This is a great new idea from Skype. As someone who’s done a few Skype conferences (we often use Skype when we chat as a group at PodcastRoundtable), their conference call features are pretty good already. And, you know I am not just saying that because I’ve come down hard on Skype MANY times. I think they really need to fix their issues with calls that just cut in and out (dropping packets) because often when I am on with clients across the pond the conversations are almost intelligible.
However, this new product, Skypecast, is set to become a big star in the world of VoIP communications. By allowing a virtual moderator to pass off the conversation, you are in effect creating a conference, not a conference call. The podcast potential remains to be seen, but it’s promising…
The other parts of the service are just as cool:
Bloggers can schedule Skypecasts and link to them from their sites, so visitors using Skype can click to join discussions instantly, without leaving a blog site.
And, they are planning on integrating Skype with cell phones (beta here). No, not how we want it integrated (Skype calls on your cell) without third party help (SoftGnome). However, they’re looking to make SMS (texting) available through Skype. Look out Verizon’s vText…
I’m certainly not a Skype fanboi, but this new product has really gotten me excited. I’m off to check it out.
Ah, I was reading this post when I got my first Skype call from a young naked woman whom I don’t know. I hope the spam control for this new Skype service is powerful!
Some people would not mind that kind of spam LOL
I get a great deal of calls from people in France and Spain. Skype must be popular in those countries. I guess they think I am multilingual?