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Skype passes 10 billion minutes served: here's what's next

According to the independent, non-Skype affiliated Skype Journal, Skype  passed the 10-billion-minutes-served mark on Sunday morning.As of yesterday morning around 10 a.
Written by Russell Shaw, Contributor

According to the independent, non-Skype affiliated Skype Journal, Skype  passed the 10-billion-minutes-served mark on Sunday morning.

As of yesterday morning around 10 a.m. EDT, the figure was 10,001,423,810.

But that was yesterday. Right before I posted this, I refreshed the Skype page in my browser:10,032,822,260. So that's 30 million minutes or so a day.

But presumed Skype fan Phil Wolff, who originally posted the 10-billion-minutes clarion, has an even more ambitious wish list for the company:

He'd like to see the following "Milestones." Phil's wishes are in bold, my comments are not).

  • "10 million concurrent users online"- (right now 2 to 3 million concurrent users is not unusual). 
  • "100 billion minutes served"- might take years, but certainly possible.
  • "1000 registered independent software developers"
  • "1000 Skype employees" - dunno about that one. How many employees do you need for a company with largely automated solutions, a cadre of outside software developers, not much internal customer service, and mostly viral marketing?
  • "Zero PSTNs blocking Skype.com"- to paraphrase Elvis Costello, there's nothing "funny about peace, love and understanding," but I think all three will get here before zero PSTNs sing "Kumbaya."  
  • "Someone from Skype as Time Magazine Person of the Year" - well, if they could pick Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos..
  • "Dell ships millionth mobile phone bundled with Skype"-eventually, yes. 
  • "Skype office manager retires in luxury four years after Skype IPO"- yes, but better cash it in first. Those folks who just paid 500K for a high-rise condo overlooking the riverfront. Cashed out before the tech crash.

Oh, just one point before I go. Phil calls these goals "milestones." But since Skype is Estonia-based, and Estonia uses the metric system, shouldn't these goals be "kilometerstones?"

Hmm. Is there such a thing?

 

 

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