Simple plan to make Skype profitable

1. Make every call free, even Skype-to-phone.

2. Every caller is streamed a video or audio ad before the call is connected.

3. Skype-to-phone calls get a 10 second ad when first connecting, and a five second ad every two minutes for the entire call.

4. Skype-to-Skype calls get a five second ad when first connecting, and a five second ad after the first two minutes only. No more ads for the duration of the call.

5. Charge ad rates accordingly, to sustain and maximize profitability of the service.

6. Offer a paid service for people who don't want the ads.

Would I use Skype under this system?

Hell yes, I would.

Would you?

As an advertiser, would I pay more for ads under this system than I would for web ads? Hell yes.

The audio or video ad could be linked to a banner ad, of course. "Click below and get 10% off on your next purchase at Hardware City, where we make your homes come true."

I've added #6 for your benefit.

I take it you don't watch any network television, as you would rather go back to cave painting.

So this is exactly why Skype is not profitable. They don't need users like you at all.

You want it to be free, without ads. That's fine. Then it won't be sustainable. I'd rather it be sustainable, and have a wider installed base, thank you.

Remember, this idea is not how to make KIngOfSomewhereHot happy. This idea is about how to make Skype profitable, and still provide a service that people will use.

Right now I don't use Skype. Why? My parents don't use Skype. My overseas friends don't use Skype. It's too much trouble to get people to install things. Maybe with Microsoft ownership, they can include it in the OS and make it better integrated. Still, Windows Live is already included in the OS, and my parents don't use that, either.

If Skype-to phone were free and ad-supported, I could call my parents for free, and they could immediately see the benefits of that, without having to change a single thing on their end. Then if they got annoyed by the ads, I could explain the Skype-to-Skype solution to them. They would be much more likely to install Skype (or start using a Microsoft pre-installed Skype) at that point. Win-win-win.

As for Skype-toSkype, a number of people would put up with five seconds of ads. FIVE SECONDS. The first one would be nothing, far less intrusive than any ad on television. The second (and last) one on a Skype-to-Skype call would be more intrusive, but five seconds is over quick, and then you could chat your day away.

I guess you've stopped going to the cinema because they play two minutes of ads before the film starts. They didn't used to do that. So you must have dropped them like a hot potato, and started torrenting instead, right?

Yep, if you want to pay, you can use your cell phone. As long as you're calling the US, rates should be pretty cheap. I can pay as low as US$0.02 per minute to call the US using certain services. There's no reason for me not to use my cell phone when I'm paying pennies. But if I'm calling Germany, that price goes up to US$0.15. Skype is, and would be, much cheaper than that, and there's always the ad-supported offer.

Good luck getting your friends to install new protocols all the time. All of your friends.