I asked my contacts "What does the eBay purchase mean for you and or your company?"

From Taiwan. A manufacturer of Skype hardware. He wouldn’t let me use his name.

"Actually, our eBay experience is terrible. I truly wish they (Skype) can become better... every email we sent to them is just like throwing a stone to the ocean. That is why I do not see any difference having eBay buy Skype."

From Sweden. Ben Isacsson:

"Yes a very, very new culture will emerge. At least for me. I will stay (with Skype) for a while - but only until I find a non US-owned program."

"To be honest I do not really think that it will impact our business much. We use Skype all the time in our business and love it. I am confident that this move will only mean that the product gets better.

I think that it could involve very interesting revenue generating opportunities for other businesses through the use of papal credit as opposed to Skype credit. I think the incorporation of PayPal is golden.

I am hoping that they don't move it into an exclusively North American thing now however.

I am very excited by the prospect. I listened to the eBay webcast and was very impressed with the eBay people.

"I'm amazed and astounded. It doesn't make any sense at all! I just heard the news and am thinking it thru give me a few minutes....

Well, first off, I guess that marks the end of the Internet ‘crash’ – or the beginning of a whole new bubble. Good news for the Internet industry (that someone would pay 2.6 BN for a company that's not yet turned a profit and only just starting to generate any revenue at all)

I have to say I can’t quite see the logic behind the marriage. Sure they can cross sell into each others' communities, but Skype hasn't exactly experienced problems with customer acquisition (maybe eBay has - I dont know). If this is all about enabling eBay buyers to talk to each other - and generating additional revenue from the voice calls, then:

a) I don’t see why they would buy Skype - why not build their own P2P voice functionality

b) I can see that generating some additional 'net new minutes' - but I don’t know that eBay users need to talk to each other, or how many would pay to do so (to justify that kind of a purchase price)

I might be being shortsighted, but I don’t quite get it. All of eBay's other recent acquisitions have been in the marketplace/ecommerce space – logical. Perhaps eBay were simply feeling left out of the VoIP hype/race with Google, Yahoo, Microsoft etc.

Also, it'll be interesting to see what they do with the brands....2 very powerful brands, but with really quite different brand values."

"Skype has undoubtedly fused with one gigantic community and infrastructure, ready to take on those 'other camps' currently making a lot of noise. If Skype's current partnering model holds up, we see great opportunities in relationship management and all the ideas going around this. This is 10+ in our scale."

"We hope that eBay's acquisition of Skype will mean a timely solution to the issue which all developers of services on Skype face, namely how to bill for services on the Skype network. As the owner of Paypal, Ebay already has expertise in the area of payment systems and has a well-defined eBay API and Paypal API. The next step for Skype/eBay should be to provide a payment API to allow developers to credit or debit a user's SkypeOut account for micropayments. Skype/Ebay would benefit by taking a percentage of each transaction, as Paypal already does.

From the UK. Martin Schoenenberger. Skype User and Swiss Investment Banker.

"Through this acquisition eBay gains a strong foothold in the the rapidly growing VOIP market. By joining the eBay, Paypal and Shopping.com platform, Skype will be able to aggressively expand their user population. The synergies will be enormous."

"A large part of the deal is the promise that Skype will stay independent, just as PayPal has. They got acquired by eBay some years ago but they're still operating fairly independently, joining forces with eBay at places where it's good for users, just as Skype will do. (Quote from Skype Forum: )

In your mind, is the eBay acquisition of Skype a good thing?

• Yes - 29% (8)
• No - 70% (19)
• I don't care - 0% (0)

Despite the negative poll numbers, most see it as an opportunity.

Many questions are answered in this eBay financial disclosure (pdf download). For an overview of the purchase visit this eBay investor relations page.

So eBay buys Skype. Who cares? I do. The road for the next year will be tough as cultures merge and evolve, but the end result will likely be very positive, as many developers above indicated. Skype will likely get the resources it needs to compete.

This is a shock. It touches all us Skypers. It appears end users are worried about the change; but most business people are embracing the opportunity.

Deal done. Retail VOIP in the offing? Views later.

eBay has agreed to acquire Luxembourg-based Skype Technologies SA, the global Internet communications company, for approximately $2.6 billion in up-front cash and eBay stock, plus potential performance-based consideration.

