"Skype-Book"

Skype and Facebook, according to All Things Digital, will soon announce a partnership, integrating a number of functions between the two, giving the user the ability to call, video-chat or SMS Facebook friends from Skype. Although video chat features have been brought to us via numerous Facebook applications, they haven’t really been impressive to become the first choice for users.

The partnership between the two will give a big advantage to both companies, considering the fact that Skype is stronger in Europe while Facebook is stronger in North America. Adding together the users: 560 million registered in Skype and 500 million Facebook users (while some overlap), will surly offer growth opportunities for both sides, allowing access to new users. While Facebook connects between friends and Skype brings low-cost phone communication, this partnership seems almost obvious.

For some time now, Facebook was looking into mobile and video chat tools. As for Skype, the online-calling-space giant, it wants to be present where users are moving: Facebook. So, if both services are free, where's the revenue? "There is a lot of money in click-through ad revenue and in licensing," Laura DiDio, principal of ITIC, told the E-Commerce Times.

Both platforms are already successful. So what is the lure for a partnership? It is very likely that the real motivation behind this move is actually a third party: Google. "The common enemy between Facebook and Skype is Google. Given the threat of Google, and given Facebook's desire to move into mobile applications and phones in general, the partnership is logical" said DiDio.

References: All Things Digital , ecommercetimes.com