no calls if you don't have friends. To really take off it will need a cost or social incentive. Recruitment isn’t for everyone. Currently the beta search function is limited. The Skype Team also won't want to clog up the P2P system with detailed profiles. Thus clip-on profiles will need to be enabled between individuals and potentially connected to Skype via Enhanced Skype Profile Exchanges. Eg I provide the database, you are a member. You can search profiles and when you are both online I will connect you. Call this the blind date call example. Thus a better socializing opportunity than the current e-mail based systems. Keen is another example of this.
The Headshift Barrier. The computer is not a phone factor. Moving people to thinking about a new program that resides on their computer as the "glue" for integrating all their phone numbers, key contact details, communication handsets, messages, etc is too complex. Simply boxes that connect Skype to real phones will help with the learning curve. Then... video will revolutionize the experience. The glue will be social before it sets.
The Landline - Broadband trade-off. Skype must move us off landlines, integrate personal phone numbers, and provide improved protection from unwanted disruptions (telemarketers). Enabling anyone anywhere to call me on Skype from a landline will enable me to cancel my home SBC account. Vonage demonstrates that in some instances your current number can be reassigned. This then means you must have a fulltime computer on at your house via a broadband connection for your number to be available! Packaging this with clear communications and instructions is not a simple job. Bundling with cable suppliers may provide an interesting option.
First Experience : Connection difficulties, poor sound, learning to make it work and inadequate equipment can make a lousy first time use. We don't know very much about failed first experinces. However, knowledgeable people that say... "tried it" forget it influence others. Similarly we have comment imposters.
The Chat Hurdle Youthful IM'ers disparage the product for poor texting capabilities without ever experiencing or understanding opportunities for voice. These text centric individuals may be the hardest to convert and could become loud critics. The upside, Skype is an underdog trying to do something different. Provide the texting solutions and keep the advertising out.
Other possible barriers: Regulatory threats. Threatening letters from your broadband providers. Badboy or spyware associations. Spam calls, breakdowns in security or privacy.
While these are generic it will be worth watching the reasons why individuals become advocates.
What might signal tipping points for certain individuals. (without being able to dial a traditional phone number)
I'm sure there are more. Sometime in the next few days I'm also going to address the enterprise opportunity.
In the meantime I find I am now a VoIP user watching a ridiculous debate. I don't use any of the traditional California VoIP provider services. I use Skype. I'm not a telephone operator, unless having multiple computers now makes me one.
Techweb California to VoIP Operators: You're RegulatedCalifornia's telecommunications division said this week that major VoIP providers, including Vonage, VoicePulse, SBC Communications, Net2Phone and Packet8, have been told to apply for telephone-operator licenses. The action is a disappointment for the VoIP companies, which had argued that they should remain unregulated because their traffic moves over the Internet.
Where does this leave me? Next thing we know... we will have to apply for the equivalent of the old TV licenses that many countries apply.
One of the things that many users hate is putting on the headset to use Skype. When will you be using a real telephone with Skype? It may not be long. I've had Skypers call me using telephone handsets. I bet it changes the experience for them. So if you are uncomfortable using a headset and losing your media player then these solutions may interest you. If you are using these already. Please leave your comments. Others will appreciate the wisdom that comes from use!
There are different ways to attach a phone to your computer. Add a phone and the computer just becomes another gateway to the phone system. I've seen these examples on the web and have a few parts on order. In some cases the cost will have to come down. However $15-25 for a headset vs $50- $75 for a phone may just make Skype a little more natural for many.
Connecting your Cordless Home Phone to Skype:Take a look at this product. A USB to RJ11 (phone jack) with innards by TigerJet
The benefits of this USB connection is the additional sound card; thus you can use the phone while your child continues to use the PC for homework or playing music. I'm waiting to try this with Skype set on automatic answer and an answerphone connected which answers on the first ring. Has anyone tried this?
Buy a USB enabled VoIP phone. If you don't have an old fax or extra cordless laying around this phone the USB phone is separate from your desktop music system. Thus the phone can ring. No need to plug in the headset which you couldn't hear ringing in the other room. Like the solution above the numerical dial pad currently means nothing with Skype. Maybe in time those "tones" will enable short code dialing to Skype friends. Simply first two or three digits. of a persons name should do it. #788 - Ring Stu...
It's not alone; See this Claris i750 review. There are many more much more expensive. Most are linked to corporate VoIP applications. See this listing and take a look at this Innovative Wireless IP Phone with Integrated Voice and Internet Network through IEEE 802.