Skype generated approximately $7 million in revenues in 2004, and the company anticipates that it will generate an estimated $60 million in revenues in 2005 and more than $200 million in 2006. For Q4-05, eBay expects the acquisition to be dilutive to pro forma and GAAP earnings per share by $0.01 and $0.04 respectively. For the full year 2006, eBay expects the transaction to be dilutive to pro forma and GAAP earnings per share by $0.04 and $0.12 respectively, with breakeven on a pro forma basis expected in the fourth quarter of 2006. On a long-term basis, eBay expects Skype operating margins could be in the range of 20% to 25%.

The acquisition is subject to various closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Full text of news release...

On Skype.com:

eBay to Acquire Skype

London, September 12, 2005 – eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY; www.ebay.com) has agreed to acquire Luxembourg-based Skype Technologies SA, the global Internet communications company, for approximately $2.6 billion in up-front cash and eBay stock, plus potential performance-based consideration. The acquisition will strengthen eBay’s global marketplace and payments platform, while opening several new lines of business and creating significant new monetization opportunities for the company. The deal also represents a major opportunity for Skype to advance its leadership in Internet voice communications and offer people worldwide new ways to communicate in a global online era. Skype, eBay and PayPal will create an unparalleled ecommerce and communications engine for buyers and sellers around the world.

“Communications is at the heart of ecommerce and community,” said Meg Whitman, President and Chief Executive Officer of eBay. “By combining the two leading ecommerce franchises, eBay and PayPal, with the leader in Internet voice communications, we will create an extraordinarily powerful environment for business on the Net.”

Founded in 2002 by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, Skype offers high-quality voice communications to anyone with an Internet connection anywhere in the world. The Skype software is easy to download and install, and enables free calls between Skype users online. Skype’s premium services provide low-cost connectivity to traditional fixed and mobile telephones. Skype’s software also offers a robust set of features, including voicemail, instant messaging, call forwarding and conference calling. Upcoming product innovations include Skype video, expressive content such as avatars, and customized toolbars for Outlook and Internet Explorer.

One of the fastest growing companies on the Internet, Skype already has 54 million members in 225 countries and territories. Skype is currently adding approximately 150,000 users a day and has created a thriving ecosystem of products, services, developers, and affiliates. Skype is considered the market leader in virtually all countries in which it does business. In North America alone, Skype has more users and serves more voice minutes than any other Internet voice communications provider.

“Our vision for Skype has always been to build the world’s largest communications business and revolutionize the ease with which people can communicate through the Internet,” said Niklas Zennström, Skype CEO and co-founder. “We can’t think of any better platform to fulfill this vision to become the voice of the Internet than with eBay and PayPal.”

“We’re great admirers of how eBay and PayPal have simplified global ecommerce and payments,” said Janus Friis, Skype co-founder and senior vice president, strategy. “Together we feel we can really change the way that people communicate, shop and do business online.”

Zennström and Friis will remain in their current positions. Zennström will report to eBay CEO Whitman and join eBay’s senior executive team.

A Powerful Ecommerce and Communications Engine

Online shopping depends on a number of factors to function well. Communications, like payments and shipping, is a critical part of this process. Skype will streamline and improve communications between buyers and sellers as it is integrated into the eBay marketplace. Buyers will gain an easy way to talk to sellers quickly and get the information they need to buy, and sellers can more easily build relationships with customers and close sales. As a result, Skype can increase the velocity of trade on eBay, especially in categories that require more involved communications such as used cars, business and industrial equipment, and high-end collectibles.

The acquisition also enables eBay and Skype to pursue entirely new lines of business. For example, in addition to eBay’s current transaction-based fees, ecommerce communications could be monetized on a pay-per-call basis through Skype. Pay-per-call communications opens up new categories of ecommerce, especially for those sectors that depend on a lead-generation model such as personal and business services, travel, new cars, and real estate. eBay’s other shopping websites — Shopping.com, Rent.com, Marktplaats.nl and Kijiji – can also benefit from the integration of Skype.

PayPal and Skype also make a powerful combination. For example, a PayPal wallet associated with each Skype account could make it much easier for users to pay for Skype fee-based services, adding to the number of PayPal accounts and increasing payment volume.

In addition, Skype can help expand the eBay and PayPal global footprint by providing buyers and sellers in emerging ecommerce markets, such as China, India, and Russia, with a more personal way to communicate online. And consumers in markets where eBay currently has a limited presence, such as Japan and Scandinavia, can learn about eBay and PayPal through Skype. Skype can also help streamline cross-border trading and communications.

With its rapidly expanding network of users, the Skype business complements the eBay and PayPal platforms. Each business is self-reinforcing, organically bringing greater returns with each new user or transaction. The three services can also reinforce and accelerate the growth of one another, thereby increasing the value of the combined businesses. Working together, they can create an unparalleled engine for ecommerce and communications around the world.

