From government to the RIAA we need new perspectives if we are going to make the transition to a network economy.

California to Regulate VoIP? According to this article over at Voxilla, VoicePulse CEO Ravi Sakaria has been put on notice by the state PUC that his company must begin adhering to telco rules, and has been...

An article in Forbes provides a short sighted view of the changes currently happening in the consumer VoIP market. Apparently FWD (Free World Dialup) has been around for 10 months and until a month ago I'd never heard of it. Like the burgeoning social networks I'm wondering how many of these systems I need or want. ONE! The article does provide a good example for anonymity which can't be excuted the same way on continue reading.....

Just yesterday Phill Wolff and I were having coffee (no WiFi and thus no Skype interruptions) and discussing how we could access walkie / talkie / Skype. Well it seems there are some hints here. Skype to GPRS enabled phones may not be that difficult. Hmmm....

Russell Beattie Notebook

This morning I saw that Jeremy Allaire had pointed out this new piece of software for our Nokia 3650s...

I was just Skyping with Mitch when we both began receiving Microsoft failure notices - Skype has to close. Ultimately Skype went completely down. As we tried to log back on I at first saw some 3000 online, then 12317 and then the rebuild appeared to accelerate reaching 45000+ pretty quickly. However this is still down from an earlier peak I saw this moring that logged 63346 as being online. This is roughly... ... continue reading.....

I've been talking to bloggers and reading blogs on Skype. There's a lot of chatter from David,Dina, Lilia, Ton, Phil, Mitch, Russell, , Roland and many more.  The demands for certain features are growing. This posting attempts to define how to differentiate Skype's product options.  It focuses on Individual Skype Accounts; rather than business which is not addressed here.  I've not set any prices --- I... ... continue reading.....

On Friday I blogged about Skype being a walled garden I was also thinking about Skype's potential third world business opportunities with Internet Cafe's. So it just proves that when you become aware and start looking for emerging indicators.... that just maybe it's in the news.

Networking the Telecom Industry

Utilizing the communications channels built to terminate international voice calls into Vietnam, AMEI...

Comments:

See http://www.henshall.com/blog/archives/000427.html I agree! :) Stuart Henshall • 9/29/03; 1:49:50 PM

Phil adds to the Skype meme below with additional "wants" that I've also been mulling over. It lead me to a few more to start the week.

   1. Auto - Info Profile: For eveyone not on my buddy list each incoming call should automatically open their profile. I may also want to specify that for all profiles filled with less than x-details Eg: First Name / Last Name, location etc.. to notify sender... ... continue reading.....

I should be able to initiate or stop this at any time before or during the call.

Either party should be able to block recording. The Veto button.

Indicate the call... ... continue reading.....

Skype knows when I'm available to take calls. Let me share that.

Expose user status to other programs.

• Ehanced blogrolls, showing not only who's posted lately, but who's online.
• Newsreaders that show author status next to the posts I'm reading.
• A near-realtime status icon on my blog, so you know if I'm available.
• Integration with IM clients, so we can see if buddies are skypeready.

Skyperolls should be sharable. I'd want... ... continue reading.....

As long as we're talking about sound, I want scheduled text-to-speech conversion of pre-selected RSS feeds. Speak them into an MP3 file. Automatically download them to an iPod for offline listening at the gym or during a commute. Feeds become folders, posts become files, to help with navigation.

While you're doing it, check the RSS feeds for audio enclosures. Download those too.

Nice idea!...

There's increasing discussion around Skype and its business model. The question keeps getting asked. How will they make money? Beyond software charges where is the next money making opportunity? Personally I don't think there will be much charging until a million people are on all the time - perhaps more. So far we are only at 50000. So there's some way to go.

For a call charging model I first thought of those... ... continue reading.....

I'm having a blast here listening to a live broadcast from TDavid. Very humorous and completely off topic for me. He's set up his weekly show in a talkback format this week..so the audience has the option to call in using Skype. It has reframed my idea of what and how simply this can be done. Come-on Clay Shirky... when is the first "Many to Many" Talkback?

So what's happening?... ... continue reading.....

Some experiments using Skype enable a better understanding of how it works and what opportunities will emerge for "chargeable" versions. Let's hold the pricing theories a little longer and uncover some systems architectural features that begin to identify "product upgrades" and innovations to come. Points covered:

   

Will this be the first use of Skype for a web broadcast? Innovation in action!

"Today on the 160th live broadcast of the Script School Radio show, we are going to be discussing and demonstrating the use of Skype to allow live callers into our live web streamed radio show. For those who are interested in seeing and hearing a demo of this capability, stop on by and learn how." Things that

Radio... ... continue reading.....

When I posted on Dartmouth I had no idea it would be Slashdotted. The coments are interesting.

