The Skype Relevance Cloud at mesh 2007
While there was no official mention of Skype at last week's mesh 2007 and it seldom, if at all, came up in the various "fireside chats" and discussions, there was an undercurrent of attendees who have deployed Skype into their daily activities and have developed an appreciation for Skype's real time conversation tools It did come up in a couple of interviews; several attendees came up to me to tell me about their experience with Skype and how it has become a part of, and maintains relevance to, their daily activities:
For small business owners and startups Skype has been a key tool to manage geographically dispersed operations. One of the best example's is b5media, whose Vice-President Content is Mark Evans - also a co-founder of the mesh conferences. At b5media they have not only staff personnel in Canada, U.S. and Australia but are also building up a network of bloggers around the world. Skype has been key to keeping their real time interactivity up while keeping communications costs down
Typical of those who came up to me was Kristina Mausser, who runs Digital Word providing copy writing services for websites. Not only do you find a Skype "Call Me" button on her Contact page; she also comes up with a Plaxo vCard that can readily be inserted into your Outlook Contacts.. But Kristina, who obviously uses a Mac for her business operations, makes so much use of Skype that she has gone out and bought the Linksys CIT400 Dual Mode Internet iPhone for Skype (not to be confused with the forthcoming Mac iPhone!) and written about it (prior to last month's release of Skype for Mac 2.6):
Thanks to the CIT400, I am now able to manage all of my calls - landline or Skype - through one cordless phone. If I'm talking with a client on a landline, the call waiting feature kicks in for any incoming Skype calls and my long distance calls can either go through SkypeOut or my telephone provider's service plan. Best of all - no more annoying echos. I can now trust SkypeOut for all of my business calls ..not just the ones to my ever-patient friends who also happen to be my clients ..."pity da fool(s)"!
Kristina's enthusiasm for, and dedication to, Skype stands out more when you realize that one really has to dig to find a Canadian source for these dual mode cordless Skype phones, that, in my opinion, have been well underpromoted in the market. She also appreciates the benefit of using a dedicated Skype phone where calls are not interrupted by other programs on a PC taking over the processor.
In a previous post I mentioned Amber MacArthur's use of Skype Video on her MacBook as the video source for some of her "Live On Location" interviews at CityTV. She usually does at least one interview via Skype during her bi-weekly Webnation production. As an additional matter of interest, a couple of people came up to me saying they like the Skype for Mac client better than Skype for Windows, partially due to the overall Mac user interface. One person manages 25 Skype Chat sessions through her installation of Skype for Mac due to the Mac UI -- a claim that would be difficult for a Windows user.
Michael Arrington, in my interview with him, had found shortcomings with Skype due to lack of a "naked Skype"; however, it remains his primary tool for making overseas calls in the course of operating TechCrunch. More importantly, in his fireside chat, Michael mentioned that value for a startup can be derived from either technological intellectual property or building a network of users.
But the permeation of Skype really came home as I was walking to the nearby parking building Wednesday evening and encountered someone on the sidewalk looking for directions. He saw Skype Journal on my name badge -- "Oh, I use Skype all the time to talk with my friend in Australia".
So, Ken and Alec, Skype may have lost relevance for you, but many others have found Skype to not only continue to be relevant but also to become an essential part of both their personal and business lifestyle. These encounters at mesh 2007 show that Skype is alive and well, certainly in the social networking world.
And, looking back on Michael Arrington's comment on creating value through network building, Skype maintains its relevance relative to other VoIP offerings due to the size of its network of users. I can go to Google Talk, Gizmo Project and others only to find the same eight to ten people as contacts -- but they are all also amongst my over 200 Skype contacts.
And, Mark, as you can see above, those "spaces in between" sessions were one of the key benefits of attending mesh 2007.
Tags: mesh07, Skype for Mac, Linksys iPhone, Amber MacArthur, Webnation, Michael Arrington, TechCrunch, Digital Word, Kristina Mausser, b5media, Mark Evans
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Comments
Thank you for drawing your readers' attention to my review of the Linksys CIT400. I thought I might post an addendum here so that it may be of continued interest.
Since my review, the phone continues to provide excellent service however it has crashed once in the four months I've had it. For some reason, I could still receive Skype calls but my callers couldn't hear me speaking. A simple power-down and reboot easily rectified the problem.
The other issue I've had has more to do with usability. I primarily adopted the CIT400 as a communications solution for my business. Since the Skype software is physically running on the phone (and not through my computer), I am unable to use video, chat or any other third party features (like Pamela). I have missed a few business prospects this way by not realizing they had initiated IM instead of a Skype call.
I maintain the Linksys CIT400 still provides the most optimum use of Skype for business despite some of its shortcomings. However, as Jim mentioned, this technology for Canada is somewhat leading edge so buyer-beware ... troubleshooting and software upgrades may rest on your shoulders instead of those of a well-established tech support.
Posted by: Kristina from Digital Word's | June 4, 2007 10:45 AM
Thanks for this update Jim. I truly wasn't trying to be sarcastic in my post, but admit I struggle with Skype myself at times. Nobody's clicked the SkypeMe button on my sites in 6-8 months or more. When I'm online on Skype, I rarely use it. Mostly for an outbound international call like Mike Arrington described.
You're much closer to the Skype ecosystem than I am, and I really appreciate insights like that that you bring. I can't get that insight anywhere else.
Thanks!
Posted by: Ken Camp | June 4, 2007 11:44 AM
You might find Arrington's interview with two Stanford b-school studdents interesting. iinnovate is a podcast on innovation and entrepreneurship.
Take a listen and let us know what you think!
link
Min, on behalf of iinnovate.
Posted by: Min Liu | June 10, 2007 09:31 PM