Transaction and Financial Information

eBay will acquire all of the outstanding shares of privately-held Skype for a total up-front consideration of approximately €2.1 billion, or approximately $2.6 billion, which is comprised of $1.3 billion in cash and the value of 32.4 million shares of eBay stock, which are subject to certain restrictions on resale.

The maximum amount potentially payable under the performance-based earn-out is approximately €1.2 billion, or approximately $1.5 billion, and would be payable in cash or eBay stock, at eBay’s discretion, with an expected payment date in 2008 or 2009. Skype shareholders were offered the choice between several consideration options for their shares. Shareholders representing approximately 40% of the Skype shares chose to receive a single payment in cash and eBay stock at the close of the transaction. Shareholders representing the remaining 60% of the Skype shares chose to receive a reduced up-front payment in cash and eBay stock at the close plus potential future earn-out payments which are based on performance-based goals for active users, gross profit and revenue.

The above-mentioned dollar and eBay share amounts are approximate, based on the Euro-Dollar exchange rate and eBay’s stock price as of September 9, 2005. The final value of the stock component of the consideration may vary significantly from this estimate based on the value of eBay stock at closing.

Skype generated approximately $7 million in revenues in 2004, and the company anticipates that it will generate an estimated $60 million in revenues in 2005 and more than $200 million in 2006. For Q4-05, eBay expects the acquisition to be dilutive to pro forma and GAAP earnings per share by $0.01 and $0.04 respectively. For the full year 2006, eBay expects the transaction to be dilutive to pro forma and GAAP earnings per share by $0.04 and $0.12 respectively, with breakeven on a pro forma basis expected in the fourth quarter of 2006. On a long-term basis, eBay expects Skype operating margins could be in the range of 20% to 25%.

The acquisition is subject to various closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2005.
About eBay Inc.

Founded in 1995, eBay pioneers communities built on commerce, sustained by trust, and inspired by opportunity. eBay enables ecommerce on a local, national and international basis with an array of websites – including the eBay Marketplace, PayPal, Kijiji, Rent.com and Shopping.com – that bring together millions of buyers and sellers every day.

About Skype Technologies SA

Skype, the Global Internet Communications Company™, allows people everywhere to make free, unlimited, superior quality voice calls via its award-winning innovative peer-to-peer software for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Pocket PC platforms. Skype is available in 27 languages and is the fastest growing voice communications offering worldwide. Since its launch in August 2003, Skype has been downloaded more than 163 million times in 225 countries and territories. Fifty-four million people are registered to use Skype’s free services, with over 3 million simultaneous users on the network at any one time. Skype Technologies SA is headquartered in Luxembourg and is growing its offices in London and Estonia.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements regarding Skype and the expected impact of the acquisition of Skype on eBay’s financial results. Those statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those discussed. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the timing of the closing of the transaction, the possibility that the transaction may not close, the reaction of the users of Skype’s services, the future growth of Skype’s user base and public acceptance of Internet voice communication services, rapid technological changes in the Internet voice communications sector, the reaction of competitors to the transaction, global developments in the regulation of Internet voice communication services including those provided by Skype, the possibility that integration of Skype’s offerings following the transaction may be more difficult than expected, and the possibility that entry by Skype and eBay into potential new lines of business will not be successful. More information about potential factors which could affect eBay’s business and financial results is included in eBay’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, the company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to eBay on the date hereof, and eBay assumes no obligation to update such statements.

The eBay announcement:

***A New Way to Communicate***

I’m excited to let you know that eBay plans to acquire Skype, the leader in online voice communications.

Skype has set a new standard in online voice communications with
outstanding sound quality and unmatched ease of use. And like eBay,
Skype has a fast-growing community -- some 54 million Skype users
around the world already use their PCs to talk with one another.

And best of all, conversations between Skype users via PC are free. You
can get up and running on Skype in just a few minutes. Just go to http://www.skype.com/go/x.home to learn more and download the free Skype software application. Try it – it’s fun!

Over time, we intend to make voice communications a part of the eBay
marketplace – a huge step forward in making transactions faster and
easier, as well as bringing even more interactivity and humanity to the
eBay Community.

You can include your Skype ID in your About Me page. For now, however,
Skype links may not appear in View Item pages. We’ll be working with
you, our Community, over the next few weeks to thoughtfully work out
the details of how eBay and Skype will interact, including any policy
changes that may be required.

