The Skype communication service has probably set a record for the fastest movement of a brand name to a common verb (“I’ll Skype you tomorrow”). A recent blurb in Time states that there are 45,000 new Chinese users of Skype signing up … DAILY. And, that many of these new customers are using the service to place calls and practice their English.
Of course, it makes complete sense for the Internet, a true worldwide communication medium, to move into person-to-person communication with typical “Internet-age” speed. The interesting thing about this tidbit of news is that eBay, the new owner of Skype, is reported to be considering adding translation services as a possible pay feature in 2006.
