Sorry for the slightly confusing blog title, soon it will all become very clear to you… 
Just last night I received an quite interesting message via Skype… somebody told me that Message Magic (formerly called “Skype Assist”) will launch on July 15th, just a few days from now, with a plug-in for the Skype IM tool that millions of people use right now around the globe.
Before I share with you what exactly it does… here my little rant about this tool that is promoted as a marketing tool from heaven, that in my opinion could turn into a marketing tool from hell if… well, if users don’t remember the famous line from the first Spiderman blockbuster movie:Â With great power comes great responsibility!
Here is why…
Message Magic allows it’s users to search the Skype user database for keywords of your choice and then auto invite those Skype members to become your Skype contact. So far this is not really something that could be abused as as a Skype member you can always reject this invites from people you don’t know… or just kick them out if they bother you too much.
The other feature of Message Magic gives much more room for abuse… you will be able to send a message to all your Skype contacts at once with the click of a button.
Even though this feature can be useful if you practice the light side of the force by sharing free, valuable information with your Skype contacts, but it can also turn into a nightmare for your Skype contacts if you are into the dark side of the force = spamming!
If too many dark side users start using Message Magic, I even believe that Skype might somehow make the use of Message Magic impossible and for sure delete the Skype accounts of Message Magic abusers.
So, if you want to take advantage of the heavenly power of Message Magic, by all means… do so. But if you have plans to turn the use of Skype into hell on earth by spamming your contacts with offer after offer using Message Magic… please, do us all a favor and crawl back under the rock that you belong!Â
Back to the Message Magic tool… one first impression I got on their site was that they could definitely benefit by hiring a professional graphic artist and copy writer. 
 Also, the tool itself could use some improvements, but I guess it’s not quiet fair to judge them on that before launch as this is just version 1.08 and that shows they are working on improving it.
BTW… did you come to this blog post because of a Skype message you got from me? Chances are that message was send using Message Magic… in a heavenly way!Â
Before I close off my little rant, please always remember…
With great power comes great responsibility!
And may the force be with you… always!
Have a blessed day! And please… share your thoughts in the comments below!
‘Whatever the mind can conceive and believe… it can achieve.’
Napoleon Hill, Think & Grow Rich
To your success,
Frank Bauer
Owner of FrankBauer.name
Popularity: 6% [?]
Hey Grant,
Thanks for coming by and clearing up some facts.
Glad to hear that PayPal will not be an issue and your stand on the “evil” use of your tool.
Hope you also consider to hire somebody (not me!) to get your site look 100% professional. I assume you guys are working on the software issues of version 1.08, right?
@Dwayne & Bj: Peace bros!
I have to admit I also first understood it the way Dwayne did and only on second read I caught your twist in words Bj. 
@Bj: Nothing wrong to let your clients ring the doorbell before you let them in instead of leaving the door open all night in a neighborhood that has a few crooks in it.
In response to Grant.
I noticed that you neatly side stepped the fact you are harvesting and selling Skye id’s.
This is just as low down as it is to harvest and sell email addresses.
Hi Frank,
Re your Quote
Hi Bj,
Thanks for sharing that video.
If you have your Skype settings set as I have shown in the screenshot above… those kind of spam messages will never reach you.
Best regards,
Frank Bauer
My Responce:
This is all well and good but say that I do use my SKYPE contact ID (and I do) But now I need to change my settings and jeopardize acquiring customers. You are making my ligament customers who want information jump through hoops to make contact with me.
Can you honestly give me a ligament reason to have to change the way I use this tool just to accommodate Skype assist.
If you are using the name SKYPE in your business you must have permission from them to use their trademarked name.
Last but not least by any means. When my minor child receives inappropriate messages through Skype Assist. To Whom do I report these infringements?
Brad West ~ onomoney
Some how a “v” got in the name field when the site timed out and I had to re do.
Sorry That is Brad West
Brad West ~ onomoney
Hi Brad,
No worries… those settings changes just protect you from spam. They don’t affect your existing Skype customer contacts.
Also, as a responsible adult I believe you should also change those settings for the Skype accounts of your children to prevent that they receive spam.
It the same with Skype like with your computer at home (or in your office)… you wouldn’t use them unprotected on the Internet, on your computer you use a Firewall and anti-virus software, in Skype you use the proper settings to protect yourself and those that you love.
Why should you change them now if you didn’t have to before? Same reason like with your computer…
Many years ago nobody bothered about Firewalls and Anti-Virus software… there was less hacking going on or at least nobody was aware of it.
