A View on View :: More Hype from Skype

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More Hype from Skype

by Mark Evans on Thu 18 Aug 2005 05:23 PM EDT | Permanent Link

Because it's "just fun", Skype has breathlessly announced its software has been downloaded more than 150 million times while there are more than 50 million registered Skype names. As Om Malik succinctly notes, the updated numbers don't provide any value-added information. It's interesting that everyone knows Skype has hired an investment firm - Morgan Stanley - to explore the company's options (acquisition, IPO) and that talks with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. happened yet Skype is unwilling to disclose any new financial or user metrics. Like Vonage, there is sexiness and mystique in being a privately-owned company. Without having to file quarterly results, you get to keep everyone guessing about how you're doing. Speculation = Interest...Interest = media coverage and, hopefully, more users.

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Re: More Hype from Skype

by Anonymous on Fri 19 Aug 2005 08:00 AM EDT | Permanent Link

Mark - your last sentence abotu mysique equating to better media coverage and ultimately more users makes a LOT of sense. Otherwise there is no value in them hyping up the story by press releasing how many downloads they had. Any potential partner/buyer/banker will obviously be having full access to their financials. So there are much fewer surprises when you are doing business with them.

Re: Re: More Hype from Skype

by Anonymous on Sat 20 Aug 2005 03:01 AM EDT | Permanent Link

a *lot* of sense?
so a private company is going to have more users than a public one?
this sounds like one of those generalizations like "black guys like watermelons and fried chicken".
if you like to write about something why don't you write about what you know and not about "how if X could mean Y and Y could mean Z then X is to get to Z" kind of crap. excuse my french but this is really far fetched and provides absolutely no value whatsoever.

Re: Re: Re: More Hype from Skype

by Jeremy Maddock on Sun 21 Aug 2005 06:18 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

I think you're reading it wrong. He's not saying that a private company necessarily gets more users than a public one. A private company does, however, isn't legally required to publicize their financial information. Therefore, it is much easier for them to warp the numbers in their favor.

Re: More Hype from Skype

by Jeremy Maddock on Sun 21 Aug 2005 06:14 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

Well, I think I can agree that the big number they are boasting about is pumped up unrealistically. I notice that they never seem to divulge the number of unique downloads served.

In reality, Skype has released 10 updates in the past 5 months. It makes me wonder if they're just making slight updates to their software over and over so that people will download the new versions, and thus increase the download count.

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