Subscribe
Sign in
95
Replies
I appreciate that MS is trying to make Skype more relevant to what consumers expect these days, but man oh man, I'm really concerned how this will be received by users — like myself — who use it primarily for work.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not someone who knee-jerk-reaction hates change, and I'm completely on board with Skype getting a design refresh (it's been far too long since someone gave Skype's UI the love and attention it deserves) but having used Skype ~8 hours a day, every day for the last 5 years or so, I'm seriously having a hard time imagining how I fit into this brave new world of theirs.
That said, I really hope they prove my doubts wrong and I end up loving it, because it's an indispensable tool for me.
While I think remixing Skype is a brave and smart move, this feels like a knee-jerk reaction to the trend of the day. However, I don't think Skype faces much risk in alienating its current user-base since most previous users probably won't care. It'll be interesting to see if they also launch a Skype Pro version for business users
Top Hunter
I'm not really worried about the Snapchat-inspired aesthetics or content... it's still video calls and text chat, but now with more fun. And, as Messenger's David Marcus has pointed out, the Stories format is just that: a new mobile-native format, in the same vein as yesteryear's web-native blog post format.
The concern that Skype is a professional tool that's about to be overrun by thrill-seeking tweens is probably also an overreaction. Google Hangouts had fun video effects too and people still used it for work, and those features mostly stayed out of the way, just as Slack is a work product that has playful elements to. Get over it! 😝
If anything, these concerns point to the challenge of having a single app/brand that needs to cater to such a broad and diverse audience. At the end of the day, old-minded, conservative, change-averse people lag the market, not lead it, and if Skype has to move those folk's cheese to stay relevant, then they will, and it looks like they're about to.
@chrismessina I completely disagree with your view here Chris. Skype has an incredible opportunity to double down on the professional market, their core market, and build a design and experience that favours that, and leave the fringe markets (i.e. family, groups) to contend with and live within that professional experience and design, rather than the other way around. This seems backwards to me, why would I want to use a Snapchat like interface for calling clients, investors, business partners?
@syedaliahmed @chrismessina Skype = Consumer. Skype for Business = Enterprise. When you look at the overall usage and subscription/attach rates, O365 Enterprise-level SKUs (Skype for Business) is where all of the business usage minutes is coming from.
SMBs using consumer Skype to conduct their business is in reality only a tiny tiny tiny tiny slice of the pie.
@imaznation @chrismessina thanks Alex for sharing this insight, really valuable. However I would be interested to know how you define that segment (SMBs using consumer skype for business) and interpret the data. For example I use Skype considerably for professional calls, however almost all of those are simply me sharing my Skype username through my personal gmail. How would you be able to tell if I call person XYZ whether they are a business partner or a family member? If your data automatically segments that use case as a personal interaction then you've got a huge problem with your data. I have a strong feeling that what you feel is a tiny, tiny, market is a whole lot bigger than you think. Also the definition of a professional user is increasingly getting blurred, as millions and millions of people start moving into freelance and contract work, it doesn't mean that they have to be a small business owner to fall into that segment?
Top Hunter
@syedaliahmed I can't speak for @imaznation, who actually works at Microsoft and has access to way more data than me, but with the acquisition of LinkedIn, Microsoft has more brands to play with for going after the enterprise/professional/small business market. Skype is likely going to be more targeted at FaceTime or Hangouts or Messenger in the consumer space. Skype for Business may be another angle for approaching the business ecosystem. Put another way, video conferencing is fast becoming a checkbox feature (i.e. Slack, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, et al all have it as a standard feature). Microsoft isn't in the business of charity, and so they need to find new revenue streams and opportunities for Skype, including branded content and social media, given its broad international usage. While you may feel a s strong resonance and sense of wide adoption among your cohort, and in no way to diminish that sense, Skype likely sees its non-Business brand as being better suited to modernize and shift away from business users who are less likely to pay for premium services and who would also be better served by Microsoft's other offerings.
Wow, am I the only here who thinks it looks great? I feel like just because it is Skype from Microsoft people need to make fun of it :)
I don't get all the negativity. Everything, every startup and product is inspired by something that came before it. Everyone's talking about Slack as if Slack was a completely original concept when it came out.
I for one really like the new visual identity, focus on fun and the revamps to video calls.
@pddro people already associated Skype with something, they expect it to behave a certain way. Slack is new, no association, no expectation.
I feel so sorry for grandparents everywhere the next time they go to Skype with grandkids.
The race now is between Microsoft Teams vs Facebook Workplace vs Trello, who will do stories first?
I've always used Skype as a professional tool, to video chat with teammates and external folks for work. This refresh feels a LOT more fun and social.
TechCrunch's @sarahintampa makes note of the Snapchat-like stories. 😉
@rrhoover @sarahintampa Same here, I can't imagine anyone I have on Skype using stories!
@jevinsew @rrhoover @sarahintampa At one point, large businesses said this about Facebook. Then small businesses. Then my Dad. We all know how that ended.
Robomart