FREE VoIP for Dartmouth Students - Slashdot
From the prespective of the IT/IS department, they need to worry about
how much bandwidth consumption there's going to be, and that's it. Not quite right.

This post covers where we are going next with Skype. My underlying belief that this is radical innovation and that managers must understand networks to be successful. I plan on using my blog as a good way to test these ideas with a live emerging case study that we are all involved in. Particularly for Skype connected bloggers there is a range of insight we can each individually and collectively bring to this.

This is the first in a series of posts about Skype. This one owes a huge debt to Stuart.

Skype is a telephone system that, at the moment, runs through the Internet. You access Skype through your computer. What are the elements of user experience? First, let's start with six choices, six user behaviors.

1. Start a call
2. Answer the call
3. Bring in another person
4. Share something
5. End a call
6. Add a friend...

This confirms the venue for tonights Skype Dinner is "Pacific Coast Brewing Company" See Directions and be there around 6:00pm. Will be fun. They apparently have WiFi online.

Need more info.... Skype me: Stuart Henshall" or Phil Wolff

Like the idea of P2P telephony? See opportunities for Skype and blogging. Want to explore SkypeWorld? Got some programming ideas? Come join us for some brainstorming and fun.... continue reading.....

Now add beer.

Wednesday, 24 September 2003 6pm

Pacific Coast Brewing Co. 906 Washington St.... ... continue reading.....

Mitch provides more thoughts on the business model for Skype. What's attractive to me is the "global" flat rate of this demonstration. Even the emerging VoIP carriers like "Vonage" aren't providing a global flat rate. Now the global rate just went to almost zero and the cost of the infrastruture moved to the edge.

The real business model is in linking VoIP to plain old telephones, including 911, which would...

Will the adminstrators or the students drive the change to VOIP telephony? From the New York Times --- Students get free calling. Dartmouth is looking to reach 13000, Skype already has 42500 online.

Using the software together with a headset, which can be plugged into a computer's U.S.B. port, the students can make local or long-distance telephone calls free. Each student is assigned a traditional seven-digit phone number.

The software, supplied by...

David follows up today with another detailed posting Skype P2P VoIP App: One in a Million?
"If they don't screw it up with a confusing and overpriced subscription service, Skype could possibly become one of those extremely rare apps that comes along and truly changes communication and networking on the web." David also puts a stick in the ground on pricing. I'm not sure I agree either in the global... ... continue reading.....

Picked up this note. Something that I tended to think was limited to cellphones "roaming" (at least for the time being) may just be beginning to emerge in WiFi. Now that makes Skype's appearance even more interesting. Could these two paths together accelerate the future? Then perhaps it makes the office more interesting too. No wires, no phones as we know them.

AIRCQ Wi-Fi Instant Messenger - 802.11 Planet, CT AirCQ by LodeSoft... ... continue reading.....

Like the idea of P2P telephony? See opportunities for Skype and blogging. Want to explore SkypeWorld? Got some programming ideas? Come join us for some brainstorming and fun....

Stuart Henshall and I need to talk. We talked on Skype. Now we're going to talk in person. Join us for dinner in Oakland this Wednesday. On the agenda:

• What are the traditional business opportunities...

Stuart Henshall and I need to talk. We talked on Skype. Now we're going to talk in person. Join us for dinner in Oakland this Wednesday. On the agenda:

• What are the traditional business opportunities for Internet telephony?
• What are the non-traditional, blog and social software -based business opportunities?
• What would we ask Skype to open to independent developers?

So:

Wednesday, 24 September 2003
6pm
Oakland
...

Made the WSJ very quickly!

WSJ on Skype:  "It's easy to dismiss Skype and other Internet voice initiatives as a lunatic fringe," said James Enck, a telecom analyst at Daiwa in London.

As expected by this weblog: But Janus Friis, one of the founders of Skype and its vice president of strategy, recently said the company plans to launch a service within six months to allow people to make calls...

HoustonChronicle.com - Working@home on Skype

FIRST it was the music industry, and now it's the telephone companies. Digital wizards may leave no industry unchanged.
Check out the latest from file-swapping pioneers as they set their sights on a new target and offer a system that lets people speak to each other for free

I just took a Skype call from an "unknown" for research purposes. He was a 16 year old German lad who lives in Bavaria. He's finding Skyping pretty cool. His key objective was to practice his English --- (almost perfect) and so he's reaching out to America and Japan wanting to share culture and just talk English to other people. Simply curious.. probably didn't expect to get someone older than his father. So I... ... continue reading.....

When words return it makes blogging a lot more satisfying. When I receive a call from a new Skype user who clicks on my blog and introduces himself as the organizer of last nights event you know answering created more value than ever losing him to a profile link on your site. I hope he doesn't mind my sharing... he was using MP3 headphones as the speaker (see Skype help) and it worked... ... continue reading.....