We expect this acquisition to be finalized soon. In the meantime, you can learn more about our Skype plans in the news release we issued just a few minutes ago.

Working together, eBay, PayPal and Skype will redefine online trade and
community. I hope you’ll join us in this exciting new chapter in eBay’s
history.

Sincerely,

Meg

The SkypeNet and SkypeWeb announcements are interesting. A bit scary too. Not for Google, the intended target, but possibly for members of the Skype Developer Community.

Lenn Pryor in today's Share Skype blog had this to say,

"We are announcing two new initiatives that make Skype and the Web a little more interesting and open up new possibilities for the developer and partner community... "

I am glad Lenn feels that SkypeNet and SkypeWeb will "open up new possibilities" because Skype's actions have been shutting down opportunities for developers.

Using the Skype API the Development Community created Web Presence Applications, integrations to e-mail systems like Outlook, and browsers like Internet Explorer, along with voice messaging/answering systems, like Pamela. In each case Skype moved into these tested and proven markets, thus eating the children they had spawned. Now the Skype Ecosystem is offered another API─ SkypeNet API.

For me, Skype’s new announcement just killed a $10,000+ contract for web presence I spent five months cultivating. Thanks, Skype. However, where I see a blunder of biblical proportions (lev 26:29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.), Martin Carleton, a developer of the Jyve Web Plugin for Skype, sees the move by Skype to be very positive.

A third perspective comes from Martin Geddes,

“Skype's limited resources are too diffused. Is a Skype toolbar really the biggest strategic imperative, something that cannot be done by a third party? An in-house video solution? Yet another web presence server?”

If Martin's insight is correct then Skype may be shooting itself in both feet: loss of strategic focus and a disheartened ecosystem. These are big problems to have just as Google Talk is emerging into the marketplace and as Yahoo and Microsoft sharpen their swords.

I have yet to meet a software developer who has made any money with their Skype Add-on applications. And yet these add-ons have created value for Skype. CRM and Outlook add-ons increase the use of SkypeOut. But the developers get no share of the revenue. Isn’t sharing good?

What do you see? Is Skype eating its children? Is SkypeNet and SkypeWeb creating new developer opportunities? Is Skype losing strategic focus? Tell us what you see.

João Brogueira writes:

On 1 June 2004, Jean Mercier posted an article on SkypeJournal making an analysis of how many users are online at a certain our within a 24 hours period. This raises the question of how to register the values without being waked up during all night.

The same Jean Mercier as per request of Bill Campbell, of SkypeJournal, shows how to make a video to register the Skype window and the number of users online.

I was surfing the Web today and I found this very interesting post claiming to have miniSkype, a small program that can not only register these values but also export them directly to a database for later analysis.

In short:

1. Jirong Zhou posted a test program on his blog, likely written by others.
2. It logs in to the Skype network, without Skype.
3. It gets data from the Skype network, like the number of people online.

Let me describe the screenshot for you...

It is a Windows XP desktop and three windows are open.

Two stacked on the left are titled "miniSkype v0.0.0.01". They each have a Log In/Out dialog panel on the left, showing "shantou001" logged in with a five character password and a "Log Out" button. To the right of the dialog panel is a text box showing a log of miniSkype's activity.

The first window's log shows:

Login
listen on random port
connecting SkypeNet ...
SkypeNet connected

The status bar shows a "1", "3", "login success", and "305271 Online".

The second window's log shows:

Login
listen on random port
connecting SkypeNet ...
SkypeNet connected
Logout
SkypeNet not connected
Login
listen on random port
connecting SkypeNet ...

and then scrolls out of sight.

The second status bar is the same as the first except that the number of people online is 3047812.

The third window is an application, what appears to be a utility from Gunagzhou's http://www.sky.net.cn/, makers of personal firewall software. It shows open applications and their network connections. One of the instances of MiniSkype.exe (running on drive E:) is shown with both a TCP connection (open on port 1389?) and a UDP connection.

Accessing the Skype Cloud Without Skype?

So does this mean...

• Skype's access to the cloud can be reverse engineered? If so, we can write applications that can write and read to the cloud from servers or clients. So if Skype doesn't write a version for your platform (let's say the PalmOS, for example) you might write your own.
• Cloud data is posted in the clear? While conversations are encrypted, it isn't clear that profile data and presence status is. And, I'm assuming that MiniSkype didn't encrypt the login process beyond common https.
• The MiniSkype client successfully logged in through Skype's own admin servers? If so, can Skype be selective about which clients have access? Should Skype publish a Terms Of Service about touching the cloud? In other words, how should Skype sanction access to the cloud?
• Having accessed the cloud, what other data from the cloud is available? Everything described in the Skype APIs? More?
• Can MiniSkype ask questions about other people, the way the Skype client can see buddy list presence and profile information?
• Is this intensely cool? Widely important? Or dangerous?

