Skype Play

New Skype Emoticons Rolling Out Today (#skypeemoticons)

Sometimes words cannot describe what someone is saying. Luckily, emoticons, facial expressions formed by combinations of keyboard characters, are the perfect solution for the commonly tongue-tied.

Popular since they were first introduced to the internet way back in 1982 [see here for the first use of ], emoticons can be used in a variety of ways. Often used to spice up a conversation or for comedic purposes, there are dozens of emoticons to help users express their emotions. For example, emoticons can be used to show when one is feeling happy, sad, or silly!

With so many emoticons, consumers of every age love to insert emoticons in their daily instant messaging conversations. Want to grab a drink with a friend after work? Send them a . Feeling gloomy? Send mom a . Is it your bosses birthday? Share with them.

Since people of every age love to use emoticons to make friends and family smile, Skype is introducing a brand new set of emoticons to keep the fun conversations going!

With today's release of Skype 5.5 for Windows, seven new emoticons will be added to the already vast repertoire of Skype emoticons. Now users will have the opportunity to insert emoticons that represent anything from working from home and fingers crossed to giving an animated high-five to their friend!

Check out the seven new Skype emoticons below, and here's what to type so it appears in a message:

face palm = (facepalm) or (fail)
working from home = (wfh)
Fingers Crossed = (yn), (fingers), (fingerscrossed), or (crossedfingers)

Tumbleweed = (tumbleweed)
Lalala = (lalala), (lala) or (notlistening)
Waiting = (waiting), (forever), or (impatience)
Hi-five = (highfive), (hifive), or (h5)

As a surprise, we've also released two new hidden emoticons too. Since we don't want to censor ourselves, try to guess what they are or find them on your own.

"Virtual" Fantasy Baseball Draft with Group Video Calling

Today is Opening Day! It's the the beginning of a new Major League Baseball (MLB) season. While the real players hit the field today, fantasy baseball season has already been in full-swing, with baseball enthusiasts around the world busily drafting players for their fantasy teams. Now, they can even strategize a home run on Skype.

The game of Fantasy Baseball lets fans manage a roster of MLB players, keeping track of their scores and statistics in a friendly competition throughout the season. To pick players in the preseason, leagues must use their knowledge of players and predict who will have an outstanding season. With all this information, league members draft their picks, hope their players have a great season and let the fun begin!

To celebrate the Fantasy Baseball season and the many fantasy leagues strewn across the country, Skype partnered with popular fantasy sports site RotoWire to facilitate a "virtual" fantasy draft via video call. With the help of Skype Group Video Calling, nine baseball enthusiasts across the country were able to conduct a mock fantasy baseball-draft together. Despite the distance between them, the members were able to discuss each other's picks and get excited for the upcoming season.

To learn about RotoWire baseball expert's number-one picks this year, you can watch the first round of their draft via group video call below:

Panasonic's Blu-Ray Line Up brings Skype to your Living Room

It seems like just yesterday that we brought Skype to your sofa with Skype-enabled HDTVs from Panasonic and Samsung. Just over a year later, we already have more ways for you to make video calls with the click of your remote control and at a great price point.

Today, Panasonic announced its expanded VIERA Cast Blu-ray disc player lineup, including the ability to make Skype video and voice calls supported by the FREETALK Conference Camera.

Here's how it works: To access Skype through the Blu-ray Disc player, you simply click the devoted Skype button on your remote control. You can also take advantage of other Skype features including:

• Standby Mode, which allows users to personalize ring tones;
• Answering Message, which allows users to create a personalized message when away; and
• SD Voice Mail, which automatically records messages left onto an SD card.

The line's compatibility with Skype allows users to personalize their entertainment experience to fit their lifestyle and enjoy the benefits of Skype from any HDTV.

The FREETALK camera - with wide-angle lens and beam-forming microphones - will be available in March at major retailers and online for $99.

If you have any questions on how to use Skype from your living room La-Z-Boy, feel free to comment below, or ping us on Twitter.

A Skype Comedy Moment

At Skype, we enjoy hearing about all of the diverse uses of Skype video calls, and we especially love hearing about the ways it can make people laugh or smile.

So, we thought you'd enjoy this hilarious Skype video call on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", which just aired yesterday.

[UPDATE: The video has been removed from YouTube.]

Work from home, but hang out at the office

This little beastie from Willow Garage popped on to my radar screen today – a Skype-enabled robot which puts your virtual presence back in the office, physically.

Equipped with a pan/tilt camera and microphone, and an LCD display, the Texai uses the off-the-shelf Skype app for audio and video communication. I want one!

The Texai hardware specifications.

A new Skype contact: your personal funsmith

Via the excellent Kevin Kelly this morning comes this:

We have personal trainers, therapists, money advisors, why not funsmiths? Funsmiths help us unleash the power of play, that most vital spirit. Bernie DeKoven is a master funsmith. He is a constant river of new games, weird junkyard sports and someone who attends the serious business of having fun. In one of his wonderful blogs he imagines a greater role for people like himself. In his words:

Say you want to make something more fun - a game, a toy, your job, your company, your relationship with your spouse or kids, your life... So you call or email or Skype your local Funsmith, and you say: "I want to make something more fun." And you arrange to meet, by phone, by email, over Skype, at a coffee shop, or at a local park for a walk'n talk. For, say, a couple hours. For some agreed-upon, agreeable sum ... This isn't therapy. Or if it is, it's not about the talk. It's the fun.

Reminds me a bit of the School of Life in London, although that tends to focus on physical/in-person events. This has the potential to be entirely virtual, and unbounded by time/space constraints. Would you give it a try?