Last night there was a strong case put for "branding" as part of winning strategy for building business around Social Networks. We know it's critical. The imaginative fusion of personality and productivity create great brands. Then I discovered Abe's post on the "The Idiot Savant - Friendster Triumphant" and Marc's comments. It reinforced for me the strong "personality and polarlization that the founders of Skype have already provoked. It's getting press and reminders:... ... continue reading.....

Plausible scenario on the impact of P2P on the Entertainment Industry and Future of Media. What do you think?

Hardball assessment of the future of media

Many people have predicted that peer-to-peer file-sharing will change the face of media, but this paper by Scott Jensen is the most thoroughgoing research I've seen into the commercial and artistic effects that peer-to-peer can potentially lead to....

Well here's confirmation that Slashdot isn't in my Sharpreader. I almost missed the Slashdot posting on Skype?

A recent comment on my blog asked why the hype about Skype? "Aside from quality, why is everyone going crazy over Skype. I have used yahoo, netmeeting, and dialpad with success." I've tried them all too. What's inspired me to keep plugging away and digging deeper on Skype is it's base architecture. All the other systems use some form of centralized directory. Centralized directories create control and incur costs. Decentralized directory systems and... ... continue reading.....

It's all really intriguing. This question of whether and how we should codify relationships with the majority of effort around centralized data solutions, negotiating standards and adoption. I'm thinking there is another route.

Right now Skype has 18869 users online with 240000 downloads. That is more than any of these social networking tools Ryze, Ecademy, Linkedin, Tribe etc.. have ever had on concurrently. The founders negotiated no standards they... ... continue reading.....

I just sent a note to a number of friends and colleagues around the world. Earlier I also put a note on Ryze and also today to put a Skype link on my blog. Talking to more readers might nurture this blog along. Don't know if it works yet. Distance, locations and cost simply get in the way. I'm hoping by tomorrow I'll have a few more on my friends list. It will... ... continue reading.....

Ah emerging words and phrases. I see 12349 Skype users online now and just took up TDavid on his Call Me invite. He's put into practice what John Robb said you could do yesterday. Now I understand just how simple this is to do!

I may just find the Skype logo and put it on my main blog page later. For now you can "Click n Call" Me on... ... continue reading.....

While Skype founders are probably scrambling with what should be an overnight success, they are running some branding risks and have made some crucial target audience assumptions. Unfortunately, "beta" isn't an excuse. The consumers targeted with this product will ignore the "beta" label. I'm just going to put a few piece into play that suggests Skype must quickly become a marketing-centric organization.

Skype's consumer base is morphing by the hour. Each registration -... ... continue reading.....

Interesting just tracking Skype quotes... and thinking about the grass-roots activity that is happening.

When VoIP via P2P technology hits a point where you can call friends using a headset, PDA, and Skype software, using a wireless network, existing phone services will feel the financial hurt. I doubt P2P will kill either cellular or landline phone service, but it will certainly shift some dollars from the pockets of businesses that have far too...

An excellent overview of Skype. Note Robin's comments re Vonage and similar services.

Please Skype Me: Disruptive P2P VoIP Technology Allows You To Call And Talk Free To Any Windows PC - Robin Good' Sharewood Tidings

The advantage(s) of this over other similar new services like Vonage and...

There's plenty more out there on Skype today. The number of users online has doubled (from my observations) in a day. Currently there are 10049 users online. This is up from the 4500 approx early yesterday....... I noted yesterday. They claim 160000 downloads. So at this point probably close to 10% of the Skype population is staying online.

How many users will they need to have more computing power than the traditional switching... ... continue reading.....

Are there more business models around P2P? Seems a good time to highlight this emerging research business. BigChampagne is bubbling in the media world. Like Zoomerang lowered the cost of market reserach BigChampagne is the online ethnographer. They simply observe - watching for behavior changes.

In fact, it tracks every download and sells the data to the music industry. How one company is turning file-sharing networks into the world's biggest focus group....

I did a little further checking on Skype this morning. Try this search. Here's another article from InfoWorld With 10000+ users in a week I think it will blow all previous viral records.

I also looked up Stowe Boyd's Corrante blog on IM to see if it was being reported and then e-mailed him. Within minutes he was calling me. Very cool. I'm easy to find "stuart_henshall". I'll confirm the... ... continue reading.....

Try SKYPE out. When I've made a few more calls I'll report. If you are thinking about the future of IM, social networks, progressive disclosure, disruptive innovation and thought the founders of Kazaa were smart. This will probably confirm it. Read their Skype discription here. Provides some interesting strategy insights. Wish it would work with my Mac based friends.

Evan caught this:  Skype.  P2P telephony.  From the Dutch...