Sunday, February 17, 2008

How to use the Skype search directory?

The ability to search Skype is a powerful feature. Although you can search for a Skype Name, full name, or email address, you can narrow your search based on a set of filters. Although this search example is contrived, the search results are filtered using a specific age group and gender.

The Skype search directory gives you a number of ways to look for fellow skypers. Sometimes it is difficult to find the person you are looking for because he or she has not entered much information in a Skype profile. But you can still perform a successful search because you have several search options. If your Search window is not open, click the Search icon (looks like a spyglass) or, in the Skype menu, choose Contacts>Search for Skype Users.
You can search by adding one or more of the following search options:
  • Use the Search for Skype User box to:
    • Enter a full name.
    • Enter an email address. This information is not revealed in a profile, but if you know someone’s email address, you can use it to find that contact if the person put it in his or her profile.
    • Enter a Skype Name. Sometimes you have a Skype Name but no other information. You can search and then open a profile to find a time zone, full name, or Web site for further contact.
  • Search by location. If you don’t have a name or an email address, you can always try searching by location. If only a few Skype Names show up in an area, you might be able to find an individual. Looking by location also gives you an opportunity to meet skypers close by. To search this way:
  • Select a country or region from a drop-down list. Enter a city, state, or both by entering the names into the boxes provided.
  • Search by language. Select your language from a drop-down list. Language searches work best in combination with other parameters unless you are looking for something very specific, such as people who speak Vighur, Volapuk, or Shona living in Manhattan, Kansas.
  • Search by gender or age range.
  • Search people in Skype Me mode. Skype lets you display your online and Skype Me mode is an online status that lets the world know you are eager to receive calls and chats from anyone. When you search for skypers, you may want to select the Search People in Skype Me Mode box. Selecting this box guarantees that the people you find are people who want to talk.
You can mix and match all the search parameters. When you have everything entered in the Search window:
  • Click Search to find skypers matching your search terms. Scroll through the results of your inquiry.
  • Click Search again after changing the search parameters if you did not see the skypers you want to contact.
You can sort the order of the search results by clicking the appropriate header bar of the search results.
If you use multiple Skype accounts and have just one email account for all of them, all the accounts will turn up in a search. Other than the email addresses you place into your profile, all the information you place into your profile is visible. People can find you by searching Skype using your email address only if they already know it.

Although you can opt to leave much of your profile blank, you will find that populating your profile with information such as language and country is helpful because this information is displayed in the search results. As the number of users in the global Skype community grows, people trying to find you have an easier time doing so with this extra information.

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