I was in Milan when a guy told me Italian men carried three mobiles. One for work, one for the wife and kids, and one for his lover. Keeping worlds apart by giving them different phones to call.

GrandCentral says with enough control, you could keep them separate, and treat them differently, by using one number not tied to any device or service provider. And with their very slick software.

I shot this demo at GrandCentral's Fremont, California, headquarters earlier this month. It stars Craig Walker (CEO in the dark blue shirt) and Vincent Paquet (COO in the pale blue shirt). 2.5 minutes.

In the video:

1. Craig calls Vincent's GrandCentral phone number.
2. Several of Vincent's phones ring.
3. Vincent picks the desk phone and puts the call on speaker.
4. Vincent listens to Craig leaving a voice mail. (You'll hear some echo and latency because you're hearing Craig speak in the room and his voice through the speakerphone at the same time.)
5. Vincent decides to take the call.
6. Vincent presses a key code and joins Craig in the important call. If Vincent didn't take the call, Craig would have continued leaving his voice mail message.
7. Craig explains whey sometimes he wants to take calls from Mrs. Walker and sometimes he doesn't.

From a user view:

• GrandCentral restores call screening, a feature we haven't had since answering machines.
• It shows a call to one GrandCentral number rings on all of your phones.
• Call screening controls incoming calls, the better to manage your time, your privacy and your relationships.

Other notes:

• GC numbers are free.
• GC works from any phone, nothing to download.
• The magic engine behind this lets you do things like transfer a call from one phone (like my Cingular mobile running out of battery power) to another (like my charged Verizon mobile) in mid-call.
• Like Iotum, you can define rules for how to handle incoming calls in a web control panel. You tailor caller experiences and routing. You can tailor for a specific person, or have GC apply rules based on groups the caller belongs to (like family), time of day, or even challenge and response.
• GC's web interface to voicemail rocks. Everyone should take note and steal the ideas liberally.
• The magic is courtesy of their proprietary soft switch. Everything else in their business extracts value from having such a scalable, smart switch.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 11:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Now you can make a clickable Skype link in Second Life. TDavid of TD Scripts saw my latest Second Life post and whipped up a little service. Form a URL with your Skype name using this format:

http://tduri.com/s-SKYPENAME

That page turns it into a skype:SKYPENAME link that tells your Skype to call that link. Your browser sees a skype:SKYPENAME URL.

So, for me, that's

http://tduri.com/s-evanwolf

You can now create a Skype Me link if you're in Second Life or anywhere else that doesn't know Skype tags from shinola.

Variations:

• sa- add
• st- text
• su- user info

Bonus #1: Promoting a Skype 3.0 public chat? Give an invitation in Second Life by using the "Promote Your Public Chat" link with TDavid's script. Just copy from the promotional link everything after the skype: and paste it in TDavid's script where you'd put your Skype name. I did that to create the url in this link: The Skype 3.0 discussion.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday's Second Life client update improved in-world instant messaging and presence. From the change log:  

• Added: a new Profile tab shows a web page of the profile owner's choice without launching a browser. (more than Skype)
• URLs in chat and IM are now clickable links. Supports http://, https://, secondlife:// (hmmm, wish skype: links were clickable in 2L)
• Log IMs and/or chat (hmmm. Are my Skype moods and presence logged?)
• Permit friends to see you online/on the map (Presence, availability and location. I'd like that, maybe let GPS or cellular tower codes update Skype via SMS/texting?)
• Conference IM multiple friends by multi-selecting in the Friends list (multichat! only one step to conference calls.)
• See who granted you permission to modify their objects in the Friends list. (this personalized presence is almost relationship brokering: who can see and do what with me when, where and in what ways.)
• Set whether you show as online in Search (Spreads your presence data, making people-search more actionable.)

2L's on a great trajectory: 

• it's matching features with the popular IM clients,
• expanding presence depth and accessibility, and 
• making it slightly easier to blend the outside world into the 2L experience.    

Posted by Phil Wolff at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Dave Winer, one the people most responsible for popular web standards like RSS and for spreading the blogging meme back in the last century, spoke up on one of my favorite topics today.

I just joined eBay. I know, what took me so long. Anyway, I'm bidding on something, and want to be notified by SMS or IM, and thought I'd use Skype (eBay bought it for $2.6 billion) but it isn't an option. That's pretty amazing. You'd think the Skype guys would have some sway over there. You can use PayPal (another big eBay acquisition) to pay for what you buy.

Dave, the reason Skype doesn't offer Skype alerting is that Skype doesn't operate a web service or offer a "naked Skype" client or a Skype server that can talk through the Skype P2P network.

There are two reasons to hope.

First, Skype is working on IM interoperability with Google, supporting click-to-call. At some level, this means building at least an IM gateway.  

Second, it's much easier to do once someone's shown it can be done. The demo of TalkPlus's gateway to the Skype network is proof enough.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Are you a mobile phone software developer? I've been going to MobileMonday events for a long time, mostly in the Bay Area, always great demos, active vendor participation, tasty schmooze. Stuart John, Skype's mobile product manager, is hosting the London MoMo 11 December at Skype's offices. 2 Stephen Street, W1T 1AN (map). The theme this month is mobile community, specifically mobile social networks. Should be hot, especially with the announcement of YouTube for mobile.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's a small Skype promotion for a good cause. The Food Network, a US cable channel, and Skype are auctioning video calls with chefs Emeril Lagasse (a charming New Orleans favorite, known for saying "let's turn things up a notch" and "Bamm!!!!") and Bobby Flay (telegenic with a tough New York attitude). Proceeds benefit a charity to fight hunger and poverty. Bid on eBay until 3 December for a 7 December call, and get some kitchen tutoring and troubleshooting before you dive into Christmas cooking.

