Hack32.Speak Jyve


Hack 32. Speak Jyve

Skype is not just a communications tool; it's a social-networking platform, too.

Skype inherits many of the cool features of instant messaging, including presence, that useful list of status names that your buddies can use to see whether you're available to chat. This includes status indicators that tell if you are Away, Busy, or Availableand, of course, Skype Me, which allows you to connect to people around the world interested in chatting with strangers. But wouldn't it be cool if you could put a status indicator on your web site so that folks would know whether it's a good time to Skype you?

Thanks to Jyve, you can do precisely that. Jyve is a social-networking service for Skype that adds some pretty useful features to an already great application. (If your social life is in need of new features, though, you might need the input of something other than Jyve.) Aside from being able to publish your status on your home page, visitors to your page will be able to request a phone call (a Skype or old-fashioned phone call) from you via a text message that is sent to your Skype client. That way, even if you aren't there to chat, the message will be waiting on your screen when you return.

Jyve even provides the equivalent of a V-Card contact record for your web site, which Jyve calls a Q-Card. It's a web page hosted by Jyve that contains your Skype information and a form that visitors can use to text-message you (even if they don't have Skype). Using a bit of JavaScript pasted onto your home page, you can integrate your Q-Card into your web site.

A V-Card is a small file that contains contact information for a certain person, like a "virtual business card." V-Cards are used by email programs, for the most part.


3.6.1. Get Signed Up

Does all this web-enabled Skype goodness sound like fun? I'm sure it does, but first things first. To use Jyve's service, you've got to create an account on the Jyve server. To do so, surf over to http://www.jyve.com/ and find the "Get your Skype Card Here" link on the main page. Here, you'll have to fill out a pretty standard membership form. On the following page, you'll be able to create and customize your Q-Card. You can preview your Q-Card, too. Though it's optional, you should upload some kind of portrait; the Q-Card looks a bit bare without a picture.

3.6.2. Make Jyve a Buddy

You might be wondering how Jyve is able to keep tabs on your Skype status, since only Skype buddies can see your Skype presence information. You're completely rightonly Skype buddies can see if you're "Available" or "Hacking your Volkswagen." So, to share this info with people who view your Jyve Q-Card, you'll need to make Jyve a buddy in your buddy list. To do this, click the Add button and type jyve01 for the buddy's Skype name (or type what Jyve instructs you to type on your account page).

3.6.3. Add Jyve's HTML to Your Web Page

On your account page, click the Get HTML button, and you should get a text box with some HTML that looks like this:

 <a href="javascript:void(0)" onClick='window.open("http://jyvesolutions. jyve.com/Qcard/your_name.htm", "QCard","menubar=no,scrollbars=no,height=500,width=800")'> <img src="/books/3/439/1/html/2/http://jyvepresence1.com/qzoxy/your_name.png" border="0"></a> 

This bit of HTML, when placed in the source of your own web page, will put your portrait on the web page with a link to your Q-Card, which will open in a new window when clicked. Figure 3-5 shows you an example of a Q-Card embedded in a web page using the preceding HTML.

3.6.4. Start Jyving

The Q-Card in Figure 3-5 is being used to send a text message. This is ideal for enabling people to get in touch with you, even if they don't have Skype, because they can enter their call-back number, and it will be sent to you in the text message. This could be a great customer-service tool for your company web site, or just a nice novelty item for your personal blog. Figure 3-6 shows what an incoming Jyve text message looks like.

Figure 3-5. A Jyve Q-Card


Figure 3-6. A Jyve text message sent from the Q-Card





VoIP Hacks
VoIP Hacks: Tips & Tools for Internet Telephony
ISBN: 0596101333
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 156

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