The SkypeNet will soon jump to a whole new level of enablement. Skype is readying their own link tags which will be incorporated in an upcoming release. While there are real parallels to "Jyve's" solution set launched just days ago, Skype's move is a giant leap towards becoming the standard communications platform for the internet.

Everyone that has an online community or runs a website will see the potential. By simply adding a standard string of Skype code any visitor will be able to click and chat, call or send a voice mail etc. No plug-in or additional download will be required. This means anyone can use Skype buttons.

Examples of Potential Skype Links: skype:+18005550000 skype:+18005550000?call skype:echo123?call skype:echo123?chat skype:echo123 skype:echo123?voicemail skype:user1;user2?chat (creates multichat) skype:user1;user2?call (create conference call) skype:echo123?add (add to contactlist; show authorization) skype:echo123?sendfile (open sendfile dialog to skypename)

Actual Jyve Tags Call to: Chat Message to me: Leave a Voice Mail:

Note this builds on the adoption of the callto:// tag that was almost forgotten until Skype came along and used it. The downside. We may now see mass duplication as other IM systems add similar functionality. Still the real-time web is drawing a step closer. This creates all sorts of opportunities from eBay sellers to large scale communities and yellow page listings.

If you want to get the jump on how these will work and how you can enable your site, then download the Jyve Plug-in. When Skype launches their updated version just update the tags. I expect it will be easy to swap over. In the meantime you can prototype new solutions.

The benefit to Skype. Webpages become another viral asset. Visitors without having Skype who click on a chat or call button will see a popup that points them to download Skype.

The lesson for developers? If you are going to mess with applications that can easily be added into Skype then you will find your good ideas uplifted. Sometimes in just days. The learning is focus on "integration" and new functionality when required that can be jointly developed together. In the future you may even get paid by Skype for such developments.

This new whitepaper The Skype Payment API from Connectotel should wake up everyone in Skypeland.

I found it on the Skype Forum.

Summary:

The proposed design for SkypePay would allow any Skype user to make use of his/her existing SkypeOut account to pay for goods and services. At the most basic level, the process of making a payment via SkypePay can be considered as a transfer of an amount
between one Skype user’s SkypeOut account and another.

This whitepaper is an epic. If implemented, and the rumour mill says that it will be, SkypePay has profound consequences for everyone: The Skype Developer Community, for the users of the Skype Global Network and Skype. As well, it opens up a whole new developer community ─ those engaged in producing content. From home movies, games and porn.

It is a show stopper for MSN and Yahoo.

Niklas Zenström has always talked about delivering “services”. SkypePay would make this easy for everyone, not just Skype to get paid for services: consulting on any topic, teaching languages, just let your mind wander.

What an awesome way to build a community.

"How the hell can you make money with a system that is for free?" , asks Skype Forum member, tropicaljantie, the real-life Belgian Jan Geirnaert, residing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

That's a good question Jan. The big travesty in the growing Skype Ecosystem, Skype Developers Program, and the API is the lack of thought by Skype staff about how developers will make money.

We have had some feedback in the Skype Journal...

Here is a comment to Stuart's post Skype Developer Ecosystem Gets a "D-". Jason Terando, the developer of the Skype API COM Wrapper, had this to say:

"One unfortunate trend seems to be Skype adding functionality without regard to what has already been developed. One example is voice mail. A few parties went to great trouble to build voicemail apps, only to have Skype include it as an included feature (albeit not for free). Likewise, Skype has committed to an API/web-based mechanism for retrieving on-line status, which a couple of parties have already worked hard on developing, only to see the rug pulled out from under them."

In an interview about Spontania's Video4IM, CEO Enrique Dominguez talked briefly about his business model.

"As you say, Skype is free, but out of the free version comes premium services. We follow the same strategy. We are a private owned profitable company, and obviously we need to generate revenue to keep these black figures ongoing."

"Regarding Spontania Video4IM, in some weeks we will announce some cool premium features; among others, videoconferencing between PC users and 2.5 and 3G mobile devices. This would drive Skype-Out minutes and open the door for new subscription models."