Video is the difference, and a clue to Skype's positioning in 2007. Don Albert told me Skype is emphasizing qualitative features over price in the United States. This contrasts Skype with cable and Vonage VoIP: Skype does video, those don't. 

Darn. Now I'm hungry.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 07:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Skype moved marketing functions from countries back to London in a reorganization announced yesterday. About 40 of the 516 people working at Skype worldwide are affected, 26 of those shifting roles or locations and 14 who are leaving or who have yet to find another job at Skype or another eBay company.

Skype doubled its headcount this year, hiring 298 people since 1 January. Henry Gomez, Skype's global marketing officer, told Skype Journal the recentralization of marketing will improve message clarity, help Skype marketing move more quickly, and engage more marketing personnel in product decisions.

The 40 people affected by the reorganization were from across the company, touching all regions and departments. Skype's job site lists 17 vacancies: 8 in Tallinn, Estonia (coolest job ad word of the month: "anechoic"); 7 in London, 1 in the United States; and two elsewhere in Europe.

In separate moves, Saul Klein, former marketing executive, left Skype but continues to consult on eCommerce and advanced projects and can still be seen in the Skype London corridors. James Bilefield, former business development director and general manager for Europe, also left the company.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 07:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

by Ike Roelfsema,  Varras Consultantcy, Skype Lifestyle blogger and Skype Forum moderator.

Only a few minutes ago, Jan van der Zwaag, Managing Director at Tracer Systems Heerenveen (Holland), finished the integration of Skype.

Tracer Systems has developed a single, fully integrated flexible cross platform CRM (Customer Relationship Management), ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), and HRM (Human Resource Management) solution to assist customers in keeping their competitive advantage. The possibilities are endless.

Jan van der Zwaag used a plugin developed by the Swedish company Premium. [download the Filemaker Skype plugin.]

With Tracer you can now call your contacts in Skype for free.

For external calls, the user of your database needs a SkypeOut account.

You can answer a call from Tracer and automatically search for the caller in your database.

To receive external calls, the user needs a SkypeIn account.

Features in this plugin:

• Call a contact
• Answer a call
• Send voicemails
• List available voicemails
• List missed, received or made calls
• Chat inside of Tracer using Skype
• Start a conference call

Jan used me as a test-bunny and it worked just perfect. The chats and calls are saved in Tracer under the client and business relation tabs. Even recording voicemails is possible.

Great job and another proof that Skype is a useful business tool!!

Posted by Guest Blogger at 06:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Leave Borat a Skype message. Part of a Skype promotion with MTV Estonia.

• Turbolinux Wizpy Is First MP3/Linux Player. Skype included.

• The Six Biggest New Ideas In Chat by Nick Gonzalez for Techcrunch.
  1. Interoperability.
  2. In-browser chat.
  3. Location based chat.
  4. Flexible identities.
  5. Contextual chat.
  6. Rich media chat.

• Marshall Kirkpatrick leaves TechCrunch and tells how he scooped everyone using RSS feeds.

• You missed the BlackFriday sale at AmperorDirect. big sale on Skype-related products 24-26 November.

• License the new 2007 Microsoft Office UI, royalty free. What would Skype look like?

• Hans Blaauw on Skype Publishing Studio for developers. "So I really think for most developers it is easy to start so expect many plugins for Skype 3.0. Probably most developers will change what they have and re-publish it." Unlike Hans, some folks can't get it to publish. Early days.

• Skype + eBay + Google Local, Base and Payments, oh my! Chris Messina sees an unstoppable commerce engine building up even more momentum. "... it's curious to watch Google and Skype fight a pitched battle into telephony systems while the rest seem to be waiting and watching." And Chris doesn't mean they're fighting each other.

• Jaiku Beta. Presence streaming. I so want to swap presence info in my Skype moodie, jaiku presence, and my twitter updates.

• SearchSkype.net. The Unofficial Skype Chat Directory. List your Skype for Windows 3.0 Beta Public Chat here. And find others.

• Skype MiniCards from Moo: "I'm also about to order a bunch of these metal tins, which are the perfect size for Moo MiniCards. I'm going to place a new order of cards to use as gifts, and I want to decorate the tops of the tins using some kind of decoupage technique." by Mamamusings. Order Moo calling cards with your Skype name, the better to pass it around at school, parties, work. The Flickr gallery of moo cards shows again the phenomenon where we make bridges between our real lives and our virtual ones. 

• Every Time You Vote against Net Neutrality, Your ISP Kills a Night Elf. BoingBoing: "Net Neutrality is the idea that your ISP sends you the packets you ask for as well as it can. A non-neutral net is one where ISPs take bribes to make some services better and degrade the rest." The article explains the devastation to online gaming rising from the loss of net neutrality. Some lessons in communication for the Skype and eBay government affairs teams.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Don't get me wrong, I love Skype. It's saved me a fortune, and is way more convenient than the alternatives.

But sometimes it lets me down. Yesterday, I was expecting an important SkypeIn call at 4pm. Never came. I was online, for sure. Finished work after 5pm.

This morning when I log on at 3am (hello jetlag), I get the voicemail from that person -- timed at 4.15pm yesterday. So it never rang, and I didn't get notification of the voicemail. Annoying.

I've also had problems with conference call quality at times. SkypeOut isn't as good as BT's VoIP voice quality. SkypeIn is generally pretty good though.

