General

One of the more interesting sessions I attended at the Pacific Telecommunications Conference (PTC) in Honolulu this week was a panel discussion called "The Content Providers Speak". It included technical eaders from Google, Yahoo, and Facebook, who were talking about their perspective on what networking means to them.

A few really interesting points came out:

• Electricity is the dominant cost factor for them. This creates a tension between cheap power - often available far from large user populations - and good experience - which drives data centers closer to large user populations.
• The growth of dynamic content is seriously weakening the value that these guys are seeing from Content Distribution Networks (CDN).
• Facebook has a 50/50 split between leasing datacenter space and building, while Google and Yahoo primarily build.
• There is a growing move away from the use of transit ISP providers. All three of them said they had, or were planning to, move to direct peering with local ISPs. This was driven by cost savings and the ability to have greater control over performance.
  

I thought these were great insights into the challenges that application providers in our space are facing.

Yesterday, I gave a keynote address at the Pacific Telecom Conference (PTC) in Honolulu. I talked about the current state of the IP communications industry and where its going in the future.

The IP communications industry has been around a long time - around 15 years or so. During that time, there are four areas in which it has been extremely successful. The first is in the enterprise. IP-based business phones are nearly half of all new PBX line sales today. The cost savings of consolidating voice and data networks, and the benefits of centralized call control, have made VoIP a clear winner there. The second area of success is in consumer cable. Even though VoIP is invisible to end-users, the cost savings of the triple play has been compelling. In the U.S., 16.5 million homes are using VoIP provided by their cable providers. The third area of success is near and dear to Skype - the consumer desktop application. Skype has over 520 million registered users. In terms of usage, a just-released report by Telegeography said that Skype now accounts for 12% of worldwide ILD traffic - up 50% from last year. Thats amazing growth. The final area of success for IP communications has been voice backhaul.

We're far from done though. The future holds many opportunities. Three big ones stand out. The first is video, the second is mobile, and the third is web.

The IP communications industry has been talking about video forever, but it's finally happening. This is due to the increased user expectations (video is now everywhere on the web), the now ubiquitous availability of webcams that are built into laptops and netbooks, and the improvements in video quality we've seen - now VGA and 720p. The final barrier had been the network effect - finding others to talk to. Skype has finally jumped the network effect gap. With 34% of Skype-to-Skype calls using video, there is a huge population of folks to have video calls with. This is what is enabling us to now bring Skype to TVs, as we announced last week with LG and Panasonic.

The next frontier is mobile. Mobile VoIP is in its infancy, but a combination of factors is creating a perfect storm for this to change. The first is the rise of the smartphone. 18% of phone sales today are smartphones, a number which will grow to 38% in 2013. WiFi is finally becoming ubiquitous on these devices, allowing high bandwidth in the home and the office - the two most important places. The growth in 3g usage and 4g rollouts are growing available capacity too. Add to that the rise of the app store as a channel for new apps, and you have an amazing opportunity for mobile IP communications apps to flourish.

The final frontier is the web. The lines between IP communications and the web are blurring. Facebook has IM. Social networks are all about person-to-person communications. Advances in web technologies - like AJAX and Flash - are making browser apps as interactive as desktop apps. The browser is now handling multimedia, and standards are evolving to enable codec support right within the browser. This trend will continue, and extend to encompass all of real-time communications.

Voice on the web won't just be about click-to-call, but rather, seamlessly integrating real-time communications with the web experience itself. Today the web is mostly a solo activity - I browse by myself, and visit eCommerce sites by myself. Imagine being able to have a virtual e-commerce shopping trip with friends, where people can browse through the shelves of Amazon together, all while chatting by voice and seeing each other with video. Imagine being on Facebook and being able to speak to someone about their status update as easily as you can post a reply to that update. That is what it means to bring a voice to the web, and it is the future.

The people at Say It Visually have put together this fun little video. It’s a neat summary of what Skype can do – thanks guys

Of course, as we didn’t produce the video, we’re not responsible for its content. But it’s cool nonetheless.

Hello again!

It's been 10 days since we launched the first Beta of Skype 4.0 for Windows, so I thought it would be a good idea to reflect a little and to respond to some of the feedback we've received.

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who has given us their thoughts via our feedback site, on this and our other blogs, but also via the various feedback mechanisms we introduced for this Beta. It always amazes me how many people are so passionate about Skype and that's what makes it so enjoyable to get up and come to work every morning (apart from last Thursday - boy, did my head hurt).

We've had very different reactions to Beta 1, in particular the big change we made of having Skype in a larger window. One of the primary reasons for doing this was that we found an overwhelming majority of people had trouble working with multiple windows and were using Skype mainly to make calls and video calls, especially amongst those new to Skype. We've had some very positive feedback from a lot of people on the new way of working, and that's encouraging as it seems we're starting to solve the problems that we set out to solve. However, it's very understandable some of you used to using Skype on a regualar basis have been a bit frustrated about not being able to work with Skype the way they are used to.