Niklas Zennström created a market of 45M users who want just about everything for free. Niklas makes millions and soon billions by nickel, diming and Euroing his captive Skype Users with valuable services, while members of the Skype Ecosystem get economically pummeled.

Jan, let's hear how our readers might answer your question, "How the hell can you make money with a system that is for free?"

Ashod's WigiWigi Video application has moved to the beta stage.

The User Interface is still a bit crude for mom to use but the one-to-one video quality and fluidity is setting the bar higher for all contenders in this market.

I will be doing more testing during the week and keep you posted. Right now it is for geeks only. But I don't think it will be that way for long.

Spontania has renamed Video4Skype to be Video4IM. The success of Spontania's introduction, which has exceeded 400K downloads, apparently didn't go unnoticed by Skype. I don't know what was involved or what went on behind the scenes. Don't know if there was a lot of talking or if the legal papers came out. I know the parties aren't commenting publicly at the moment.

That's unfortunate. I would have liked to tell a story that Skype approached these firms soon after they launched. They couldn't have been talking before and so it caught both teams by surprise.

There's a lesson in here for other developers and for Skype. It's a story that could affect more than one developer. There are many Skype software products emerging or available with Skype used in the name.

Their new API Guidlines make it a lot clearer. Still I know it has thrown some products that are nearing release for a loop. Skype needs to make this aspect of product developement easy to talk through for developers. For if they can't piggyback effectively on Skype, then what are they developing for?

Platforming is all the rage. Turn your product into a "platform" that others can build on or connect to. If you don't have a "developer program" you're just so... pre-millenium.

So why are Skype's investors and management driving a platforming strategy? What role can it play in Skype's overall strategy?

Not in any particular order:

• Great T-shirts.
• Resource Gravity. Partners can bring human and financial capital to expand your capabilities beyond your own resources. Skype may have more than 100 engineers, for example, but there's no reason that thousands of developers can't be part of an extended development family. There's an art to creating the gravity that attracts the right people at the right time.
• Market Expansion. Few companies meet all needs. Partners can reach and serve markets you cannot. Some are cultural, sociological or geographic. Others involve technological barriers.
• Sensor Network. Threats and opportunities are often found by your friends.
• Technology Brokering. You never know when a peripheral capability becomes core. So it's useful to have friends from whom you can license the technology. Or whom you can absorb. Innovation often occurs at the edge.
• Biodiversity and Risk Buffers. Partner networks let others take a wide variety of risks on behalf of the community. Some will be hurt or die from those risks. But the ecology learns and adapts.

You can read about strategic alliances, keiretsu, value networks, and other ways of partnering up. But Skype has at least three partnering initiatives:

1. Independent developers.
2. Telecom and mobile technology partners.
3. Marketing and distribution partners.

They must succeed in each of these. In the next few days, we'll be looking at how well Skype is serving its independent developer community.

Ever press the dial pad numbers in Skype, but not have the tones work right? I wrote a tiny program that fixes it. Free. This is what it looks like:

You can download it here.

So the next time you call to order pizza, book movie tickets, or check your bank balance, I hope you'll use KhaosDial.

For more information or to leave some feedback, please see this post on the Skype forum.

Just attended Cory Doctorow's keynote address - Europe’s Coming Broadcast Flag and Christian Lindholm - What is mobile life really about – Towards the seamless interplay between Hardware, Applications and Services. Cory made an appeal :

Good lesson for Asia too.

The Nokia presentation was disappointing - it was about what you can do with a Nokia phone today - cam phones and lifeblog - don't we all know that already? It did not touch upon bigger issues of how manufacturers of cell phones are gearing up for VOIP applications, what they are doing to embrace the open web. He spent a lot of time on the cam phone aspects but didn't talk us through how mobile technology is about communications or networking or better quality sound or video.

Malthe Sigurdsson is on now and talking about The Skype Brand - he is sharing the Skype philosophy of keeping it simple and opening up through the forums and developer community - it works! The room is crowded with people squatting on the floor - just shows the interest in Skype here. More on his talk here.

Questions:

How do you make money and how do you decide how much money you make ? Answer - VC, building userbase - plenty of money to go around, paid-for services where potential for revenues, tie-ups with hardware manufacturers, etc

Rumour - Yahoo buying Skype ? - Answer - there's so much more for Skype to do than being bought over by someone.

Can we buy stock? Answer - yeah we have stickers here :):)

Payment issues - Answer - being worked on - perhaps develop hubs.

Stuart is on this this afternoon talking about What's your presence strategy?

