Dear Skype: A letter of concern from a Developer about SkypeFind and the Skype ecosystem
A public letter from Bulent Yildirim, CEO of KonuSh LLC. KonuSh is a long time Skype developer and the first to operate a Skype business directory, KonuSh.net.
Dear Skype:
The day the first Skype Beta was launched (August 2003), we believed that Skype would be the killer application in the telecommunications world. And we shared this idea with our colleagues. At the beginning even if Skype management was only focused on the consumer market, we believed that most of the people will use Skype for business purposes so that we have to establish a Skype Business Directory. This was our starting point, and we shared the idea with the Skype Team, and we got very good feedback that time.
During that period, we gave more support to the Skype Team to understand the Turkish Market, and we translated Skype web pages to Turkish (we were the first who translated the Skype web pages into Turkish). When we launched our Skype Business Directory Services portal, KonuSh, in 2004, Skype gave us permission to use their logo on our web site because they really liked our concept (creation of the first and only Business Directory for Skype business users).
Three years after our launch of KonuSh, as you already noticed, Skype saw the potential and focused to the Business Market. They saw that the main revenue stream could be generated from the business market.
Since 2004 we couldn’t grow fast because we could not invest for marketing, and it stayed just an amatorial project. Also, we could not get support from Skype team to promote KonuSh even if the business market started to use Skype heavily and use their Skype names on their business cards, etc.
Finally in 2006, we decided to set up a private company, KonuSh LLC, with a vision of: to be the biggest and most valuable business directory services provider of Skype and to promote Skype usage among businesses. Then we prepared our business plan and started to have meetings with investors in order to provide value added Business Directory Services to Skype business users. We started to write KonuSh J2ME client for handsets, renew the KonuSh portal with a target of 1 million subscribers in 3 years.
Believing in Skype’s preference to support and promote its partners for extras and value added services, at 12.12.2006 we sent an email to Skype management mentioning the latest developments about KonuSh and asking them to support KonuSh in order to achieve our goals; to add Konush’s link to the Skype client, and to give extra Skype minutes to the new subscribers. But unfortunately we never received any reply.
Two months later, they announced SkypeFind which explains why they have not replied to our request.
We want to ask to Skype’s top management: “Do you plan and start to compete with your committed partners?”
Since 2004, we spent time, effort and money in order to promote Skype usage for the business market; but we are in such a state that we have to close KonuSh or compete with Skype.
Creativity and vision are very important and valuable concepts which we assumed Skype understand and support this. Since the beginning, we believe in the Skype concept and we will continue to support Skype. But we also believe that Skype has to think once more about its partner strategy and relations.
Bulent Yildirim
Skype : bulent.yildirim
SkypeIn: +1(202) 580-8446
Mobile : +905322319784
E-mail : bulent.yildirim@konush.com
Short Story of KonuSh
05.26.2004 : Beginning of Skype relationship. To promote Skype usage in Turkey we initiated a Skype community for Turkish Skype users and then the Skype Business Directory for Turkish SMEs with the vision of creating a fully focused Global Skype Business Directory.
Konush.net featured in a 2004 PCWorld.com.tr article.
06.07.2004 : We share our idea with Skype top management via e-mail.
09.24.2004 : We got feedback from Skype top management. What Niklas said to KonuSh:
“Thanks for the mail. That sounds like a great idea. I have copied Mark Asseily, Business Development Director, on this mail. Mark will contact you.
Best regards,
Niklas”
During this period, we translated Skype web pages into Turkish and supplied as much feedback as possible about the Skype client.
November 2005 : “Skype directories like Konush.net vs. Skype’s profile cloud,” Skype Journal
November 2006 : KonuSh project became a private company named KonuSh LLC, and Registered Trade Mark in US and TR. We found an investor.
13.12.2006 : We contacted with Skype team in order to have a KonuSh Plug-in in the Skype Client.
02.21.2007 : Skype announced SkypeFind!
Written by Skype Journal on February 26th, 2007 with no comments.
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