RIP SKYPE: Skype calls to feature ads big enough to interrupt any conversation - Polidicks

[quote= Ars Techinica] Skype has provided a great service for years, keeping us connected with friends and family. But there's always been one thing missing—marketers interrupting calls with giant display ads. Skype is finally fixing that problem, with today's launch of so-called "Conversation Ads" that will appear within the calling window during audio calls. Why are they called Conversation Ads? Because Skype is actually hoping users will discuss the content of the ads during phone calls. In other words, Skype (now owned by Microsoft) is hoping to interrupt the normal flow of human conversation, with advertisements targeted at users based on their location, gender, and age. "While on a 1:1 audio call, users will see content that could spark additional topics of conversation that are relevant to Skype users and highlight unique and local brand experiences," Skype's Sandhya Venkatachalam wrote on the company blog. "So, you should think of Conversation Ads as a way for Skype to generate fun interactivity between your circle of friends and family and the brands you care about. Ultimately, we believe this will help make Skype a more engaging and useful place to have your conversations each and every day." That's not from an Onion article. That's Skype's official announcement. Just in case you thought the ads might be small enough to prevent such interruptions, a picture on the announcement (posted above this article) shows that display ads will be just as big as the picture of the person you're talking to. The ads can be purchased by companies in 55 markets, providing an "opportunity for marketers to reach our hundreds of millions of connected users in a place where they can have meaningful conversations about brands in a highly engaging environment." The ads will appear during Skype-to-Skype audio calls for users of the Skype for Windows client. It will only be targeted at non-paying users, those without Skype Credit or subscriptions, the company said. Skype promised there would be no degradation of call quality. "Skype call quality will remain the same. Ads will be silent, non-expanding and run after we've completed our regular detailed quality checks on your connection," the company said. Since Microsoft completed its purchase of Skype last year, we've been waiting to see how Skype products might be improved or integrated into Microsoft software to create more value for users and the company. Advertising is the business model of the Web, so seeing Skype place ads on free services is no surprise. But when you're providing phone services, attempting to direct the flow of conversation with the content of advertisements strikes us as going too far. At the very least, users can opt out of personalized advertisements, but it's a multi-step process. This is how Skype describes it: We may use non-personally identifiable demographic information (e.g. location, gender, and age) to target ads. This will help ensure that non-paying users see ads that are of greater interest and relevance to them. Users can opt-out of allowing Skype to use some of this non-personally identifiable information from the Privacy menu in Tools -> Options of Skype for Windows. If the user opts-out, they will still receive advertisements relevant to their location, but Skype will not use other demographic information for this purpose. To opt-out of the use of non-personally identifiable information by our Ad Serving Partners for the purpose of serving advertisements of greater interest to you please visit Microsoft Advertising at [url]http://choice.live.com/advertisementchoice[/url]. Or you can visit the websites of the Network Advertising Initiative or the Digital Advertising Alliance, each of which provides a simple way to opt-out of ad targeting from participating companies. Ars spoke with Phil Wolff, editor of Skype Journal (via Skype), and he was not pleased. Sure, the ads are "the least intrusive" they could be, given that they're "barging into a live Skype-to-Skype call." But Wolff thinks it breaches Skype's promise that Skype-to-Skype calls would remain free, in a sense. "Users are now paying an attention tax," he said. "This is part of a larger blending of Skype properties into the Microsoft advertising network," Wolff said. "Microsoft is selling display ads on Skype's websites, the Skype 'home' pane in the desktop client, and now in voice calls. How would you feel if Apple or Google did this to your mobile calling experience? It's invasive and gets in the way of good calling experience." Actual phones have never looked so good. [/quote] [url="http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/06/skype-calls-to-feature-ads-big-enough-to-interrupt-any-conversation/"]Source[/url]. Let us all hold our heads in silence as we mourn the passing of Skype.

Dick move, Microsoft.

go back to first version of skype

I wouldn't say R.I.P just yet. Yes, these will be really annoying, but they're not audio enabled. If these were audio ads that actually interrupted your call to play, then yes, Skype would be dead. But they're not.

So, you should think of Conversation Ads as a way for Skype to generate fun interactivity between your circle of friends and family and the brands you care about. Ultimately, we believe this will help make Skype a more engaging and useful place to have your conversations each and every day." No, I don't get on Skype to talk about my shampoo with my family. If I wanted to talk about Shampoo, or any other product, I would text them about it.

