eBay's Latest Skype Plans No More Convincing
from the still-no-answer dept
Ever since eBay announced it was buying Skype for between $2.6 billion and $4 billion, we've wondered exactly how they were going to make the money back. Apart from billion-dollar winners like selling ringtones, all the eBay talk of integrating Skype into its existing businesses really isn't that convincing from a business standpoint. Now, just nine months after announcing the deal, eBay has finally gotten around to putting a "Skype Me" button in auction listings in certain categories on its site. It says the Skype function will help facilitate transactions in certain areas it's identified as having the potential to benefit from instant communication, but some sellers say they've got no interest in live communication with potential buyers. This announcement raises a lot of questions: Do people really want to talk to eBay buyers and sellers? What took so long to roll this out? And most importantly, why did eBay need to drop billions of dollars to get this functionality? The other things being mentioned, like "integrating" PayPal and Skype so people can easily send money to others on their Skype contacts list, don't look like they'll provide much of a boost to the bottom line, either, and at this juncture, it's really hard to see the Skype buy paying off for eBay.
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Re:
stupid.
no one is making you put a skype-me button on your page - its a nice touch. Possibly for sellers selling real estate, cars, high value goods - things that people would like to discuss.
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Re: Re: Mule
Strange, neither is stupider, but that is what you have just proven yourelf to be by posting that.
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Re: Re:
stu·pid Audio pronunciation of "stupidest" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (stpd, sty-)
adj. stu·pid·er, stu·pid·est
1. Slow to learn or understand; obtuse.
2. Tending to make poor decisions or careless mistakes.
3. Marked by a lack of intelligence or care; foolish or careless: a stupid mistake.
4. Dazed, stunned, or stupefied.
5. Pointless; worthless: a stupid job.
And for sticklers who prefer Webster, yes, stupidest isn't listed with stupid, stupidly, and stupidness. http://www.m-w.com/ BUT, let's not forget a little word called suffix, as in "an affix occurring at the end of a word, base, or phrase"
Which brings us to "est: Main Entry: 1-est
Pronunciation: &st, ist
Function: adjective suffix or adverb suffix
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English -st, -est, -ost; akin to Old High German -isto (adjective superlative suffix), Greek -istos
-- used to form the superlative degree of adjectives and adverbs of one syllable , of some adjectives and adverbs of two syllables , and less often of longer ones "
I'll allow you to confirm for yourself that "stupid" is a two syllable adjective.
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myspace
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PDA use...
I still can't believe the amount of info that people post on myspace...if you read the T&C's, anything you post there on your site gives News Corp. the right to use it for any reason they see fit.
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skype could be used to settle dispute between buyer and seller.. again at present email is also effective.. skype is just another user interface..
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Hmmm
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It works for autos and real estate
ContactAtOnce! is a service that a number of eBay competitors in the online classified and vertical search spaces have utilized to similarly enable the ads and listings on their sites with presence-awareness and instant communications - with success.
Look for eBay Motors and Rent.com to be the biggest success stories.
Full disclosure - employee of ContactAtOnce!
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Duh!
This is why eBay has RESERVE AUCTIONS. When they realize they've screwed up, they can just sell Skype on reserve and some moe-rawn will be happy to buy it eventually. It worked for my old toaster.
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