There are other low cost solutions in the works. Similarly some bluetooth solutions with newer cellphones will enable you to answer these calls when in range. This may just be becoming a very interesting category.
If you are interested in thinking further about how to share or use Skype to dial locally or internationally it may just be closer than you think. Check out this Personal Dialing Gateway product. For example if I install it in a friendly computer in New Zealand. All my calls from any Internet gateway in the world to New Zealand and that calling area are free (of course I must have internet access.)
What do the changeable indicators in Skype mean? Away, Not Available, Do Not Disturb etc? If it says Not Available, can I still send a text message or is that rude? From observations. My buddies are using them. So what do other users think Skype changeable status indicator means?. I'd note there is some demand for providing proper advice. TDavid wrote a nice enhancement for possible later integration for bloggers running a callto tag. However this post is more to do with what do they mean and to illustrate how they may differ from the standard IM programs and behavior. They are my interpretation really from my experience. Not much of a sample. Let's hear other points of view!
The key learning is:
|
|
IM Programs |
Skype Now |
Skype Wants |
|
Offline |
Offline |
Offline |
Offline |
|
Online |
Online: You will probably find me at my desk, I’m not idle |
Online: I’ll probably hear the ring, and may or may not be able to take the call. |
Voice Mail capability and to be able to sort access by categories; eg friends, businees, family etc. |
|
Away |
I may not answer your message right away |
Best to send me a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. If I’m on the phone I may answer the text chat straight away. |
Know when a person is in a “text” is better mode. |
|
Not Available |
Not much point in sending me a chat message right now. Unlikely to get a quick response. |
Unlikely to get any quick response to either a call or chat message. If you ring and I see the log I will probably call you back. May be tomorrow. Can leave a text message. Probably sleeping. |
Automatically to Voicemail. Possibly with call back times capability. I’m probably away from the base station.. |
|
Do Not Disturb |
Not sure why I’m logged on…. Don’t disturb. |
Prefer no interruptions, |
No chat or calls. Everything to my message / log center for later. |
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Invisible |
Available: On IM it means you can have secret long chats with someone without the whole world knowing. |
Available. Hiding? All calls are on my terms. If I learn that someone uses it and I need to call them will probably call them anyways. (Not sure what hiding on Skype accomplishes. If someone tries to call you and you are on the phone for an hour then you were on the phone for an hour.) |
Does this mean no calls in? Should I have a toggle so I don’t accept calls from “Invisible” Skypers? Of course I’m invisible to all of those I’ve not authorized. |
|
My specification |
It can be anything. Some are quite creative, and share mood, desires, location etc. |
Not available and we will all want it. |
Will want to be able to turn these on by category. For example for family I may just want the announcement to say Happy Birthday X! Whereas to my blog list I may want my latest Blog title. |
Note potentially I want to turn these on by category. Some of these settings may be more generic. My Family may see me all the time. While business contacts may find a not available on weekends. Tie these to voice and chat mail instructions and they instantly become more relevant.
Danah, I really enjoy your blogs ConnectedSelves and Zephoria, and your latest entry on Many to Many. I can’t find you on Skype which is a minor gripe. Thus I have no way on knowing how “DEEP” your “Skype” experience is. However I do like the challenge you have framed:
" What is it about Skype that motivates you? Do you think its popularity will be limited to specific communities?
Examples where Skype has the potential to redefine behavior. Are we seeing anything emerging? From changes in mindset to intimacy and gossip. It's not yet a case, here are some thoughts:
1.Mindset: While Skype is connecting (I’m hearing ringing) my mind is running a thousand silent scenarios, I’m preparing to tune in to you. This is fundamentally different from Chat. If I send a chat note – I’m framing something you may not want, or may not provide the same meaning it does for me. It may well fall in a lower priority. Voice…. I know I get no answer either not there, leave a message or call later. Compared the alternatives with the chat initiation. It may have just been the wrong moment and yet it frames an experience, one that is more sensually deprived. Thus we don’t use chat for things that are important unless we know the other party very very well. That may be changing in corporate environments, particularly where “knowledge” of each other already exists. Hi Danah…(chat screen): I have the document you want. Let me send it through. Alternatively with Skype (presume we will get the functionality) now in voice while you are waiting to receive the file I could have added a couple of comment re amendments, additional thoughts or next steps. I can add more than you can type in that same time. When the send file is completed I know the call may also be finished. This adds an immediacy and action to what is being done. From my perspective this makes the exchange or transaction more personal, more social.
