15 October 2010

Skype hedging bets with social leaders Facebook

In another score for the ubiquitous social media phenoms at Facebook, Skype has recently announced its new software for Windows will include an extensive plug-in for the social network, including news feeds and the ability to 'like' something in-programme.

Officials for the chat and video call giant explained the Facebook plug-in kept in line with the company's overarching goals.

"The essence of the Skype experience is communicating with the people you care about, whether that's your friend who lives on the other side of town or your mom, who lives on the other side of the world," said Rick Osterloh, head of consumer products for Skype, in a video on the company's blog.

Director of Facebook's Developer Network Ethan Beard affirmed the friendly feelings with Skype on the social network's official blog, stating Thursday that Facebook was "working with companies such as Skype... to make it easy to find your friends anytime you want to connect."

Speaking to the BBC, tech blogger Ben Popper explained both companies stood to benefit greatly from the collaboration.

"For Skype they are getting built right into the conversation," he said. "For Facebook, which has the bulk of its users in the US, this is good in terms of expansion because a chunk of Skype users are in Europe and the rest of the world."

This makes Skype the latest big tech player to climb on board with the Big Blue F, as Microsoft recently teamed with the social giant to deliver the site's search via Redmond's Bing search engine.

It also comes suspiciously close to the announcement that Google now would support phone calls via its Gmail service, making another point of contention between Mountain View and its Zuckerberg-led rivals.