What this is telling me is that the field is wide open for competition in the small-medium business space. And a telco brand could be just as good as an Internet one. I don't mind paying for business-class quality -- I just need something that works at a reasonable price. There are additional feature like web conferencing (synchronised Powerpoint, desktop sharing) that need to be in there too.

PS - Downloaded Sightspeed this morning. Looks like a nice product, but they make the users jump through far too many hoops to get going.

You can miss Martin just as often at the Telepocalypse.

Posted by Martin Geddes at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

by Jean Mercier, Skype Numerology Blog.

It has been a "very very old complaint" on the Skype Forum that Skype placed some folders in the "My Documents" folder (Windows XP version), without a gentle way to move them to another place!

And version 3.0 is even worse! I am angry too :-(

But the "My Documents" folder isn't the only place where you find Skype folders: i noticed - excluding multiple Skype accounts - 4 main places. You can probably reduce it to 3 main places if you have only one Windows XP user account!

I counted 31 folders in total, excluding the 250 folders in the "chatsync" folder! Therefore, total number of folders in my case: 281! Pfewwww!!!!! And again: this without counting the other Skype accounts folders!

Some comments on some selected folders:

1. This is a new folder with version 3.0 :-(
2. An old one, I always delete the bunch of ugly Skype avatars after the installation of a new version
3. Also an old one: I store all my Skype related stuff there
4. A new one, that i deleted, but Skype created it again, without recreating the deleted wallpapers
5. The first (1) folder with the name "Skype"
6. Plugins, also new since 3.0 i guess
7. Ooh no ...I thought Skype was used mainly by business people!
8. Second (2) folder with the name "Skype"
9. A user account I never use
10. my main user account
11. I didn't want to show the content of this folder: it contains in my case exactly 250 subfolders, i guess with my chat history in it!
12. folders of spare accounts or folders of other people who used their Skype account on my computer (this happens!)
13. third (3) folder with the name "Skype"
14. ooooh, here all the ugly Skype avatars, that i usually try to delete, are stored again!
15. and here again the wallpapers!
16. new since 3.0
17. new since 3.0 i guess

There have been some posts on the Skype Forum with a solution for moving the folders located in the "My Documents" folder, one of those here.

But the solutions should be implemented only by experienced people!

Please Skype, what I would like:

• The possibility to place the folders anywhere i want
• The possibility NOT to download avatars and wallpapers

But I am confident they will listen to the customer because it is already possible to:

• Install the Skype program file in another folder
• To "NOT" update the plugins!
• To "NOT" install the plugins for Mozilla and Internet Explorer!

This option isn't very visible, but when you tick the "YES, I have read ..." (what almost nobody reads) box in the first installation screen of the SkypeSetup software, you can click on an OPTIONS button, and choose another Skype client installation location, and untick some boxes concerning the other options!

Posted by Guest Blogger at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

If you're using the 3.0 Beta for Win, get today's version 3.0.0.137. Lots of bugfixes, no new features. Still 19 MB. Changelog. Once you're running 3, join public chats about it in the Skype English Blog Chat and Skype Journal's Skype 3.0 discussion.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

This is the third of three posts discussing Skype's PR management with the aim of improving the PR relationships associated with the launch of new Skype software and associated services. In the first post I outlined the problem; in the second post I proposed a proven solution; in this third post I want to review the recent Skype beta releases (3.0 for WIndows, 2.5 for Mac) and Skype's 3 Group partnering activity with respect to the proposed solution.

If the work of the city is the remaking or translating of man into a more suitable form than his nomadic ancestors achieved, then might not our current translation of our entire lives into the spiritual form of information seem to make of the entire globe, and of the human family, a single consciousness? .... Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media, The Extensions of Man, 1964

One primary objective of public relations is to leverage media reporters, including bloggers, to provide an outside perspective on the subject matter of press releases, product announcements and corporate presentations at, say, industry events and to propagate corporate awareness through corporate interviews.  In turn, media reporters want to feel both sufficiently informed and experienced to have the background for providing objective, accurate and complete coverage while making assessments of the impact of a story.

Personally I prefer to report based on exposure to a product, not just a press release. I have also found interviews with senior executives (usually the CEO, one of whose roles is to be the Chief Company Salesperson) an opportunity to flesh out details that can make a more viable and credible story. I have also had a couple of executives point out that I have brought to their attention issues that they subsequently realized should be addressed in their public announcement.

Over the past two weeks we have seen four major press releases involving Skype: Skype 3.0 for Windows Beta Launch, Skype for  Windows - Business version, Skype for Mac 2.5 beta launch and Skype's participation in 3Groups' new X-Series program. The result has left behind a very mixed image of what Skype is offering and the direction it is taking. The first post in this series exposes some of this confusion; the second post proposes a cost effective solution that can help narrow, or even avoid, the confusion..

Skype's primary message really came out in Niklas' interview for the 3 X-Series launch: "we have always delighted our users by innovating new ways of communicating". Each of these announcement builds on this theme:

• With the Skype 3.0 beta, users are providing feedback on how to fine tune new features such as Public Chats based on actual use experience in social contexts.. Skype's release effectively takes the approach that this is a new release for all users with new features.The reality is that it is still a Beta release; on the website they actually state that "it's only recommended for experienced users to download". Crossed messages here.
• While I now have some issue with how truly mobile the 3 X-Series makes Skype -- it definitely does not have all the feature set of Skype Mobile for Windows -- it does provide an initial market experience where users can use Skype without worrying about the cost of a "pay-per-byte" data plan.
• The Skype for Business is actually having the roughest ride: two posts here expose difficulties: Ken Camp's "Skype for Business? Whose Business?" and Martin's "Opinion//Chinese Whispers". Jan Geirnaert has done a more complete summary of posts related to Skype for Business.
• And the Skype for Mac 2.5 beta release has gone virtually unnoticed.

