There’s a certain ringtone that everyone who grew up in the late 1990s to early 2000s era will recognize every time, without fail.
Short and synthesized, the tune is almost as iconic as some of the radio hits that the millennial generation and older members of Generation Z grew up with. It often came on unexpectedly while young people surfed the internet, signaling that someone wanted to chat, even if they were in a different timezone.
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In the years since, this program has dwindled in popularity, so much so that its iconic light blue logo has disappeared from many desktops. More and more users were gravitating away from computer video chats and moving toward using their smartphones, utilizing programs such as Apple’s (AAPL) FaceTime and Meta Platform’s (META) WhatsApp.
All the same, many millennials have expressed sadness on social media since Microsoft (MSFT) announced that it will be ending this platform last week.
It’s the end of an era for Microsoft and Millennials
The early 2000s brought many new companies, some of whom have endured but many of whom have not. One of the era’s most iconic names is Skype, a video-calling platform that allowed users across the globe to stay connected without the typical long-distance fees.
Launched in August 2003 after being developed by a team of engineers from Estonia, Denmark, and Sweden, Skype quickly proved a revolutionary product. People could engage in video chats with their friends and loved ones globally with minimal costs, if any.
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Last Friday, the news broke that Microsoft would be winding down Skype’s operations and switching some of its functions over to Teams, its product suite that rivals Google’s (GOOGL) . This change will take effect in May 2025; when it does, Skype users can log into Teams with their accounts.
As Microsoft has been gradually prioritizing Teams more than Skype for years, this development is likely not surprising to most people. But still, many posts on X and some on Bluesky make it clear that plenty of people are sad to see the platform they used to enjoy cease to exist, comparing it to companies such as Blockbuster and Borders.
Some of the most popular messaging apps today, including FaceTime, WhatsApp and Signal, feature end-to-end encryption.
TechCrunch reports that these apps were made popular by people who “may not realize their messages and calls are secured with this data-scrambling technology,” highlighting the fact that Skype laid the ground for these platforms by providing the level of encryption and privacy that many take for granted.
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Professor Feng Li, PhD of London’s Bayes Business School, tells TheStreet that Skype’s fate is far from unique. In fact, he sees a trend.
“Nokia once commanded the mobile phone market, only to be overtaken by Apple and Android manufacturers when it failed to embrace the smartphone revolution,” he states. “BlackBerry, (BB) the must-have device of the business elite, collapsed for similar reasons – clinging too long to its physical keyboard while the world moved to touchscreens.”
The key lesson from the fall of Skype
Some social media users have pointed out that Skype’s popularity has also been severely affected by Zoom Communications, (ZM) , a video conferencing platform that emerged as the primary winner of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.
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Although Zoom did not come along until 2011 (the same year that Microsoft acquired Skype), it succeeded spectacularly where Skype failed, likely contributing to Microsoft’s decision to wind down the division.
As Li illustrates, there are numerous examples of once prominent companies that ultimately crumbled under the weight of a changing market. However, as he also notes, there is a key lesson in Skype’s decline that no one should ignore.
“The real lesson is that success in the digital age isn’t just about innovation. It’s, perhaps more importantly, about evolution. Even the strongest brands can be swept aside, especially if they stop listening, stop evolving, or assume their dominance will last, but often simply as collateral damage from wider developments.”
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