We always planned to address our more advanced users in a second beta, and I just wanted to say - don't worry -- we will address the need to have Skype take up less room on the screen with a feature that allows you to reduce the size - we call it compact mode. We hope to get it out towards the end of the summer with our second beta release.

Continue reading "10 days later..." »

Your mobile rings, you take the phone out and it says Unknown or a weird combination of numbers - and so you don't pick up the call. Sounds familiar?

This might have been someone calling your phone with Skype because only people that had bought online numbers could set them to show on their friends' phones when calling. Up until last week, anyway. Now anyone with a mobile phone can set its number to show when calling a landline or mobile from Skype.

Caller identification, as we call this feature, is easy to set up. Simply sign in to your account and follow the on-screen instructions. Please note that if you have previously set up your mobile number to show when sending SMS messages you don't need to verify the number again. Just choose to use the same number to show for SkypeOut calls.

Setting caller identification is free to use and costs the price of two SMS messages to set up. It's available for almost any mobile phone and subscription type in almost every country of the world.

Hi, my name is Andrus, I work in marketing and some of you might remember me posting here before.

It's been a bit more than a year since we introduced Skype Prime™ Beta, a marketplace for voice and video services which brings together those people who have expertise, knowledge, advice or skills to sell to others who are seeking advice and happy to pay for it.

Since then we've seen many businesses - both small and large - sign up for Skype Prime to provide services to the many people who are seeking those services. The most popular services we've seen so far fit into the following categories:

• Business & Personal Finance
• Computer & Internet
• Language Lessons & Translations
• Relationship Advice & Counselling
• Spiritual & Astrology
• Tutoring & Homework

However, it's been pretty challenging for people on Skype to find these service providers unless you knew exactly where to go or stumbled upon them. Today, we're addressing service provider find-ability with the launch of the new Skype Advice and services directory.

Continue reading "Introducing the Skype Advice & Services Directory " »

This week will mark the first month on the job for Skype CEO Josh Silverman. It may not be as round an anniversary as 100 days, but if you want to find out what's brewing in the mind of the man at the top, Almost Thirty Days On the Job looks like a pretty workable milestone. And it didn't even require an international logistics operation to do this interview -- being able to reel in the CEO to benefit the readers of this blog is one of the perks of an open-plan office here in Tallinn. Enjoy.

Continue reading "Interview with Skype CEO Josh Silverman" »

Mobile-space watchers among our American readers have perhaps seen this at the appropriate time, but since being late to the cool kids' party is not embarrassing as one might think, we're happy to have missed the premiere of this fabulous spoof. Enjoy!

For more on HandSolo, see the companion website. I suspect, though, that at some unspecified point in the future, this ad will get umm-so-what shrugs instead of laughs. That's because I fully expect something like the HandSolo to be available before mankind checks out. And I fully expect Skype to be involved.

Hi, I'm Josh. The new guy. On March 24, I'll step aboard as CEO to lead the next stage of Skype's exciting journey.

To say that I'm looking forward to leading this company is an understatement. Skype is one of the defining internet technologies of our era. It's helping people all over the planet connect with each other like never before. It's changing the world. You don't look forward to something like that. You drop what you're doing and jump aboard.

I’m well aware that it is more than just an ingenious feat of engineering, which has made Skype one of the most rapidly-adopted technologies in human history. It’s a passionate community of users who believe in the power of human connection, in bold innovation and in striving for product excellence which has put us on our path to changing the world. I share your passion, and take very seriously the responsibility of all of us at Skype to be good stewards of the product and the brand.

So what can you expect from me? That I’m serious about wanting to build the greatest products -- and the greatest company -- on Earth. That doing so means listening well, being willing to think different and take risks. And in everything we do, one thing is certain: we'll always have the best interests of the Skype community at heart.

I’m the new guy, and have a lot to learn. To really understand Skype's cultural and technological DNA, my number one priority is to do a lot of listening and learning. With my wife and kids about to begin their adventure in Estonia as well, I have all the support I could ever need. I want to know everything about the technology, the team and the community. And I hope to share some of my observations on this very blog and see what you think, too.

As chief executive, I'm stepping into a flight deck first captained by co-founder Niklas Zennström and latterly interim CEO Michael van Swaaij. Both of whom have done great, meaningful things with this company. I don't yet have the right to expect your enthusiastic two thumbs up. But as we go further on this journey together, I plan to earn it.

In the meantime, I look forward to meeting and talking with as many of you as possible over the months and years to come.