.Memo to Skype Executive Management: Skype's public relations messaging is out of control. Mixed messages resulting in mixed impressions -- and audience confusion. And it's not because Skype's PR agencies are not trying; they are professionals. I have an excellent reference, for instance, on SparkPR from one of their early clients.

Skype has a keen, enthusiastic following who wants to see Skype succeed. As I stated in a comment to Alec Saunders "Whither Google Talk", there is a reason Skype is "sticky". Over 8 million people are online as I write this; I can reach my static set of six Google Talk contacts via Skype where I have access to a much larger and more dynamic set of both contacts and innovative ways of communication. Developers are waiting to provide Plug-Ins to enhance the feature set; they are willing to risk their business for Skype. These are priceless assets that can disappear as quickly as they arose if not nurtured through continuous dialogue at several levels. As I implied in one of my previous posts in this series -- been there, done that - not pretty.

As Robert Scoble and Shel Israel have so well documented in their book, "Naked Conversations", blogs as a business communications tool are here to stay. They provide an opportunity to dialogue interactively with your customers, your suppliers and your partners. Perhaps the greatest criticism of blogs is their tendency to have questionable credibility. But following the proposals made in the previous post in this series, especially dialoging proactively with the VoIP blogging community via executive interviews and, where practical, trial software, Skype will find its coverage much more focused and supportive while reducing the potential for erroneous statements and audience confusion.

Somehow I sense Andy Abramson at VoIP Watch is looking forward to receiving the first invitation for an executive blogger interview when a future series of announcements of the nature we have seen over the past two weeks is forthcoming. And the outcome will be a true blogger discussion of the social and economic impact of "innovative new ways of communicating" rather than reporting on attempts to figure what features are really there.

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 07:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Technology and Products

1. MobiGater GSM-to-Skype gateway, plugs into your PC, passes Skype calls to your mobile phone. Also lets you speed dial your Skype buddies from your mobile, ringing them on Skype. From Bulgaria to 20 countries

2. Accessing Skype APIs with Ruby. Pretty easy, if you know the Ruby programming language.

3. Moodgeist pinger for Linux. The better to let the universe know how you're feeling. Even if you're using Linux.

4. 10 Things to Know About Skype Ap2Ap Programming. Read this before you code. Adrian Cockroft.

5. Skype on Solaris. More Sun bloggers spread the word.

6. US Robotics' webcam. Is the 9640 cheaper (at $40) and smaller than the Logitech Fusion?

Advanced topics

1. Project San Dimas, an experimental eBay desktop, built on the Adobe Apollo platform using web services. Congrats to eBay's Alan Lewis.

2. Nokia: Hyperlinking Reality via Phones. "Nokia researchers are working on a system that allows physical objects to be identified and connected to the Internet through mobile-phone screens."

3. MashupU. Anyone from the Skype developer community available to teach at MIT, 15-16 January 2007?

4. Everything is Miscellaneous lecture. David Weinberger's speech mp3 (46:53, 22.5 MB) at the Scottish Learning Festival.

5. Cooperation Commons. Research project by the Institute for the Future and Howard Rheingold to study cooperation and collective action.

6. A Voluntarily Loosely Organized Organization. How does Skype support emergent management practices?

Business

1. Boom when UAE's Etisalat opens up to Skype? Skype Wi-Fi phone vendor Belkin is hoping UAE lifts Skype ban sooner than later.

2. Death of the phone company: "There will be a custom communications experience generated dynamically for every context, and it may be personalised for the individual communicators."

3. Death of Skype: Australian ISP: "Skype packets, in the world that we are heading to, will be able to be seen by all telcos and all telcos will have the capacity to prioritise or de-prioritise those packets."

4. ISP Xtra: No Skype shaping. Computerworld: Despite terms of service which allow it,

   Telecom's retail ISP Xtra says there is no rate-limiting for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications, contrary to reports in the media and complaints in web and Usenet forums. "Applications such as Skype can be used," Xtra spokeswoman Lenska Papich says. No traffic management is applied to Skype, she adds.

5. The future is bright .. The future is 3 .. How 3's switch to flat rates for mobile data unleashes explosive growth. Great essay, by Ajit Jaokar, about taking down the "walled garden" (controlling everything in the ecosystem) in favor of an Open Garden. via John Furrier.

6. WordPress follows SixApart and SocialText into Corporate IT. SixApart needs this: one enterprise vendor is a novelty, four is a market. See also Traction and Blogtronix. Skype may benefit from enterprise adoption of other social media like blogs and wikis if they jump on the knowledge management and collaboration memes, and further integrate Skype into blogs.

7. Ten Worst Internet Acquisitions Ever. Skype is number 9. Others: Hotmail, MySimon, BlueMountain, Lycos, Netscape, GeoCities, Excite, AOL, and Broadcast.com. A hard meme to kill.

8. The Peanut Butter Manifesto. Yahoo!'s Brad Garlinghouse rocks. Messenger's executive sponsor bets his career on focusing Yahoo!

Posted by Phil Wolff at 03:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Just off the phone (21 November 2006) with Jeff Black, ceo of TalkPlus and star of the demo I posted 13 November 2006: calling from a mobile to echo123 without a Skype client anywhere in the loop.

