• ClickZ, Tuesday, May 30, 2006 11 AM

Skype, eBay's red-hot Voice over Internet Protocol subsidiary, is "one of the great word of mouth stories" writes Pete Blackshaw, board member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association and well-regarded expert of the world's oldest marketing channel. In his article, Blackshaw notes that he was one of the last people he knows to start using Skype, but he did so at the sustained insistence of colleague (and MediaPost Online Spin writer) Max Kalehoff. In fact, I also only started using Skype after a very good friend "insisted" that I do so. Why all this insistence? A WOM expert and Northeastern University professor says that friends who persistently insist that their friends do something not only do so for their own self-benefit, but also benefit all members of the social network because expansion makes it stronger. Moreover, the financial benefits of using Skype (calls between members are freeand for the time being, calls to U.S. and Canadian landlines are also free) are so obvious that we feel compelled to tell our friends they MUST use it. And, as Blackshaw says, in doing so, we improve our standing in their eyes. It's a win-win-win situation.

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