Skype Direct Video Calls for Facebook Friends Extends Social Strategy
Back in July, Facebook launched video chat with the integration of Skype but Facebookers can only call their friends on Facebook but not on Skype. But Facebook and Skype stepped it up a notch with direct calling. Now you don’t have to open your Facebook account to call a Facebook friend–just link your Facebook and Skype accounts so that when you log into Skype you can update your status, chat with friends and make video calls directly.
This is available in the updated Skype desktop app for Mac and Windows PC.
Skype isn’t the only one looking to Facebook for enhanced IM capabilities. Veteran player AOL just revamped their instant messeging service AIM. After years of idly sitting in the shadows, they’re hoping to reclaim their glories of the nineties. AIM now allows users to store and sync messages across different devices and view photos. Aside from Facebook, AIM is also supports Twitter and Gmail. How’s that for going social?
On the enterprise side, Cisco teamed with Jabber to launch a service that takes on the cloud as well as instant messaging. WebEx Spaces is great for group or company meetings, and Cisco’s making things all the more convenient for social integration. WebEx Spaces allow meeting-goers early access to the meeting to share and grab files off of WebEx’s new cloud storage service, and even chat with participants. It also features an activity stream to give meeting updates. Appealing to mobile users, the activity stream is converted into alerts or notifications that come through before the meeting. It can also connect to TelePresence meeting rooms, one of Cisco’s high end products.
Another useful video messaging service, Vimessa, just launched its video voicemail iOS app. The app allows users to leave video messages to their friends, even if they are not online. Vimessa aims to be a cross-platform product in the mobile sector, but for now it’s only available for the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPod Touch. Look out for more versions for the iPad, iPad 2, Android and Windows devices.
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