Facebook, Skype Partner on Video Calling
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, July 11, 2011 · 
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Last week via a press conference, Facebook announced that it has partnered with Skype to integrate video chatting into the world’s largest social network.
The goal of the integration was simplicity. “This is by far the easiest way to get connected by video,” Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, said during the launch. “If it was any easier, it would be like reading your mind.” Read more
JaJah Offers First Mobile Voice App for Facebook
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, April 18, 2011 · ·
Last week, VoIP provider JaJah released the first mobile calling service for Facebook. JaJah is not only first out-of-the-gate with a solution, but its boasting that calls can be placed for free.
Here’s how it works. The initiating caller downloads the JaJah Facebook application. The user launches Facebook on their smartphone and selects any contact currently listed as “active” in their online friends list. The contact then receives a call notification through a Facebook chat instant message, which also includes a link. To accept the call request, the receiving party clicks on the link and a browser opens to initiate the call.
JaJah says that the only cost for users relates to operators potentially charging for a local call; however, in most cases, this is typically deducted in terms of minutes from overall monthly wireless service plans.
So far the application is only available for Android smartphone users, although an iPhone version is in the works as well, with no firm release date in sight.
Facebook is the most widely accepted social networking platform in use today with more than 500 million active users. For many people, Facebook is their preferred address book and increasingly their entertainment destination.
For more, see this release.
Warner Brothers Offers VoD Via Facebook
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, March 14, 2011 · ·
Warner Brothers announced last week that it is testing a new program that will offer select movies for sale or rental through its public Facebook pages.
Warner Brothers rolled out the new service last week with the launch of a popular title. Currently, Facebook users who visit the official page of “Batman: The Dark Knight” can pay 30 Facebook credits (worth $3) to stream the movie. Facebook Credits is an alternative payment option supported by more than 150 games and applications on the social network.
Renters have access to the movie for 48 hours and can replay it as many times as they like. Warner Brothers said it will add other movies in coming months but did not release any additional titles, or how much it will cost to buy movies.
Facebook Testing a VoIP Feature?
Posted by Jesse Ward on Friday, January 28, 2011 · ·
According to various user reports, Facebook is testing an integrated VoIP feature. If the rumor proves true, this new functionality will place the social networking giant in direct competition with Google Voice, Skype and Magic Jack. Various first-hand have witnessed the new, embedded call functionality appear within the Facebook graphical user interface, only to have the feature disappear moments later.
It’s not clear if Facebook is developing this new integrated voice application in-house or if it is working with a partner company (such as Skype). Facebook refused to comment on the rumor.
For more, see screen shots of the reported new feature.
Skype Releases New Software, Integrates with Facebook
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, October 18, 2010 · ·
Late last week Skype launched a new version of its PC software, Skype 5.0, available now for Windows machines. The VoIP application has a new “revitalized look and feel” in addition to new functionality. (See the video after the jump.)
As predicted, Skype is now integrated with Facebook. The new software allows Skype users to login to their Facebook accounts and perform a variety of Facebook tasks from within the Skype interface. By meshing the Facebook News Feed and Phonebook contact list with the Skype interface, users are able to view and post messages to their Facebook activity stream, comment on others’ posts, and communicate via SMS, phone and the Skype VoIP service.
In addition to the Facebook integration, Skype 5.0 also introduces a free trial of group video calling. Skype users are increasingly connecting via video, accounting for approximately 40% of all Skype-to-Skype minutes in the first half of this year, according to the company. Read more
Facebook and Skype in Talks
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, October 4, 2010 · ·
Social networking giant Facebook and Internet VoIP provider Skype are in talks to mesh their communications services more closely, according to an exclusive report in the online Wall Street Journal blog All Things Digital which has been repeatedly cited by the tech news media.
The companies are said to be on the verge of announcing a “significant and wide-ranging partnership that will include integration of SMS, voice and video chat.” According to a person familiar with the matter, Facebook users will be able to sign into Skype through their Facebook Connect accounts. Users will then be able to text message, voice chat and video chat with their Facebook friends from within Skype.
According to the person familiar with the matter the integrated functions are built into Skype’s 5.0 version, which is expected to be released in the next few weeks.
The partnership will link Skype’s 560 million registered users—124 million of whom use it at least once a month—with Facebook’s 500 million members, many of whom interact with the social networking application on a daily or weekly basis. If the rumor comes to fruition it likely will pose a formidable challenge for Google which just last month integrated Google Voice into its Gmail e-mail service.
For more, see this All Things Digital post.
Facebook Attracts 35% of Internet Users
Posted by Jesse Ward on Tuesday, June 1, 2010 · ·
Despite widespread concerns about privacy, 540 million Internet users worldwide visited Facebook in April 2010, or 35.2% of the entire population of Web users, this according to new data from Google. Users clicked on 570 billion Facebook pages in April.
The data is released by Google’s DoubleClick Ad Planner, which rates the 1,000 most popular sites on the Web (excluding Google, YouTube and Gmail). Read more