2. Intimacy and Intensity: I have an IM address for you. We have never spoken before. I like your blog. I can IM “I like your blog” or I can phone and your can hear my enthusiasm and interest. I can hear whether you have time now or whether we are even likely to connect at another time. What’s this saying? I believe I can make a better assessment of the value of the interaction using voice. It’s more likely to create a sense of intimacy and sharing. Potentially it’s much more intense. That may just be why, we can handle multiple chats, but sense when someone in a voice call is “doing other things”. Similarly if I’d like to send you an e-mail with a document attachment that I’m not 100% satisfied with. I want to personalize my discomfort and not commit it to text. How much time is wasted when you are striving for perfection when a quick look by another will just move it forward. So I Skype and send the file though concurrently when I know you are online.
3. . Managing Synchronicity - Availability Management: If you are willing to make your availability known to me I may well be able to share my messages and manage my contacts with you more appropriately using both text and voice. Good time management suggests scheduling time for calls. Similarly, a call made at the wrong moment can be equally embarrassing to the caller. (I need my cell on for an emergency call from my kids, but I really don’t want to be disturbed by anyone else. Whether on your cell-phone or landline I can’t currently tell if this would be a problem. Unless the
cell-phone is turned off or the plug pulled. So if Skype availability followed you around and you managed your family, business and personal connections, I’d stand a better chance of getting it right. Skype is already close. The semi-synchronous aspect already appliers to Skype. When someone is on “away” or “do not disturb” I can still send them the message. I can currently phone them, but I usually wouldn’t. Set some more granularities and I may know whether they will accept messages from me at certain times. For example, I’m a member of a club; I may not want inquiries to the treasurer during my work hours. Yet I’d be informing them… with an auto response. Thanks for your message; it’s been delivered to my message center and I’ll take care of it before x..
4. Quality & Mobility: I think your perspective and usage is tied to the current form of mobile cellular telephony. I’ve had Skype conversations from WiFi hotspots to all over the world. The quality has been better than any cell phone or landline. As perspective, my cell phone (Verizon) is poor to useless at home. It usually sucks when I’m on vacation too. Yes SMS and Messenger services are extending to mobiles. Skype potentially takes this convergence one step closer to the computer. Similarly it begins to demonstrate how we can get rid of the numerical key board. Ultimately what matters is that our communications system is there when we want it. Personally I’d prefer to know that my Message center is everything. I’ve also posted a set of links that suggest hooking Skype to your home phone is not all that difficult. What’s more this 50-$75 type gadget (currently) means that you are not tied to the computer and the person on the computer can go on working, and even playing their music. We can expect a lot of innovation in this area
quickly.
5. Radically Lowered Cost: Have you even been in an environment where the cost of the call was a barrier? I’ve effectively lived with it in someway or another since I was a child. I still remember having to book calls for Christmas to the UK and then only having a very few minutes. Two things. I expect “voice” to increase the number of inquiries that lead to a successful form of connection. I also expect as cost goes to zero that calls and inquiries I could have never made will become possible. For example there are art direct programs from South America – I could order from photos before, now I could actually talk to the local retailer or even the Artist. Alternatively, I could never have afforded to advertise on Craigslist in India and then interview Indian software engineers. Now I can. The cost to me in time is the same regardless of where they are. The cost of the call isn’t. Separately, I’d really like to see that data that proves SMS is popular because it doesn’t disrupt the environment. I think it more likely that it’s popular because it’s cheap and the “connectivity” quotient for all these teenagers goes up exponentially.
6.Voice IRC??? Voice may be disruptive in public environments. We all agree. There are also times where an always on voice connection could act just like an IRC channel. Some people may actually enjoy listening to these things. They exist already in some Yahoo chatrooms, and yet there are also studies where receiver based communications have proven to accelerate the transfer of knowledge. We still need Skype to provide the conferencing capability. Then we might find it really connects us up. Now you have a virtual office where you can still here the shouts over the cubicles. Just like the kid studying at home who shuts his brothers and sisters out, to tune it just when important. It’s another skill.
7.Changing Desktop: I’ve adopted a second screen. My screen in front of me is for working. My right screen is for communications, messenger clients etc. I’m wondering if my traditional screen is "productivity” and my new screen will
