Public chat & Skypecasts complement each other and can work really well together. Public chats are constant text based chats and Skypecasts are scheduled voice calls allowing instant discussion. Find out more about how to use Skypecasts and Public chats.
With Skype 3.0 beta not only can browse Skypecasts starting and on now directly from the Live tab. When you decide to join or host one, the Skypecast itself will run within a separate tab where you have all the host or participant controls to ask for mic, see who the host is and do all those other things you need to do in a Skypecast. Which will make your life much easier.
Plus we’re also moving Skypecasts into beta from its previous preview state at the same time. This brings Skypecasts to another level and is a great starting point to develop more new and exciting features for communities in the next few months.
We would like to thank all of you for your help and your support.
There are some known issues in this version with Skypecasts, documented in the changelog.
With your help, this Beta release solves several bugs and we want to thank everyone for their feedback - we can’t do this without you…and we’d love to get your feedback again! Please download this version of Skype, your feedback is much appreciated.
Michael Connelly, who is most notable for his award-winning Detective Harry Bosh series, will talk tomorrow at 17:00 about his new book Echo Park. Michael will read an excerpt of his newest book and take questions from the audience. The first 25 Michael Connelly fans to log on to the Skypecast will receive a signed copy of Echo Park.
Shari Caudron has written several articles and essays for national magazines in the US. She has also written two books, "What Really Happened" and "Who Are You People?” the latter being featured by National Public Radio. It was also nominated as Typepad’s Book of The Month for September. To share your fanatical views with Shari don't hesitate to join this Skypecast tomorrow September 26th at 2PM PT.
For more information about these two Skypecasts on September 26th:
Michael Connelly Skypecasts - 5PM GMT
Shari Caudron Skypecasts - 2PM PT
]]>For those who would like to know more about the Liberal Democrat's Taking Power Policy and have the opportunity to ask live questions to Ming, join this exclusive Skypecast tomorrow at 10h15.
The "Live tab" lists Skypecasts that are on right now, starting soon, how many participants are involved, and a quick way for you to join or listen.
Download Skype for Windows 2.6 now.
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As with Shashi Tharoor, Sree and Vikas discussed the role of the UN in a changing world as well as the race for Secretary General.
If you missed the Skypecast, you can listen to it - here.
If you missed last week’s Skypecasts with Shashi Tharoor, UN Under Secretary General for Communications and distinguished author don’t worry! The Skypecast was recorded so you can listen at your leisure.
Shashi Tharoor was interviewed by SAJA Board members Sree Sreenivasan & Vikas Bajaj, about the role of the UN in a changing world and his chances in the race to find Kofi Annan successor as UN Secretary General.
As this Skypecast was recorded, you can still listen to it even if you have missed it live 
Mr. Tharoor is also a well recognized author having written eight books, as well as numerous articles, op-eds and literary reviews and has also received several journalism and literary awards.
WABC-TV New York’s Technology Guru, Sree Sreenivasan will conduct a Skypecast with Shashi Tharoor. Sreenivasan is Dean at Columbia's School of Journalism, and also serves on the board of South Asian journalist (SAJA), which is a non-profit organization for journalists of South Asian origin.
Mr. Tharoor has previously been named by the World Economic Forum as a "Global Leader of Tomorrow" and this interview will give Skype users a chance to get answers to their most pressing questions in an exclusive Skypecast. Join the Skypecast now.
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We are pleased to announced an exclusive Skypecast with Seth Godin, best selling author, entrepreneur and agent of change. Godin is the author of seven books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change and work.
Godin’s new book, "Small is the new big", is a collection of more than 193 riffs, rants and business ideas that have appeared in Fast Company and on his ever popular blog over the last seven years.
Michael Sippey of Typepad will interview Seth Godin giving fans and followers a chance to hear his ideas first hand. Be quick only the first 100 Skype users will have the opportunity to participate and ask questions. Be ready!
Find out more and join the Skypecast on August 22nd at 10:00 PM (GMT).
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Do you want to brush up your presentation skills? Maybe it would be a good idea to join Lisa Marshall's Skypecast. Lisa is a professional presentation coach who has delivered similar programs on improving presentation skills for over 15 years.
It's a really good example of how Skypecasts can be used for education purposes. This presentation is sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and will be about the "Top Ten Tips for Biomedical Presenters". It takes place on August 10th at 6 PM UK time.
For more information about this Skypecast: Top Ten Tips for Biomedical presenters
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Before joining Skype, David worked at Knexus Group, helping global and European companies (mobile operators, banks and car manufacturers) to create and manage their online communities, online social networks and social web initiatives. He has also worked for several start-ups like 2TalkAbout and academici.
David brings a lot of online community experience to Skype, and we're looking forward to his plans for Skypecasts.
]]>Did you miss it? Fear not, we recorded the conversation so you can listen to it.
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1. Choose a subject for your Skypecast
You can host a Skypecast on any subject you’re interested in, from classic cars to learning Japanese; from how to bake banana bread, to watching World Cup matches together. The more interesting your subject, the more participants you’re likely to have for your Skypecast. If you’re having trouble picking just one subject, don’t worry — you can host as many Skypecasts as you want and it’s totally free.
2. Create your Skypecast listing
Visit the Skypecasts directory to create your listing
You’ll be prompted to enter a title and description, this is your opportunity to sell your Skypecast to the audience, explain why they should join and what you’ll be talking about. You’ll also need to add keywords (also known as tags) to allow users to find your Skypecast by searching the directory. These keywords will also determine which syndicated listings your Skypecast appears in. By entering several relevant words to describe your Skypecasts subject, you’ll help users to find your Skypecast and will also ensure your Skypecast gets the best possible promotion.
Don’t forget to make a note of the time of your Skypecast so you remember to sign in and host it and don’t leave your audience waiting in silence.
3. Promote your Skypecast
Promoting your Skypecast will boost the number of participants you have in your discussion making it more lively and interesting for you and your attendees.
There are lots of ways to promote your Skypecast such as emailing friends, posting your Skypecast in a related forum or even adding a HTML snippet or Skypecasts feed to your website or blog.
4. Hosting and Moderating
You may wish to run your Skypecast as an open discussion or a one-way broadcast with questions and answers at the end. Either way, the Skypecasts moderation tools will help you. Once your Skypecast has begun you can mute or unmute selected participants or all participants from the Skypecasts controls.
Muting participants will help to improve call quality for you and your participants. When participants are muted, they can request the microphone if they wish to speak. You can use chat to ask them what they wish to talk about and then pass them the virtual microphone to speak.
If certain participants are being disruptive you can eject them from the Skypecast.
That's all for the guide fow now. If you have any questions or comments, please visit the Skypecasts forum
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