Skype

eBay’s inability to fully integrate and maximize the potential of Skype within it’s core offerings has been well documented over the last few years. And even in prepping Skype for sale or an IPO, eBay continues its string of boneheaded moves when it comes to the world most popular voice and video service.

According to a statement released by eBay recently, eBay is discontinuing Skype voice and chat buttons in listings as of 10th June 2009 in an effort to remove features with limited buyer and seller usage. The move will start with eBay’s UK site and one can assume it will eventually happen across all of eBay’s sites.

You’d think that at a time when you’re getting ready to sell or go public the eBay team would be trying to increase usage (thus resulting in increased profits) - not decrease it. Sure eBay should protect it’s proprietary innards that Skype is tied to, but remove it completely?

That just doesn’t make business cents.

Scoop via TechCrunch

As I covered yesterday, the native Skype client for the iPhone was released today.

Being both a Skype and iPhone user I grab the new Skype client this morning. Before making any test calls or messages, I decided to give the Skype client a quick “feature spin.”

Skype for iPhone feature overview

After a quick download from the app store I found that the Skype for iPhone client allows Skype users to:

• Call other Skype users
• Call out via SkypeOut
• Manage your contacts
• View chats and calling history
• View and edit your account information

Missing from Skype’s native desktop functionality is:

• Ability to purchase SkypeOut credit directly
• SMS messaging
• Conference calling
• Voicemail retrieval
• Video
• File transfers

There are likely a few others, but those were the major missing features. Once I had an opportunity to familiarize myself with the Skype for iPhone client, I spent some time putting the client through it’s paces.
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I’ve said it before. There are a lot of smart people reading this blog.

What started as a thought about how Skype can get a market presence in the business sector has segwayed into some sound thinking about the relevance of Skype’s new wide band voice codec SILK.

Here’s a sampling from the comments section:

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It’s funny that Skype continues to try and angle its way into the lucrative business communications space when all they need to do is improve the business user experience.

Today Skype is still a consumer experience. AIM on steriods.

At least that’s how it’s viewed by many a business user and IT administrator. Coming from a business user and someone who’s worked with thousands of business VoIP users I’d have to agree.

Just look at the hardware made for Skype. Cools toys and gadgets.

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I don’t typically comment on hirings and firings. I always found it a bit “arm chair” to do so because unless you have worked for or with the person in question, it is difficult to truly comment on their ability to perform their job duties. I am making an exception, however with eBay’s appointment of Josh Silverman as the new CEO of Skype.

Here’s why…

Although Silverman brings a vast amount of experience running consumer internet companies, he has no experience in voice, IM, video or telecommunications. Since eBay bought Skype they have had trouble finding the right leadership to take the company to the next level, primarily because they have had eBay folks (who know little about communications) running the ship. Given their lackluster performance and the fact that many (privately) have stated that many within eBay have no clue about what to do with Skype, it is interesting to see that they elected to go with another insider, rather than bringing in a experienced communications executive.

I wish Mr. Silverman luck, but I see history repeating itself here. Look for another new CEO within a year.

Is Google’s Rumored Interest in Skype All About Ad Dollars?

There is a lot of chatter around the industry about the Google potentially acquiring Skype, but what no one has mentioned is that this deal is really all about the ad dollars Skype could bring into Google. Many point to Google’s telco ambitions as a driver for the acquisition of Skype, but to date Google nothing that Google has done outside of search and advertising has been a hit, or even moderately successful. What Google is great at is selling ads and they should stick to it.

By acquiring Skype, Google would gain the ability to display ads on the Skype client (which gets them “on the desktop”), play audio ads before calls, and not to mention get them onto the cellular handset through Skype Mobile. Google could also make non-Skype-to-Skype calls absolutely FREE, favoring an ad-support model rather than the current pay-per-minute model. Google likes to offer free services supported by ads (after all that is what their search engine is) and telephony has long wanted a player to come and make it completely free, supported of course, by ads.

But what if you do not buy the telco angle or the advertising angle? Well, try this one on for size. How about Google buying Skype for their user data? It widely known that Google wants to know every single detail about you and your life in order to catalog it all in an index and deliver more targeted ads to you. They recently launched Open Social to “get to know you better” and have even provided funding to a company that wants to be the world’s trusted source of personal genetic information.

Buying Skype for the chance to learn more about 80 million people? That’s not so far fetched.

Call me a conspiracy theorist on this one, but I don’t buy the Google-Skype telco angle.