We are wanting to partner with companies who can resell Skype services to small businesses and SoHo’s within Europe. If you are an IT consultant or offer IT support services and you have a large network of business clients, then please get in touch.

You would be incentivized to sell Skype services to business users including SkypeOut, SkypeIn and the Business Control Panel. Please see [www.skype.biz](http://www.skype.biz) for an overview of the Skype for Business offering. If you think you can sell this to your clients, then please contact us.

Send an introductory email to [resellers@skype.com](maito://resellers@skype.com) and include a summary of your business and an overview of your client base. We are looking for partners with large networks of business users who the Skype offering will appeal to.

Skype has just launched the latest version of [Skype for Mac 1.5](http://about.skype.com/2006/07/skype_launches_exclusive_new_e.html#more). This is designed especially for Mac to be faster and easier to use, with exclusive Mac-only features.

You can read all about this on the [Mac Blog](http://share.skype.com/sites/mac/)

We’ve also released a [preview version of video for Mac](http://www.skype.com/download/skype/macosx/videopreview.html) which is now available for brave users who can’t bear to wait any longer.

‘Preview’ means that we’ve only tested it under specific conditions, and that we can’t guarantee the quality for users on different hardware or operating system YET. For the full launch of Skype for Mac with video we need our partners to help us provide the best hardware available for Mac users to have great quality video calls. If you would like to get involved or let us know what you have planned for Mac, please [email](mailto:partnermarketing@skype.net) us.

If you are looking to partner with Skype, then Skypecasts are a great way to start introducing your customers to Skype, and introducing your company to the Skype community of over 100million users.

Why not host a Skypecast to discuss an issue relevant to your users? All Skypecasts are promoted in the [Skypecast Directory]( http://www.skype.com/go/skypecasts) giving you exposure to the Skype community.

Read the [help guide]( http://www.skype.com/help/guides/skypecasts.html) to find out more about hosting and attending Skypecasts. If you use Six Apart Typepad for your company’s blog, we have created this [widget]( https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/skypecast/widget.html) to make it easy for TypePad users to announce and promote their Skypecasts on their blog.

If you want to learn more about the partnership opportunities with Skype, here is a great opportunity. Over the next week or so we will be hosting a series of Skypecasts to talk about different aspects of partnering with Skype.

Here is the agenda of upcoming Skypecasts relevant to partners:

[1. Partnership opportunities with Skype](https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/skypecast/detailed.html?id_talk=512)
Hosted by davison_scott
Starts May 5, 12:00 (FINISHED)

This Skypecast will provide a high level overview of the different partnership opportunities that exist with Skype.

[2. Earn money promoting Skype](https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/skypecast/detailed.html?id_talk=506)
Hosted by owenparry
Starts May 12, 12:00 (MOVED TO MAY 19 same time)

Calling all bloggers and webmasters: Joining the affiliate program and spread the word about Skype - we'll pay you for every person you get to try out SkypeOut, SkypeIn, Skype Voicemail and hardware. This cast gives you the lowdown.

[3. Skype centric hardware](https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/skypecast/detailed.html?id_talk=646)
Hosted by ed_botterill
Starts May 10, 16:00 (FINSHED)

Existing/potential hardware partners: Join this Skypecast to learn more about the evolution of Skype hardware and understand what makes a good product.

'What are Skypecasts?

We are currently offering an [early preview of Skypecasts](http://www.skype.com/go/skypecasts)
Skypecasts enable people to discuss shared interests — anything from classic cars and cooking, to home design and computer support. Skypecasts are moderated by the ‘host’ who is able to mute, eject or pass the virtual microphone to participants when they wish to speak. Hosting or participating in a Skypecast is completely free.
How to join or host a Skypecast? See the user guide.

Skype affiliates earn commission by promoting SkypeOut, SkypeIn, SkypeVoicemail and hardware on their websites. They do this by using special links and banners provided by us.

It is the quickest way to establish a relationship with Skype, and it's free to do. The Skype affiliate programme is available in almost every country in the world. All you need to do is check out http://www.skype.com/partners/affiliate/ where you will find instructions on how to get started.

Owen

Hello, I’m Scott from Skype’s partner marketing team. As you can imagine we get lots of requests from companies interested in partnering with Skype. We already have some great partners from many different fields including hardware, software and online; but we are always looking for new partner’s who and can help us grow and better serve the Skype community.

The purpose of this blog is to communicate in a timely way with the thousands of potential partners who want to keep an eye on what Skype is up to. Sorry we can not always respond to everyone individually, but hopefully this blog will help to answer many of your questions and keep you in the loop.

I plan to post information on new developments relevant to partners, upcoming events we will be attending and also any of our partner’s announcements that may be of interest to the broader Skype community.

Who knows where this will take us, but I hope you find it useful.