He confirmed:

1. TalkPlus does not use SkypeIn.
2. TalkPlus does not use SkypeOut.
3. TalkPlus does not use the Skype-operated SIP gateways now.
4. TalkPlus conversations going from a mobile to a Skype user are only encrypted in the usual Skype way from TalkPlus's servers to the Skype client.

Black said he's been to Skype's London's headquarters several times, most recently about 30 days ago. He said they fully shared what TalkPlus does and how it does it to Skype's management and technical people, right down to engineering diagrams. They continue friendly discussions. He said TalkPlus filed multiple patents which predate Skype on mobiles.

Black declined comment when asked if TalkPlus was building something for Skype.

If you'd like to chat about this, join the Skype 3.0 discussion. You can view the video of the demonstration on Revver, Vox, and Google Video.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Skype 3.0 brings a few new terms to our VoIM glossary.

In this edition: extra, extras gallery, extras manager, plug-in manager, plug-in publishing studio, pxml, call transfer.

Extra. Skype's term for software or other products that work with Skype.

Extras Gallery. Skype's web directory of third party products. Skype is moving the Gallery from Paul's developer relations team to Skype's online store ecommerce team. 

Extras Manager. Skype 3.0 for Windows Beta client's view of a selected short list of extras. Extras in the Extras Manager may or may not be in the Gallery. Extras Manager extras may or may not be Skype Certified or even Skype Compatible. The Extras Manager is a retail zone, designed to sell stuff, and some vendors pay fees and commissions to Skype.

Plug-In Manager. New software that comes with Skype. It runs in the background as skypePM.exe. Programmers talk to it through an API. Users talk to it through the Extras Manager. At the moment, there is no user option for not automatically launching the Extras Manager or the Plug-In Manager.

Plug-In Publishing Studio. A tool that helps programmers package their extras for the Plug-In Manager. If you have C++ or java code laying around, the studio wraps it up properly with a "pxml" file for distribution by Skype. Not available for public download.

PXML. The Plug-In Manager reads this XML file format (example) to learn which text and pictures to show. After developers use the Plug-In Studio to describe their products, Skype writes the entries into a bigger pxml file with everything you'll see in the Manager. Skype is batch updating the clients weekly with a new pxml file, refreshing what Skypers see and where.

Call Transfer. This 3.0 feature is only available to programmers at the moment. This lets programs redirect a call to another Skype user or to a pool of Skype users. If to a pool, the first one to pick up gets the call. When a third party picks up the call, the transferrer is dropped from the call.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

CaptainAmerica Maverick gave me a bracelet tonight. A Skype presence bracelet. It shows my Skype availability when I wear it in Second Life. And if you're in 2L with me, you can use it to Skype me (I'm "Phil Arrow").

Stephen "CaptainAmerica" Klosky is using Skype's "SkypeWeb", a web service that takes a Skype username and returns that user's public status.

Web services are the life blood of Web 2.0, published protocols that open a company's software engines to programmers. SkypeWeb is Skype's only public protocol.

Skype must do more to empower developers who want to blend Skype into the rest of cyberspace. On Skype Journal's short list:

1. Turn the Skype client messaging APIs into web services. All of them.
2. Skype user authentication as a web service.
3. Directory service for public chats, public conference calls, and open contact groups.

Offering a "Naked Skype," (Skype devzone wiki, Skype issue database) a bundle of protocols to the cloud, would let developers blend Skype with any service, including email (like Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo!).

Skype is in an earnest race. (Skype management has not acknowledged this.) The company wins who publishes the most complete, friendly web services for live communication. The measure of success: developers everywhere mashing up your communications with their social networks, mashing up your social network with their services. Skype's performance so far: not in the game.

Today, for example, I must use the unscalable Skype client on projects to: 

• Write a web page that shows a Google map of the locations of a logged-in visitor's contacts, colored by contact group, indications of when they are likely to be online.
• Build a web based feed aggregator that crawls urls mentioned in buddy profiles, showing updated web pages and blog posts.
• Run gateways between the Skype network and SIP services.

In the Skype 3.0 public chat, Julian Bond said Skype's new Skype4com ActiveX wrapper gets us partway there. I suppose it does, if all you care about is embedding a Skype widget in web pages or rich clients. So much more is needed.

Web services will unleash the power of Skype's

• communication infrastructures,
• identity infrastructures,
• social infrastructures and collective social capital, and
• commercial infrastructures.

Web services open new markets, attract new customers, reinforce your value propositions.

In Second Life, web services literally open up new worlds. Skype's rivals get it and are acting now. Where is Skype's leadership in this race?

Posted by Phil Wolff at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... in a game where, as in golf, the lowest number of strokes wins! Google announced a Click-to-Call feature for Google Maps yesterday. So I go to Google Maps, select Businesses, enter "restaurants" into the Type of Business box and "Mississauga {Home Postal Code}" into the "Where" box. And I get:

Click on B for Golden View Restaurants (where we obtain our annual New Year's Eve party food) and I get the pop-up below on the left. Click on Send to Phone and I get the pop-up asking for my phone number and my carrier -- except there are only U.S. carriers listed (and all Telco 1.0)! 3 clicks plus 10 characters (to enter your phone number). Except I live in Canada ....hmmm ....

Or, since I have installed the Skype 3.0 Beta with its Click-to-Call feature, I can simply pick up my UConnect-enabled Nortel phone, dial **, (or pick up a USB-connected VoIPvoice Cyberphone) and click on the Skypified link under the restaurant's listing on the left:. I then click OK on the "Start SkypeOut" confirmation window. Call initiated; no Telco 1.0 carrier designation required! (And note that Skype 3.0's Click-to-Call recognizes that it is a Canadian phone number.) One click to place the call; one to acknowledge that there could be a charge involved.

