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@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.
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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?
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@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.
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 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.
what the hell have Skype done? i get that they're trying to be a Snapchat/Instagram/Facebook competitor, but what about the people that use Skype professionally (which are likely to be the majority)? this seems like a dumb move, over-catering to a young demographic.
i'll stick to wire
(although, it should be noted that the desktop client of Skype is still the same old Skype we know, which i hope is how it'll stay for at least a while longer)
While I like the change I think it is to separate Skype and Skype for Business😲 although most of my Skype contacts are from work. Imagine having a customer support call😂😂😂
Yikes, wrong market for Skype. I feel it's way too late for skype to enter the personal social market, and this will hurt its appearance as a professional tool.
@alexwhitedev I think most people here are missing the long term outlook of this update. This is Microsoft gunning for Slack, not necessarily FB or Snapchat. MS didn't buy slack for $8B couple years ago because Bill and Satya thought they could rebrand Skype to become their Slack competitor.
@sasha_lah Yeah but the problem is Slack is a professional tool. Stories, gradients, animated reactions are not going to help them take on slack. Most people already consider Skype the tool that you have to use but would much rather be using something else, they have a lot of work if they hope to recapture their audience.
@sasha_lah @alexwhitedev There may be some truth to this analysis, but it completely ignores Microsoft Teams...
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 :)
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
Nobody "gets" the negativty, but skype is a poor product to begin with. They should fix their video quality first. I understand Skype is positioned as a "professional" software, but it's not really if you compare it to Zoom or Goto Meeting.
I am using for professional and personal use. To chat with teammates, share files and attend meetings. Talk to some of my family members who are located in foreign countries. Excellent app for video calling. Audio and Video call quality is good.
This move seems desperate and like Microsoft are playing catchup with no real insight into what Skype's core proposition is. Not sure why they've gone this route, skype is a powerful professional communication tool, I would have loved to see more features to make it a better experience for my professional calls and meetings. I can see how they may want to appeal to families (i.e. chatting with grandparents) but that is the wrong market to focus on in my opinion. Build on your strengths and double down on your niche rather than diluting the proposition.
Also having just watched their video on the release, it clearly shows they are completely alienating their professional users. Focusing solely on a younger demographic who use Skype to video chat with family. Unless internal data shows that more than 90% of skype users use it for family calls and only 10% use it for professional calls then I'd say this is completely the wrong move. Also why on earth was that family so weirdly diverse. I'm all for diversity in ads but that seemed like overkill :P
-_- . Personally, I use skype for work and like to compartmentalize. SO THIS IS THE WORST THING for me, totally kills the professional side of things.
I used to love Skype, it worked so well for being able to talk to my friends around the world. However, now I can't stand the new look. The chat bubbles are insanely huge for no reason. Not to mention you get the choice between colors that hurt your eyes or black and white dullness. I miss the light blue, it was easy on the eyes and a nice color.
It will be interesting what Skype does with business users like me. I pay each quarter to use Skype to call cells and landlines in U.S and Canada. This idea seems like a wacky departure. There are a lot of people like me. Seems that they should use Skype technology, but spin off this snapchat mutant, while keeping Skype as it is.
The new visual design looks very lightweight and contemporary. Obviously gradients are being overdone these days, but this seems like a nice, tasteful facelift.
This is an interesting move to me, because I've never encountered anyone who used Skype for anything more than in a profession setting. Any friend/family video chat happens over FaceTime, at least in my circle.
I'm curious how the professional users will respond to this.
Looks great, I've used the app but are people really going to switch when this can't compare to Instagram and Snapchat I don't think so. I think there needs to be a new idea, not something that's already been around for a few years. I respect the fact that they released the android version before IOS that was cleverly done. I hope Skype is able to reimage from the lack of interest that Skype has had in the last few years. Things like slack are taking over for professionals so I see why Microsoft are trying to target the younger generation.
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