YNOT – All right, I admit it: I’m a Skype newbie. I resisted using the voice-over-internet-protocol application forever because, honestly, I’m way too plugged-in for my own good most of the time.

However, once the YNOT Desperados insisted I finally “Skype-up,” I discovered a tool that is more useful more often than any three others put together. Now I wonder how I ever did without it.

According to Skype’s internal statistics, the product boasts nearly 600 million registered users worldwide, up to 23 million of whom are online at once during peak hours. Compare that to Facebook’s 500 million active users, about half of whom the company says log in daily.

Imagine having that kind of global reach at your fingertips, and the basic — and most universally useful — features are free. Skype’s free version allows users to make free VoIP voice or video-and-voice calls anywhere in the world at any hour, host and attend conference calls, send files and communicate via instant text message, among other things.

As a business tool, Skype quickly becomes indispensible. In fact, more than one-third of Skype’s registered users employ the tool primarily for business communication.

Here are five tips for getting the most out of Skype for your business.

[LIST=1]