Influx

Last month, Skype reached new heights, celebrating is 100 millionth user.

We here at Influx are thoroughly impressed. Beyond congratulating the enterprising team, we wanted to try and figure out the secret to their success.

Well, big surprise, the key lies in the more than compelling price/performance model they are pitching… It’s free, full stop.

No matter how long you use it, it’s free. No matter how far away the person on the other end of the line is, it’s free.

What?s the catch you say? Well, the other person needs Skype too.

But remember, it’s free!

There is very little risk and the only real barriers to adoption would be concerns over the complexity of the technology and or the quality of the communications (sound quality, not whether it is boring to talk for free).

But, as you can see, word of mouth and peer-to-peer recommendation are powerful tools, especially for the increasingly savvy internet community. After all, this is a community tool and increasingly, a community builder.

So, what can we all learn from this?

Lesson One = The more you can give away, the more you will get back. I believe it was Peter Griffin, of Family Guy fame who said: “It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white. The only color that really matters is green.”

Lesson Two = The three R’s: Reputation and Recommendation Rule. In case you didn’t notice, Skype is an eBay company.