The Daily Buzz Factor

This morning in ClickZ ("Skype Nation") I take a closer look at what's happening around the "Skype Revolution," including my own (warranted) seduction into this latest social media storm.  My reflections here were precipitated by my colleague Max Kalehoff weaning on this free phone service (largely for selfish reasons) as well as an invite to participate in what was billed as one of the first-ever Skypecasts. I end with a very important question, which I believe get to the heart and soul (and yes, I'm talking about "emotional" needs) behind the explosive word-of-mouth activity around Skype:

"Is the bigger aha around Skype that it's revolutionized communication or that it's created tens of millions of heroes?"

What I mean to suggest here is that word-of-mouth and consumer-generated media emanates, in part, from a genuine desire to improve the lives of others, and in the process, take credit for the "change."  Skype has proven so truly "remarkable" (as Seth Godin so commonly puts it) that millions are banking "credits" through the active recommendation of this product...even before, I suspect, it's been put to the full torture test.

I also quote Dr. Walter Carl, a professor of Northeastern University and active research leader with WOMMA, who notes:

"Although the recommendation of Skype to a friend benefits the person making the recommendation, this isn't just a selfish act. That is, there's a huge relational component as well: the recommendation benefits both people or all members of the social network, because it allows them all to be connected to one another."

Carl, by the way, has launched a very important blog discussion on the topic of offline versus online word-of-mouth.