A simple example of what Martin is talking about in his Telco 2.0 "Death of the Phone Company" post.

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

.. in the UK at least. Today, as one partner participating in the 3 X-Series service announcement by Hutchison Whampoa's 3 Group, Skype has announced its first truly mobile offering where Skype users can make "free" Skype-to-Skype calls on a mobile phone. Starting December 1, 3 Group will launch a new flat fee mobile broadband Internet service in the UK. In the press release related to this announcement Skype CEO Niklas Zennström said:

With 3, I am very proud to say that for the first time, our users can now try out making Skype calls on the move using a mobile phone. We always want to delight our users by letting them try out new ways of keeping in touch. This is a real milestone for Skype because now you can use Skype beyond the PC, no matter where you happen to be.

CIO Now has an excellent detailed description of the impact for Skype; the key points being:

• 3 Group will launch the new X-Series service December 1 in the U.K. and roll it out to the other countries in which 3 Group operates (including Ireland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Israel, Australia and Hong Kong) in early 2007.
• While it will be a flat-fee mobile broadband Internet service, no pricing has yet been announced.
• Initially it will only offer Skype-to-Skype calls; however SkypeOut and SkypeIn services will become available "next year".
• It will require the much-anticipated Skype for Symbian client to run on the Nokia N73 multimedia personal communicator which will be offered as one of two handset offerings for the service.

The X-series service will also provide:

• Sling Player to watch your (home) cable TV on your mobile phone.
• Instant Messaging with text messaging via Windows Live Messenger or Yahoo Messenger.
• Mobile eBay connectivity
• Access, via Orb Networks, to the digital content that users have stored or accessed on their PC at home, including music files, playlists, digital photos and videos.
• Mobile Google

My comments:

• A flat fee service that includes a data plan is the only way Skype will make economic sense for users given the amount of "data" and associated overhead involved with Skype's packets. Will this be the trigger that has other wireless carriers consider flat fee data plan services which could potentially cannibalize their legacy (GSM) wireless phone services?
• 3 Group will apparently be using the 3.5G HSDPA data protocol for this service. Do the costs associated with this protocol provide reduced carrier costs such that flat fee data plans become economically viable?
• As the Nokia N73 is the only device that will include Skype, it confirms that an initial Skype for Symbian client has to be available in December.
• In the web-based collateral (free registration may be required) that includes an interview with Niklas, there is only mention of Skype calls and Skype presence. Specifically there is no mention of text chat. (Will Skype IM suffer a split personality on some mobile devices?) Yet chat will be available in the X-Series Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger services.
• As for Mobile Skype evolution, it appears that Skype for Symbian will initially lack the full IM (presence plus text chat), SkypeIn and SkypeOut features of Skype Mobile for Windows.
• Latency has always been an issue for mobile VoIP using 2.xG data services; VoIP-based push-to-talk services on 2G can have up to 8 second latency. While my contact network tells me that 3G speeds resolve that issue, it will be interesting to monitor if there remain any latency issues.
• Sling is obviously about to announce a Sling Player for Symbian which I look forward to also trying out.
• When can we expect similar full featured services in North America from Rogers, Cingular and T-Mobile?

I close with this quote from Niklas' interview produced by Cantos, 3 Group's video public relations agency

Q. So what's in this for Skype?

A. Over the last three years, we have changed the way people communicate with one another. We also want to continue to delight our users by innovating new ways to communicate, so this offering is the first major offering to bring Skype to a mobile phone, which makes it possible for the 136 million Skype users to use Skype when they're on the go, on their mobile phone, so they no longer have to sit in front of their PC. That's a major step for us. Over time, we also intend to improve this offer to include other Skype services. We start with the Skype calling between Skype users, online presence and the contact list. Over time, we hope to also offer Skype Out, Skype In, chat features, and other Skype services.

Interesting times are ahead for the evolution of Skype on mobile services. 3 X-Series is certainly a viable model for mobile Web and VoIP services going forward. Now the challenge is to make this type of service truly available to all 136 million Skype users worldwide - not just the 14 million who have access to a 3 service!

P.S.: my thanks to SparkPR for providing the 3 X-Series release in advance.

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (2)

This is the second of three posts discussing Skype's PR management with the aim of improving the PR relationships associated with the launch of new Skype software and associated services. In the first post I outlined the problem; in this second post I am proposing a proven solution; in the third post I want to review the Skype 3.0 beta release activity with respect to the proposed solution.

Drawing from my management experience over the past couple of decades involving business public relations activities, from both a marketing and investor communications perspective, I think Skype can enhance both its market awareness and usage leveraging the enthusiasm, interests and various perspectives bloggers have the power to introduce into the market.  I have had employers who tried to ignore the need for PR (and dealt with the fallout) and others who were viewed as overly aggressive in their PR activities. But the one constant, both prior to and following the Internet's evolution as a business communications medium is that PR is about building relationships -- not only with your customers and users but also with those who have the potential to propagate the message, whether through traditional media or web-based media, such as blogging.

