Zoom fatigue is real - and Skype is twiddling its thumbs?
What other product is so hated that it gets a special word dedicated to how much people hate it?
We don’t have Ikea fatigue, we have Zoom Fatigue.
Experts are wringing their hands to describe the collective dislike of Zoom with complicated answers. The explanations mentioned range from “lack of eye-contact” to “excessive amounts of eye contact” and “cognitive overload.” Plus, there’s the baffling new claim that the world “dislikes video calls in general.” The world does not despise video calls; they despise Zoom calls.
Zoom reminds people of “touching base” when they rather be doing something else.
Few people despise FaceTime because they associate it with fun and family, whereas Zoom reminds people of work stress and forced installations. It's not that difficult.
Despite all the Zoom hate, Skype is having a crisis, and I’m not sure why
What’s Skype?
I’m chuckling while writing this, but some people are too young to remember it, and they are lucky that nobody uses it anymore. Skype is a video conferencing software founded in 2003 acquired by Microsoft. People used it for both work and pleasure during its peak between 2008 and 2015.
The current user experience of Skype
Out of curiosity, I recently resurrected Skype desktop and mobile versions and tested them with friends. It is still hopelessly outdated after all these years. Despite my fast fiber optic internet installation, the video quality was blurry like a thumb, and the call dropped frequently. To make matters worse, Skype required feedback after each dropped call.
All of this inspired me to dig through the relics of the last Skype marketing campaign — and the findings shocked me.
Despite the odd report of 40 million active users — up 70 percent since the pandemic began — no one seems to care. The most recent article was published two days ago, and the one before that was published two weeks ago. Knowing that, I visited the website and was delighted that Microsoft discontinued Skype for Business in 2021 because who would put a team through that? The new marketing direction is all about personal connection. Check out this image taken from their landing page as of Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022.
Given masks and social distancing, using the human connection advertising angle is trendy and a go-to for many brands. For example, someone had written an achingly cute article about two college sweethearts using Skype.
Every company wants to “preserve human connections“ because of the pandemic. We’ve had two years of this. It’s cliché.
Skype’s adorable pandemic campaign missed the opportunity to make it creatively unique — it also seems the marketing and product teams at Skype have not yet realized its unique position. Unlike the other teleconferencing software, nobody remembers Skype; therefore, they have very few associations besides it being bloatware. In other words, it can rest in the middle spot between work apps like Zoom and fun live-streaming apps like Houseparty.
Resurrecting a Skype from its cemetery
If Microsoft actually cared to do so, Skype could capitalize on the fact that people associate Zoom and Google Meets with the stress of work by boldly framing itself as the direct opposition to Zoom and every other work app.
Sounds like stirring the calm pot?
Oh, it is.
Imagine if a Skype website highlighted work call fatigue and made the point that they aren’t like the other video calling apps in their circle. What if they pitched Skype as something you could use to keep in touch with your elderly grandparents who despise technology, with the added benefit that, unlike other programs (cough, Zoom), this one doesn’t give you night terrors about synergizing at 9 a.m.? They could make this campaign as petty as the iconic Apple versus PC commercials from the 2000s, or they could delicately explain that their ringtone doesn’t trigger work flashbacks. There are two potential reactions to Skype becoming loudly anti-Zoom.
Positive reaction: People might accept the new approach, and Skype would receive more engagement and downloads.
Negative reaction: People will write articles and make jokes about the new approach. People will get curious and download it.
Likewise, the product design team could explore cozy home-focused models, such as language and imagery for the design inspiration, for example, writing “connect” instead of “call” or chat rooms can be called “living rooms.” This would set them apart from the other video apps, which have all adopted the trend of sterile blue and white minimalist design.
At this point, what does Microsoft have to lose?
Despite Microsoft’s boasts of their growing user base, Skype remains the buggy platform known for peer-to-peer technology that everyone has forgotten about. All things, considered, I’m routing for Skype to rise. But then again, people also rooted for Wunderlist — a 2015 Microsoft acquisition that ended in 2020.
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