What a terrible idea. And they actually think people will see the ads and say "Wow, look at this ad for Tide, let's talk about it!" Well, maybe they will, but not in a positive way.

So, it's like the conversation suggestions on Omegle, but with product placement instead. Yeah I'll pass, thank you very much. I don't like the idea of Skype having ads to begin with. It's fine the way it is, changing it can't help.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s3fvEgsZB0[/media] [highlight](User was banned for this post ("image macro" - verynicelady))[/highlight]

As long as they don't put ads in the video call, I'm okay with this.

Hmm that is funny it says it won't be targeted to those who have skype credits. I see these ads and I have skype credits.

I already endure popup windows every time I want to share my screen to my friend to show them something I'm working on it's already annoying. I guess I can get used to this probably because I endure this with spotify :v:

Half of you didnt read the OP, MS specifically said that they will be silent

It's only in audio calls, and it has no audio. Still annoying, but honestly I'm not calling skype dead yet :v:

What an idiotic statement, I really doubt people want to talk about ads.

[QUOTE=Elspin;36320495]It's only in audio calls, and it has no audio. Still annoying, but honestly I'm not calling skype dead yet :v:[/QUOTE] Oh audio calls? This won't affect me then I always use my webcam.

So it's a silent banner that only displays during audio calls. As long as the ads don't leave the Skype window (which I keep minimized during audio-only calls), I don't give a flying fuck.

[QUOTE=ShadowSocks8;36320494]Half of you didnt read the OP, MS specifically said that they will be silent[/QUOTE] Silent or not, it will still cause disruption with the call, didn't you see the image in the post? It minimized a video chat.

Then again, I don't suppose people really look at the Skype window while they're audio talking. You're most likely to be playing a game or something else.

I went into a call with my friend and I could swear there was another person in the call with us. It was an ad.

Does this affect the iPad version of skype or any mobile version infact?

[QUOTE=milkandcooki;36320544]I went into a call with my friend and I could swear there was another person in the call with us. It was an ad.[/QUOTE] It was me.

[QUOTE=Fangz;36320524]Silent or not, it will still cause disruption with the call, didn't you see the image in the post? It minimized a video chat.[/QUOTE] You mean this image: [IMG]http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Conv-Ad-Screenshot-for-PR-with-Unilever-Magnum-Ad-640x464.png[/IMG] That's her avatar on the left. It always shows a person's avatar if it's just an audio chat.

Well fuck.

Honestly this is a genius marketing move. (unpopular) but genius.

[QUOTE=Forumaster;36320608]You mean this image: [IMG]http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Conv-Ad-Screenshot-for-PR-with-Unilever-Magnum-Ad-640x464.png[/IMG] That's her avatar on the left. It always shows a person's avatar if it's just an audio chat.[/QUOTE] That isn't a big deal at all, and if it makes Skype better, that's all that matters.

So hold on, these are only images that show when having an audio conversation with someone? How does that interrupt the conversation?

What people who use adblock (etc) don't seem to realise is that for every advertisement you DON'T view, the site owner loses out on some money. This may not matter to companies like Microsoft, who are rolling in it, but for small companies and youtube channels for whom the site/channel is their primary income, overuse of Adblock software can severely damage their livelihood. I'm also unsure of the corporate structure of Microsoft. How is the skype-branch managed. Do they have access to the funds from the main Microsoft division or is the skype-branch financially independent? If they are independent, it could well be that these ads are a necessary source of income to keep this service cheap/free. It's not cheap to run a service that manages web calls, and as people begin to use web communications more than regular telephones (and therefore the free computer-to-computer function in Skype rather than the paid computer-to-phone function), Skype loses out on the income from this service. It's hardly the end of the world, much less the death of skype. So a picture comes up on my screen when I'm calling somebody - is this any different to advertisements in phone booths or on the back of cellphone recharge cards?

I'm surprised they didn't announce this at E3 this year.

They've already been doing this for the last month, it isn't a big deal. It's a visual ad where if you had a call with two other people, the second person's profile picture would be. It's completely non-intrusive and is really tolerable considering the great free service that Skype provides across computers.

I honestly don't care if it's just a visual ad, and no audio.