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June 20, 2005
More On Skype...
Posted by Andy Lark
Johnnie's terrific post on Skype below inspired an entry over at my blog which a few of you suggested I post here... So, here you go.
Skype is a brilliant example of the power of nurturing communities with a high-quality product, continued innovation and ease of connection. While recognizing that in this instance it's also the essence of the product, that's a sub-text.
Compare Skype to Vonage for a second and you will see what I mean. I "joined" Vonage about four months ago. They treat me just like SBC or Verizon. Every add-on costs more. I get a bill and little else other than the product. The quality is pretty suspect. And while cheaper than Verizon, it ain't cheaper than Skype.
Then there is my Skype account. I get more and more value from neat add-ons developed by Skype and its community. The price and quality are much better than anything Vonage offers. And the community just gets better as a result of this innovation. Then vSkype comes along and adds to my Skype experience with video calling. Bam! The community activates and becomes more valuable - to Skype and to each other. vSkype's CEO says in an email that in the first 36 hours they had 50,000 downloads while some 8 hours later they zipped past 100,000. That's momentum.
Skype Journal has a terrific interview with Stuart Jacobson. In the Participatory Era Skype is establishing an incredible lead over Vonage - in participatory terms,
Skype is an engaged brand. It is engaged with its community. It has engaged with its users. So many brands forget this. They sell, you buy and that's it. Nada.
Comments (6)
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1. Tom Purcell on June 21, 2005 03:53 AM writes...
I think Skype is a great product and one can't really complain when it is delivered free to your doorstep. All power to their team. I just wish I could buy something from them! Their purchasing system and/or partner in that regard leaves me very discouraged. I've been trying for a week to get some credit for the first time since joining, but to no avail, and I can't get Skype or their partner to answer e-mails about it either. Shame, as I'd like to be a paying customer. Let's see if they can get it right in due course.
Permalink to CommentTom Purcell
2. Andy Lark on June 21, 2005 10:11 AM writes...
Hi Tom - you can! I buy about $20 of minutes every few months and love the voicemail. It works well for me as someone who makes a ton of International calls. I share your concern though - as a passionate user - that they figure more ways to monetize what they are doing. I'd hate to see them implode or discover I was just being used to make a few guys real rich as they monetize their subscribers.
Permalink to Comment3. Jaanus Kase on June 21, 2005 06:41 PM writes...
Tom - if you wanna chat me up on Skype (Skype Name "terminuz"), I could look into why the purchases aren't working for you. Global payments are hard to get right from day 1, but we're busy adding payment service providers and improving the service quality. A recent example praised by many users is PayPal where the experience is flawless to just about everyone using it - if you haven't yet tried that one out, I suggest you do that.
Permalink to Comment4. Alex on June 23, 2005 07:49 AM writes...
A general remark: finding praise for products that are evidently cool is, well, easy. But for a marketing consultant, how many are there who will find all the reasons for products to be successfull, before everyone will nod along in agreement?
One thing is to understand why things worked. It might be more interesting to study things that ought to work, before everyone catches on.
What more is brand consulting, than talking after the facts?
Permalink to Comment5. Johnnie Moore on June 23, 2005 09:19 AM writes...
Hi Alex: That's a very good point and I often weary of branding consultancy that relies too much on post-match analysis.
There's a saying that success has many parents while failure is an orphan. Far too much advice on branding relies on the artful reinterpretation of success.
Maybe my post is an example of this, though I was just appreciating what Skype had to say. But yes, in real life we're constantly challenged to generate something new, not simply go over the lessons of the past.
Permalink to Comment6. Dan on June 24, 2005 08:14 PM writes...
PayPal is hardly flawless to just about everyone using it!
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