First three general comments:

• In the pre-Internet days, for every major software product launch at one of my previous employers, we sent out a team of product managers, executives and PR personnel to conduct individual press interviews. This took significant resources out of the office for up to two weeks. And then we had the overhead of delivering and supporting pre-release software prior to the launch such that reporters could write up their impressions based on actual experience. With VoIP and Internet-based real time communications, software distribution and feedback tools all such costs and overhead effectively go away.
• The Internet has redefined the meaning of beta software. Pre-Internet times found software publishers sending out pre-release software, usually under NDA, to trusted customers and influencers with bug reports coming in via BBS's, cc:Mail or other proprietary e-mail systems or even phone calls and faxes. Netscape was the first to change the paradigm; they simply made their beta software available via the Internet along with taking Internet-based feedback. By the time there was a gold release, the product's feature set was well known across both the user base and the media. But this also meant that new features effectively were introduced at the time of the first public beta release rather than when product was formally released. Eleven years later I can confess now that Netscape's ability to handle beta trials in this algorithm was a major impediment to my employer's ability to gain market awareness, share and leadership with a web browser where we had used the "old" closed garden beta distribution model. From a PR perspective, issuance of a public beta release is now the time that major new features will be initially reviewed and discussed in the media; this becomes the critical control point that needs to be managed. Once a feature is out in the public, it's out and open for discussion.
• Skype shares one audience with which I readily identify from a previous software publisher employer. Skype has been readily adopted by the developer community in that it provides tools and opportunities for innovation through both its feature set and API's. This is an audience that thrives on every minute detail; often ignoring that there is actually a business to be operated based on the product but at the same time offering innovative ideas for product enhancement and improvement. They can readily drive business and viral adoption through their network of employers, contacts and friends. They have a raw enthusiasm that inspires but at the same time can frustrate the business manager.

Since I have become involved in blogging for Skype Journal, I have also had the good fortune to build a network of contacts both within the VoIP space and beyond. Amongst these the benchmark for handling public relations in the blogger world is Andy Abramson, author of VoIP Watch, at Comunicano, Inc. Andy (who will not blog about his own clients' product announcements) has a process and protocol that develops knowledgeable, informed bloggers such that stories about his clients tend to follow a consistent message, yet allows for individual commentary and perspective. His team, using his process, is responsible for the success you can see with activities involving SightSpeed, TalkPlus and, yesterday, PhoneGnome 2.0. But the approach is pretty simple and builds strong blogger relationships, yet is relatively low cost for the publicity generated.

Here is the approach:

1. Develop a primary message for the announcement/press release: in the traditional PR sense of one primary message supported by four to six secondary messages.
2. Develop a network of blogger contacts (for the VoIP space there are three references: VoIP News: "The Daily Show - VoIP Bloggers, Pundits and Thought Leaders"; Garrett Smith's and Luca Filigheddu's rankings of VoIP bloggers referenced here).
3. About a week prior to the announcement/press release, contact these bloggers to set up interviews (under a press embargo) with senior executives.
4. Conduct the interviews over the week, ensuring that both the message is communicated and answering questions that arise out of communicating the message.
5. If feasible, provide trial access to the product or service such that bloggers can build their own experiences with the product into their launch story.

On release day sit back and watch the results; as a software publisher, your conversations with the press and public will be at an elevated level discussing the potential implications and user benefits of the announcement instead of dealing with mundane background details behind the announcement and erroneous, but well intentioned, reporting.

Skype 3.0.Beta release: an analysis and commentary in the follow up post in this series.

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 06:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

Download 2.5.038. Lots of bug fixes, a few new features, and many usability improvements.

Just for those following along, Skype 2.5 Beta for Windows shipped in early May 2006, five and a half months ago. Hat tip to John Maas.

From the change log:

New features:

• SMS
• improved history list in main window
• ripple animation effects (Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) only)
• ringing device selection to audio preferences

Changes:

• video resolution for G5 machines is now the same as Intel machines (increased)
• view chat history with links for 1day, 1week, 1month...
• upgraded Growl framework to 0.7.4
• SkypeOut contacts and contacts with call forwarding are placed in front of offline contacts in the contact list (sorting)
• removed Insert Emoticon submenu from Edit menu of main menu
• quickfilter is cleared when toolbar is hidden
• quickfilter is cleared when switching between history and contact list
• picture-in-picture view is always fully visible
• full screen video controls are always fully visible
• improved error message when user tries to make a call while offline
• improved error message in case of misc error #8401 (when user is signed out of Skype and tries to make a call)
• contact will not be added to the contact list if user presses "cancel" button in the send auth request window

Improvements:

• screensaver disabled when in full screen video mode
• pressing ESC key in contact list will return focus to address bar
• other call related sounds like busy, outgoing call etc are now sent to Skype output device (instead of system output device)
• incoming call and incoming call waiting sounds are now sent to ringing device
• new multichat leave icon
• all other notifications sounds are now sent to system alert device instead of system output device
• "Start Conference" window improved
• "Leave Chat" dialog includes chat topic

The news release:

SKYPE INTRODUCES SMS MESSAGING AND 10-WAY CONFERENCE CALLING
FOR MAC USERS

Enhanced Functionality of the New Skype 2.5 Beta for Mac Makes it Even Easier for

Mac Community to Keep in Touch

LUXEMBOURG, November 15, 2006 - Skype, the global Internet communication company, has released a new version of its popular communications software for Mac, Skype™ 2.5 Beta for Mac. In response to user demand, the new beta version offers outbound SMS text messages and 10-way conference calling.  These new features make it even easier for Mac users to keep in touch with friends and family using Skype.

Skype SMS

The latest version of Skype for Mac offers the ability to send an SMS message to any mobile phone number in the world.  Users simply select a SkypeOut™ contact, enter a mobile phone number or select a Skype contact's mobile phone number in their profile. Friends, family and colleagues can now be reached instantly, whether they are offline or on the move.

10-Way Conference Calling

Users can now hold conference calls with up to nine other people.  Calls can be made to Skype contacts for free and to landlines and mobiles for a fee, via SkypeOut. Whether your contacts are in one city or scattered around the world, you can now get together to share a laugh or hatch the next killer business idea without hassle.