Skype said it will be re-launching their Software Developer Program, SDP, this month. They have 2 days to go! Please hurry!

Since I was the first member of the SDP eight months ago I can say this is a much-needed upgrade. Skype continues to innovate. But the real long-term innovation engine will be driven by an ecosystem of global software and device developers. Small, like Khaoslabs in Toronto, Canada, with the two genius Kevin’s (Kevin 1 and Kevin 2) who we work with, and large, like Motorola.

This week also marks the beginning of COMPUTEX Taipei, according to them, the second largest IT show. COMPUTEX will show us some exciting new Skype-enabled devices. I will be reviewing one for you next week. And we can expect yet anther third party video program to be ready for download this week as well.

Soon Skype will announce a much needed certification program which will help users make purchasing decisions a little easier. This program will help build trust between the developer and user community. Trust is a big deal.

Summer is approaching. Tonight it was hot enough on my deck to barbeque without turning on the propane. The Skype API world is now heating up too.

Since the release of the Skype API last September we have seen many early innovations. My own Skype Presence Server, voice mail solutions like SAM and Pamela. We have the bluedude (Hans Blaauw) in the Netherlands cranking out many tools. And Markus in Germany with his Skype presence broadcasters. Markusin the UK with his SMS solution. Skype Bots from the 2 Kevin’s and bluedude.

These are the earliest of days. The big days are coming. There are some really sweet things coming from developers to make Skype really rock.

AND now we have Lenn Pryor at Skype to help us drive it forward. Lucky us.

Here is an example of the kind of innovation I am talking about. Web-2-Skype’n Back. Kevin L(2) in Khaoslabs gave me a demo of his prototype today.

So here Kev’s prototype. Next week we will publish it as an “Open Source” project so everyone can get involved. Probably along with his Presence server.

Like the name says, it allows anyone to an initiate a chat message to a Skype Client from a web browser. AND for the Skype Client to respond to that message. A real plus if you want visitors to your web site to contact you. Engage in a chat. BETTER too, because if they give you there mobile or landline number you can call them on SkypeOut. Why type?

Here is the interface for me on my web browser along with a system diagram:

Here is the interface for Kevin L:

Awesome.

I will follow-up this post up with more about the Skype Developer DNA, Business Models for Developers and more third-party product products that enhance the Skype experience.

What I like about Skype is it's got all ages excited and imaginative minds working on new ways of doing things. At the request of a commenter I'm sharing with you that a Skype Chat RSS reader is working, and a Skype GoogleBot similarly integrated to work in Skype Chat. Using the same methods the chat channel can also be used for blog writing and many other commands. My friend Rabbit didn't stop there. I'm just waiting now for the full SkypeBot launch.

Plus these bots can be customised just like many others. Many who read this blog may also be familiar with Joi Ito's #joiito IRC channel at irc.freenode.net. JoiBot can be entertaining. On other sites round the net there are many entertaining solutions.

!GoogleBot:

Update: We'll announce and point you to a trial client shortly.

Leave a comment and let us know what bots you would like to see!

Skype Journal presents this guide to help developers learn Skype's Plug-in Architecture. (Download it in English, Italian, Japanese, Russian, or Spanish.) This guide steps you through the concepts. Your DIY project: build your own Skype answering machine. Along the way, you'll:

• Build tomorow's communications platform
• Customize & personalize Skype
• Create powerful applications
• Understand and work with the Skype API

Thanks. This book is our first community project to help develop and support the Skype developer community. It brought together a great group of Skype developers and users committed to creating new communications solutions. Many are active in the Skype Forums.

A special thanks to the Skype team for making this book available from the Skype developers' web site.

On this page:

• Learning Skype’s Plug-In Architecture
• Supporting Code and Documentation

Skype Journal Guide 1 Download

Supporting Materials:

Code from the Guide:

• Code Bundle includes:
• Answer Machine Source
• Answer Machine Executable
• VB.Net Executable
• C # (C-Sharp) Source and Executable
• JSkype Java Executable and Source
• PHP Source and Executable
• C++ Source and Executable
• IM.exe

Other materials:

• Skype API Documentation (.pdf) from Skype.com
• Skype Tracer (.zip): (Reference)
• Skype Com API Wrapper
• Chat.zip
• SkypeX

A new company Pamela-Systems announced today their entry into the increasingly crowded answer machines for Skype Market. (See also SAM and TeleCorder) We'll be doing a comparison shortly. If you try Pamela be sure to leave your comments. Pamela works on Window 2000 and XP. The Basic version is free and a Standard version priced at Euro 13.95 is promised for March.

