While Skype addresses privacy issues in many ways, especially through the Tools|Options|Privacy settings in Skype for Windows (or Skype|Preferences|Privacy in Skype for Mac), there are times when a user will want to encourage contact via Skype. This is especially true for businesses that want to provide single click inbound calling for their sales and customer support activities.
Typically this is done by placing Skype links (technically called URI’s) on the business’s website and in email signatures. They could also be placed in LinkedIn, Facebook and mobile apps.
Yesterday Skype’s Chris Andrews wrote a Skype Developer post: Use Skype URIs to start Skype chats and calls from websites or mobile apps where he gives an overview of how to learn more about Skype URI’s, the critical links for launching Skype chats and calls from within a website, email signature or mobile apps. Chris gives a good overview in this paragraph.
The currently supported URIs include switching to the Skype client, initiating audio, video and conference calls and sending both individual and group instant messages. Skype URIs can even initiate calls to mobiles and landlines. Each of these URIs will work with any version of Skype running on Windows 7 and Mac OS X, and the latest versions of Skype for iPhone,Skype for iPad and Skype for Android.
Most interesting is the confirmed support of Skype’s mobile clients.
The post also gives a link to learning the details and getting started on the Skype’s Developer website. While this information has been available for some time, finally there is one reference point that provides all the information needed to initiate chat, voice and video conversations in this way. Note that the initiation process may involve some confirmation dialog boxes approving access to, and use of, the Skype client. Only the PC clients can support initiation of multi-party calls.
Of course you can also do this for Windows and Mac PC’s using Skype buttons as an alternative.
You’ll find my implementation by scrolling down in the sidebar.
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