Facebook in Skype, Skype in Facebook
Facebook, Microsoft, and Skype are now closer than ever. Facebook has had video chat from Skype for a few months, but now Skype users can call Facebook users and vice versa. Facebook users can call from their internet browser and the new version of Skype (5.7 beta) is compatible with Facebook chat.
Initiating a Facebook-to-Facebook call from within Skype is quite easy; all you need to do is connect your Skype and Facebook accounts. Then, select a Facebook friend and hit the video call button in Skype- your friend simply picks up the call from Facebook. This new feature lets you maintain social connections with your Facebook friends and compliments previously announced features such as being able to see when your Facebook friends are online, read their status updates and IM them all from Skype.
Interestingly enough, Facebook has released a beta for its own messenger, while Skype can also act as a Facebook messenger straight from the desktop.
According to TechCrunch, Facebook's new developments aren't a push from Microsoft, despite the company owning a 1.6% share in Facebook since 2007 and all of Skype Ltd since October. Facebook, then, is extending itself into new social territory. The social network has had an in-browser chat for years, but integrated VoIP (well, video over IP) is a bold and yet natural move for the company.