Beyond the Skype

eBay's purchase of Skype is a win-win in my view. I'm a big fan of both companies. Putting the two together makes great strategic business sense to me. In this case, one plus one equals a value far beyond two. As a longtime eBay user, I've been frustrated with using email. I've had several transactions fail due to spam-related issues or emails not getting through or misinterpreted (particularly, international deals). Talking with customers directly is much better.

Looking ahead, it won't be long before you'll be streaming video on Skype. eBay users will be able to show items to potential customers and demonstrate them on request. Skype has great instant messaging and the ability to do conference calls. One could easily envision real time auctions with small groups of people using Skype. Real time voice and video communications via Skype also has the potential to reduce fradulent transactions, which has been a thorn in eBay's side in the past.

What's more, it's not inconceivable that at some point down the road, eBay could spin out Skype in a separate IPO for tens of millions of more dollars than they paid for the company.

I'm excited about the future of eBay and Skype. Well done, Meg!