Audio Device Controls

Users can now choose which audio device they want to use during incoming and outbound calling.  If you prefer to listen to calls you receive through headphones but make a call using a speakerphone, it's now possible in the latest version of Skype.

These new features come on the heels of the most delightful Skype feature yet - users who have a broadband Internet connection can enjoy free one-on-one video calls, viewed within the Skype window or on the full computer screen. Simple and elegant, it's all available through the sleek and intuitive interface that Mac users have grown to expect.

As with all Skype releases, Skype for Mac users can talk with the more than 136 million registered Skype users across the world without worrying about the cost, distance or length of the call.  The latest version of Skype is available for download now at skype.com.

About Skype

Skype is the world's fastest-growing Internet communication offering, allowing unlimited free voice, video and instant messaging communication between users of Skype Software.  With over 136 million registered users, Skype is available in 28 languages and is used in almost every country around the world.  Skype generates revenue through its premium offerings such as making and receiving calls to and from landline and mobile phones, voicemail, call forwarding and personalization including ringtones and avatars. Skype also has relationships with a growing network of hardware and software providers. 

Skype is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). To learn more visit skype.com.

Skype is not a replacement for your ordinary telephone and cannot be used for emergency calling.

Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Me, Skype Certified, Skypecasts, associated logos and the "S" symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

This is the first of three posts discussing Skype's PR management with the aim of improving the PR relationships associated with the launch of new Skype software and associated services. In this post I want to outline the problem; in the second to propose a proven solution:in the third post I want to review the Skype 3.0 beta release activity with respect to the proposed solution. .

If you follow the VoIP blogosphere at all, you may notice that certain products and services, when introduced, get a lot of coverage such that readers can quickly assess if there could be followup interest.  SightSpeed and TalkPlus, whose beta program launches today, are two examples; this did not happen by accident. In both cases, while bloggers are open to make their own observations there is an underlying consistency of message as to what the service provides and what are the key features. SightSpeed focuses on high quality realtime and asynchronous video communications while TalkPlus focuses on delivering a means to manage your phone number infrastructure in a manner that protects individual privacy while providing helpful business and social networking tools.

On the other hand I have done a review of various blogger posts on the Skype 3.0 Beta launch; here is the original press release and a sampling of the initial "first impressions" posts (Ed: with my bolds):

Gizomodo:

The big new feature is browser extensions for IE and Firefox that let you embed SkypeOut links into web pages. ... The re-designed toolbar, contacts and call tabs look much easier to use. And Skype also added moderated public chat features, which makes me all wistful for IRC.

Skype Numerology

Nov. 9: Skype 3.0 beta released. And indeed, the differences between the previous version 2.6.0.105 and the 3.0.0.106 are (from my point of view) quite small, see the change log.

Nov. 11: Mea Culpa: My mistake (see my post below), Skype 3.0 has indeed quite some new features, as explained on the Skype website and in Skype Journal.

Tech Crunch UK

This week saw the launch of Skype 3.0 (beta) and on the surface there is very little new to get excited about other than a new plug-in manager. The real changes in this new version seem to have taken place under the hood ....

In many ways, with this 3.0 release, I feel Skype is announcing its formal entry into the "communication platform wars".

Smith on VoIP

The comments made by Zennstrom, the moves eBay has made (with ProStores), the ability to use PayPal as small business booking software, and the emergence of the Internet as a marketplace for any business, is signs that eBay is almost ready to launch the ultimate e-commerce solution. .... That folks, is the real story here.

VoIP Watch (Andy Abramson)

The big thing with 3.0 appears to be the plug ins. This is something Yahoo has been doing with Yahoo Communicator now for some time and even Microsoft has had around with Outlook. Skype 3.0 will also sport a newer updated look some say. But most of all, it's just supposed to be better.

:Signal to Noise (Ted Wallingford)

The big feature? Voice chat rooms, a la the Yahoo chat of old.

GigaOM

Nov. 8 First Look at Skype 3.0 Beta: The first thing we noticed after downloading Skype's 3.0 beta version for Windows (onto our single dusty GigaTeam PC) is that the company did some serious UI feng shui, or "spring cleaning" as this Skype designer describes it.

Nov. 12 More Skypers hit ESC Button. After reporting on an executive departure and quoting an analyst statement in an IHT article on Skype "They have made only incremental changes to Skype, and I just haven't seen any of the synergies they promised to justify the purchase price.", Om gets back to Skype 3.0: "It is pretty darn good. We liked it at first blush, and liked it more after we dug deeper."

Digital Common Sense (Ken Camp - who wrote an excellent perspective on TalkPlus when it was first announced two weeks ago)

Looks like a nice, incremental improvement. All I see warranting the version upgrade to 3.0 is the Live tab. Everything else looks like minor incremental enhancements to me.

SaundersLog: Alec highlights a few first impressions but this one helps demonstrate my point:

Call transfer? It might be there, but so far I haven't seen the UI, or had an incoming call that I can try this feature with, nor is there any documentation of new API's on the DevZone blog.

eBiz-IQ.com Everything Internet:

Included fantastic new feature ** call transfers **, and more!!!

Incription

Skype recently launched version 3.0 beta and i have to say its a pretty fantastic piece of kit compared with 2.0, looking through the change log they have ramped up the video quality and improved the audio quality in voice calls, one of the new major features of skype is the ability to host a SkypeCast, its basically a flexible podcast with people listening in real time.

So the questions raised are:

• What is Skype's primary message in anno