eBay bought Skype?(Comments RSS)
OK, speaking of odd buy-outs... why in the heck did eBay buy Skype? I can understand if a company like Google, or Yahoo, or even AOL or Microsoft bought them, but, eBay?
I'm attempting to assertain the synergistic logic behind the merging of an online auction and a proprietary VoIP calling tool. Maybe there's some value with merging the PayPal components with the auctions and the VoIP service so buyers and sellers can talk their way through settling up on their sales and buys?
No-one usually comments here when I ask (expect the blog spammers *shakes fist*), but I'm going to ask anyway... What does everyone else think about this?
One of these days I'll write my story about how and why I switched to a VoIP carrier - if anyone is interested? Maybe Verizon, AT&T, and some others might keep their eyes open to why? Who's doin' a technorati search, huh?
Reminder by: [KCTs Digital World]







13/9/2005 10:05 PM
Yeah I can't figure it out either, it seems as pointless as if Microsoft decided to buy Starbucks (although I'm sure some Microsoft employees would be happy about sponsored coffee though). I seem to have read somewhere that the plan for eBay was to streamline communications between buyer and seller by using Skype, but it strikes me that, this was possible *without* paying $2+billion for Skype.Well I guess they had their reasons, but I just don't want to open up Skype one day and see it plastered with 200 eBay ads (unless it makes Skypeout calls free as a result).
Paul S