As the operating systems became more complex, the number of security holes increased as well and hackers had it easier and easier to find one.
The same with Skype. Earlier versions that didn’t allow plug-ins where more secure… then they opened it up to allow the addition of features like e.g. provided by Skype Assist.
More features, but also introducing new risks… like receiving spam.
So what do we do? We protect ourselves from it.
BTW… regarding the use of Skype in the name of the tool, I hope that Grant checked with with Skype if he is allowed to use it.
If not, he might have to change the product name.
Best regards,
Frank Bauer
hehe …i guess GRANT listened to Frank Bauer’s advice.
If you login to your SKYPE ASSIST website website, you’ll notice it now has a new name. Obviously there was some concern with copyright infringements with using the SKYPE name from an outside product.
Btw …launch should be happening anytime now. GRANT told me, he would be sending out an email announcement to all members when it is officially a’GO”
Dwayne L.
Hi Frank,
Like anything else, this tool is whatever you make of it.
I screen all my Skype requests to be added, and if someone bad slips through the cracks, I simply ban them from my contact list. I always check their profiles, and if it is not complete enough for my liking, I ask them to give me more information.
If you get to know your contacts you will soon know if they are ot be trusted or not.
Hyla Weimann
@Dwayne Lumax: Good on him.
@Hyla Weimann: Yeah, that’s basically what I do as well. No risk of getting spammed that way.
Best regards,
Frank Bauer
Hi Frank i would like to bring the obvious deception the creators of SA have imposed upon an unsuspecting public.
on the 16th of july i recieved an email from grant andrews if that is really his name stating that skype assist would now be called message magic as he did not have nor will recieve permission from skype to use their trademark name.
i believe everyone that signed up for the pre-launch would have recieved the same email so i will not re-publish it unless asked.
Apart from illegally trading on skypes trademark in order to increase interest in his program there is also the question of are you breaking the law using this tool which mines Skypes databases for information not readily made public by Skype, is there a breach of the privacy act occurring where a user is able to harvest users skype identities.
As the owner/creator of a new web search engine we looked at various ways to promote our site, we too could have used a well established brand name to kickstart our marketing campaigns but this would have both been dishonest and very foolish as Mr Andrews is bound to find out.
How can you expect people to trust your product or your company when you use mis-representation as your main marketing tool, is Mr andrews just out to collect as many $15 amounts as possible in the next month or 2 while skypes legal team prepare their briefs and then dissappear into the mist with billions of ill gotten gains.
We put this question to Mr Andrews asking if he deliberately mis-represented his products alliance with skype in order to maximise sales post launch.
His response was to sidestep the question re-iterating what he had placed in that cleverly worded email he sent to all pre-launch members.
Frank I think spam will be the least of user problems i feel that the legal repercussions levelled against users of this system will be far more worrying.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for posting.
Would be interesting to read Grant’s reply to your post.
Best regards,
Frank Bauer
Hi Frank we once again posed the question regarding the use of skypes trademark here is the transcript of that conversation
US. Do you admit going with Skype Assist was a mistake?
Grant.Yes it was a mistake. I had encountered other skype add-on product type sites that contained the word skype in their name and assumed it was ok to do and just went with it. I didn’t bother asking skype about it ahead of time because I thought they were so huge they’d take forever to get back to me and I wanted to move fast. It was sloppy on my part and caused a bunch of grief to make the switch.
the main problem with this response is that there is only one or two addons that actually mention skype and these are portrayed as ICQ for skype, pamela for skype etc,
these companies using skype in their product name are fairly large also however, the rest do not include skype in their name but are allowed to be promoted through the Skype site as “Authorised” or “Supported” plugins.
From Grants reply he obviously has done some research into the Skype system so his defence of his miss-use of the Skype trademark is flimsy at best, there is a set proceedure for developers that Skype insists upon in order to maintain both quality control but also to prevent users from inadvertantly breaking laws or exposing others to risk including spam.
MSN allowed un-controlled development of plugins for it’s software and paid the penalty with unscrupulous users sending all manner of spam and malware through it’s service severely affecting msn messengers reputation as an effective communication system.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for your follow-up comment.
Yeah, I can see how that could have been researched better by Grant. Well, those mistakes are not good, but can happen.
Probably a pain for him to having to change it now.
At least he does change it, good on him.
Best regards,
Frank Bauer