"...Other potential synergies haven't even left the lab. Analysts say Skype may add video to its free PC-to-PC communication service. With video panes added to eBay pages, online sellers could get closer than ever to approximating live shopping, while buyers could well gain increased confidence from being able to see moving pictures of items for sale..."
As I read this today (Business Week article cited above - link below), I immediately thought EBay is going to try to out-Diller the king of hype himself - Barry Diller. I had the fortune to work briefly for Mr Diller (1996-1997) as an executive of the Internet Shopping Network. I've personally toured HSN headquarters in Florida and analyzed the back office operations in depth (incl. the shipping and payment processing logistics)
So, the Skype acquistion and it's opportunity starts to make more sense to me now. EBay TV must be back on the priority list down in San Jose. The EBay Shopping Network where small and large businesses will use EBay's platform technologies to create and store video commercials of their products, promote them, and then auction key time slots to the highest bidder. No need for studio productions anymore like the old guard HSN and QVC now that podcasting and videocasting are the next wave. The viewing consumer makes the final call with Skype and pays for it with PayPal. EBay thus creates the first truly vertical supply/demand chain.
Link: Skype's "Aha!" Experience
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