Download Link
Skype Forum Link

Connectotel has launched an SMS to Skype beta service for GSM mobile phones. Say you have a buddy on Skype and you want them to call you on your mobile. Connectotel has the answer. Your Skype friend can now call you back from anywhere at SkypeOut rates. So if you want to receive SMS messages on Skype then add the Skype contact "smsgateway" to your contact list right now.

Instructions:

Setting up your mobile phone

Select the option on your mobile phone to add a new entry to the phone book sms to skype illustration

Type the name SMS To Skype

Type the number 447747782320

Save the entry to the phone book

Setting up Skype:

Add the Skypename smsgateway to your Skype contacts. Anyone who wants to receive SMS to Skype messages must have this Skypename in their contacts list.

Sending a Skype message from your GSM mobile phone

Select the option on your phone to send an SMS text message

Type the word skype followed by a space

Type the Skypename of the recipient followed by a space

Type the text of your message

When asked to type the number, select the SMS to Skype phone number from your phone book

Select the option to send the message

Example:
You would like to send a Skype message to johndoe from your mobile phone asking him to call you. Here is an example showing the how the message would be written:

skype johndoe Please call me
Connectotel - products - sms - sms to skype

What's a Skype Presence Server? From Qzoxy It allows you to share your Skype Presence (at the moment online status) beyond your buddylist. While SkypeMe buttons have proliferated on many blogs they never provided crucial presence information. Here are sites where you can see Skype Presence being Shared. At the end I encourage PayPal to use the Skype API as a payment mechanism.

Active in a bulletin board? Want to activate your Skype signature. Here is how. It's still early stage and not that sophisticated yet. Still it shares the same amount of detail you get from a buddylist and that has a positive impact on communication.

Most ambitious to date. See Jyve: A joint-venture partner with Qzoxy who will be providing hosted solutions for web sites and BBs. If you think using the Skype API opportunities are limited you should just sign up to Jyve so you can get your password and registration details back... not via e-mail, rather directly in a Skype text message from Jyve. That's a pretty neat trick. It means in time... that call placed from a site like Jyve will be able to ring and provide a caller ID and context letter simultaneously. That will be a pretty neat trick and is yet again something that telephone companies can't provide. Subscriptions to different services will enable more effective call screening. Now there is another market for that.

Here is a short list where some users are participating by sharing presence.
Qzoxy Test Forum currently conducting load measurement tests.
Skype Forum
German Skype Community Forum
Skype Spanish Community Forum
Bill Campbell's website
http://70.24.83.35:270/qzoxy/contact.asp our Qzoxy Contact Us Page

What does this mean at the moment? Signatures on bulletin boards are having active Skype logo's added to them. So you can see my current Skype status below and it will update from time to time. My presence (this logo) is tied directly to the Qzoxy server. The next step will be more detailed calling cards; coming soon.

My Current Skype Online Status Click for Contact Options

I also imagine some of you asking me if broadcasting my Skype status bothers me. I'd have to answer that it doesn't. I don't block calls or text messages. They simply aren't a nuisance and I'm not a pretty girl to be hit on. So for the most part I get the calls I need and / or expect. Enabling my presence particularly in communities or environments where I would like to connect with others makes sense to me. What I may want in time is a "Presence Service" one that registers my presence or serves it differently to different groups at different times. It may also serve up access in the future. Example: I am available (subject to my presence management setting) to community X between 6 and 9 pm every night. This could be my daughters sports team. If I'm on the line it will know and may even instigate a call back and que system.

So rather than being confronted with am I listed in the white pages or not.... I can list my number and availability with services and communities that warrant my attention for which I will grant access. Then again... put a big enough PayPal check on the call and I'll probably answer. So how long before PayPal runs with Skype handles as an alternate to e-mails? Or is that SkypePay? Hmmm.

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 to your address book

Much of the product and business analysis will cluster around one or more of these moments. There must have been prior art on telephone consumer behavior, so research will follow.

Start a call

Includes:

• Recognizing the need to talk to someone
• Choose to talk now
• Looking up or remembering their phone number
• Going to the phone
• Calling

Answer the call

• Be alerted (ring ring)
• Choose to answer
• Go to the phone
• Answer

Bring in another person

• I'm on the phone and recognize the need to talk to another person without hanging up the existing call
• Choose whether to create a second call, bring the next person into the existing call, or to merge two ongoing calls
• Make a call or merge two calls

Share something

• "Oooh, you got