Why Skype Still Doesn’t Get It

So yeah, you’ve heard that Skype 3.2 beta is now out. I got an email from Skype’s PR firm today with the following deets:

Skype 3.2 Beta for Windows further enhances the way that Skype users keep in touch with their friends and family around the world through new features including:

• Importing contacts from more sources – Users can now import their contacts from web based email applications such as MSN Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail. This makes it even easier for users to find and contact their friends using Skype, as well as enabling users to “Share Skype” with those friends not yet using Skype.
• Video Snapshot – Video-calling in Skype recently emerged from Beta and we’re enhancing the Skype video experience even further by allowing users to instantly capture photos of themselves. This means that users can further express themselves through personalized avatars, and also lets friends and family see a recent photo in users’ profiles.
• Send Money – Skype users can now send money quickly and safely to friends and family they care about around the world, via PayPal.  This makes it easy to pay back money borrowed from a friend, to chip in for a group present or to give someone a gift directly for a birthday or some other celebrated event.

These new features continue to demonstrate why Skype is the Internet communications platform that more than 171 million people have chosen to use in order to stay in touch with their friends, family, and colleagues across the world.

A couple of pieces of feedback: one, I saw this in my RSS feeds before I got this email. The email didn’t really add much value other than offering to let me meet with someone about the Send Money feature.

But here’s something the email missed out on completely, and something I think is ultimately a bigger selling point for Skype–Skype 3.2 has improved their sound quality by leaps and bounds. Alec Saunders and Jim Courtney both blogged their experiences and are totally blown away by the quality. Almost makes me want to install the Skype beta on Windows and try it.

These new features are fine and dandy, I suppose, but clearly they have a problem with their messaging. To me, their PR firm didn’t deliver the message in a timely manner and didn’t deliver the complete message. Whether it’s the PR firm or eBay to blame, who knows. But it makes it look like they don’t get it.