The Week in Tweets: Facebook Rolls Out Skype Video Calling

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March 23, 2023

The Week in Tweets: Facebook Rolls Out Skype Video Calling

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The Story of Facebook Video Chat, Told in 10 Tweets

On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the “awesome” announcement he’d teased the week before: video chatting through Facebook. The new feature is powered by Skype, the world’s largest VoIP service recently acquired by Microsoft, and makes video calls a whole lot easier for Facebook’s 750 million users (but will they use it?).

First-time users will need to download a small Java file but after that, you just need to open a chat box with your Facebook friend and click on the video camera icon to start a call. It’s free for now, but there’s speculation that Skype will eventually charge Facebook credits to make certain kinds of calls. For more, see PCMag’s hands-on with Facebook Video Chat.

The Facebook-Skype partnership has been in the rumor mill for ages. It was even pre-empted a couple weeks ago when Skype launched a new version of its software that integrates Facebook into Skype’s interface, including a dedicated Facebook tab where users can perform many of the same features in Facebook, without ever having to log into Facebook.

The timing of Zuckerberg’s announcement is widely seen as a response to Google+, Google’s latest social network announced last week. After all, one of Google+’s most ballyhooed features was a group video conferencing mechanism called Hangout.

If last week the Twitterverse was buzzing about Google+, this week it was all things Facebook. Check out ten tweets broadly representing thoughts towards one of the biggest tech stories this week:

For more from Sara, follow her on Twitter @sarapyin(Opens in a new window).

For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag(Opens in a new window).

1. @Osborne

@Osborne

Ha. Facebook is probably the only social network you use that includes your mom, dentist, elementary school principal, and other “old people” types. If normal Skype was too complicated for them, they’ll love Facebook video chat.

2. @trish_373

@trish_373

When it comes to quality, Facebook Video Chat won’t replace regular Skype anytime soon. It doesn’t have HD video quality or multi-party video chat—yet.

3. @BlakeJacobson

@BlakeJacobson

Well, there goes one thing from the list of 6 Things Google+ Can Do That Facebook Can’t.

4. @robulack

@robulack

And Facebook is using it sooner too!

5. @HaHaWhitePPL

@HaHaWhitePPL

Let’s just hope Zuckerberg’s promise that the webcam won’t come on until you accept a call holds true.

6. @HartejSingh

@HartejSingh

Yes, with more than 250 million of 750 million Facebook users accessing Facebook through their mobile devices, this is definitely something Facebook needs to address sooner rather than later.

7. @AprilTanPS

@AprilTanPS

A refreshing voice of enthusiasm from someone outside the tech industry.

8. @hiimles

@hiimles

No, Facebook video chatting can’t be good for stalker-like activities.

9. @tgpraveen

@tgpraveen

Last week we reported that Microsoft was seeking a patent for surveillance technology for VoIP calls—could it be used to eavesdrop on Skype calls?

10. @bnease

@bnease

This raises a more sobering question. Not long ago Mark Zuckerberg said he wouldn’t mind opening up Facebook to children younger than 13. In the advent of cyberstalking and tech-savvy sex predators, what will Facebook do to protect its young users?

11. @pokemymon

@pokemymon

To be honest, I rolled my eyes when I first heard the announcement too. Then I tried it, and I love it. It’s easier to use than the actual Skype client, and now I can close another simultaneously-running application. And who knows, maybe this will reverse the deterioration of verbal communication that Facebook fostered in the first place.

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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-week-in-tweets-facebook-rolls-out-skype-video-calling