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Jaanus

Happy third birthday, Skype! Send us a card and win a prize

By My status Jaanus on August 25, 2006 in News, Events, Milestones.

3years

29th of August, next Tuesday, is Skype's 3rd birthday. [See the original announcement](http://about.skype.com/2003/08/skype_beta_launched.html) and [the letter from Niklas on our first birthday](http://about.skype.com/2004/08/skype_celebrates_1_year_annive.html). While the figures quoted in that letter are quite small by today's Skype standards, the following remains very true today and beyond.

> Today people are Skyping to and from every country in the world, enhancing free borderless knowledge exchange as people maintain contact with others as if they were around the corner, even when they are around the world. ... Thank you for your involvement with Skype. We hope to continue delighting.

Here's [a million thank you's](http://www.hallmark.com/ECardWeb/ECV.jsp?a=5172531983591M129849581Y) to everyone who has supported Skype over these three years :-) and here's also a My Picture for Skype.

Use this as My Picture in Skype

### The birthday card

If you want to celebrate our 3rd birthday with us, you don't have to send us expensive gifts or flowers. But you can send a birthday card. **Please e-mail your birthday card to .** It can be a picture, photo, video, just written wishes, anything really. If it's a picture or video, you can put it on Flickr, YouTube or any other of those Internet things and just send us the link. Please include your Skype Name.

We'll publish the better cards right here on Share.Skype together with the authors' Skype Names, and we also have a Grand Jury to select the one and only best card who wins a prize (see below).

We appreciate everything we receive, but original content creations (as opposed to readymade e-cards such as the one I used above) have the best chance of winning.

Birthday card entry submission is open until September 3rd 2006, 23:59:59 GMT (next Sunday). So you basically got this and the next weekend to work on it. We publish the winners and deliver the prize a few weeks after that.

### The prize

The best birthday card author will receive one [USR9610 speakerphone](http://www.usr-emea.com/products/p-voip-product.asp?prod=voip-9610a) AND one [USR9601 USB Internet Phone](http://www.usr-emea.com/products/p-voip-product.asp?prod=voip-9601a) from our friends at [US Robotics](http://www.usr.com), shipped to you anywhere in the world totally free.

9610-top-leds 9601a-lit-lo

UPDATE: the grand prize winner ALSO receives the [Skype Cordless VoIP Dualphone](http://www.amperordirect.com/pc/c-internet-phones/internet-phone-dualphone.html) from [AmperorDirect.com](http://www.amperordirect.com), shipped to you for free.

Dualphone

### Trivia

I spoke with [Ott](http://about.skype.com/executiveteam/ottkaukver/) about the first days of Skype in August and September of 2003. Here's what he had to say...

> I got a call from Taavet, one of Skype's original creators who still works with us, who asked me to install this new software. They had a drive to get to 15 online users. The next big goal was 50 -- it took a lot of calling and persuasion to get there :) when we got to 100 online users, it lifted off.

### The banners that didn't make the cut

We tried several rounds of the "3rd birthday banner" you see on the top of this article. Here are the other ones we tried that didn't make the cut to the top.

3years_1

3years_2

View blog reactions

Comments

(bow)

florian_matusek | Friday, Aug 25

29th was a Friday in 2003, I remember calling up (using cellphone) a few friends that coming Monday to get online to break 100 online user record. A thousand and 10k came in a whiz after that.

taavet | Friday, Aug 25

Something i don't like about the slogan "Now three, still free" ... the "still" implies that it could be different in the future.

I know this was NOT the intention to suggest this!

I would change it: "Now three, always free"

Jean

aimqbvba | Friday, Aug 25

Happy bday friends!!!

dr.maxx | Friday, Aug 25

Happt Birthday to Skype. Thanks for making our days easier. We love you Free Forever...................

yushuang_32 | Saturday, Aug 26


Happy Birthday to all of you at Skype

Keep up the good work of making people happy.

I am so happy I am using you to communicate with my friends, Thank you,, Anna in the Caribbean

oscali1 | Sunday, Aug 27

Well happy birthday to all of you at skype.

Keep up the good work at making people happy.

I am very happy that I can keep intouch with my friends through your airwaves.

Thank you from... Anna in the Caribbean

oscali1 | Sunday, Aug 27

Still free? Sorry, but SkypeIn is not exactly FREE but it's still "malfunctioning"... If you mean FREE, as Freedom, you right. Anyway, happy birhtday, with all its problems, Skype is the BEST! And getting even better. Keep going...

cebola53 | Wednesday, Aug 30

Happt Birthday to Skype!Thanks for making our work easier.

qlhuling | Wednesday, Aug 30

Here's to SKYPE for making the world a smaller place!

ebayrahul | Thursday, Aug 31

Hand of God for Skype's birthday:
England-based Skype receives a perplexing happy birthday card from a business partner in Argentina that highlights the soccer rivalry between the countries, via Maradona's classic goals in the 1986 World Cup.

http://www.verosee.com/handofgod2mb.mov (low resolution)

http://www.verosee.com/handofgod8mb.mov (high resolution)

pmrbertorello | Thursday, Aug 31

Happy birthday, Skype!

raunometsa | Saturday, Sep 2

Happy Birthday =)

Three Years, still free, it's nice :)

ryanrog1000 | Saturday, Sep 2

congratulation, it's great!

lilibeth.polo | Tuesday, Sep 5

Happy Birthday Skype!
I just love your motto and with your technology you created a breakthrough in quality and cost of communication. Thanks!

... and keep it free!

mark.lamma | Wednesday, Sep 6

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SKYPE!!! YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!

KEEP IT FREE............

smellmyfoot2006 | Saturday, Nov 25

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SKYPE!!! YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!

KEEP IT FREE............

smellmyfoot2006 | Saturday, Nov 25

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