Every teenager or college student/drop out with an idea being cooked in their garage is under big tech companies’ radars. It has happened time after time.
Twitter got so big, so fast, that Mark Zuckerberg tried to buy it out after feeling threatened with the booming new social network. And not just Facebook, Google was also in on the hunt. Of course, Twitter’s high executives and creators have not sold… yet.
But it’s not always the case that a company is too proud to be bought by a standing giant. Google successfully bought YouTube and Blogger not so long ago. But then again what Google did to those platforms was better than their respective creators could have ever done to them. YouTube is now the world leader in video streaming and Blogger is one of the top Blogging sites there is.
There have been purchases that instead of enhancing the product, it has been a mistaken union. Best example and most recent would be Ebay trying to buy web call giant Skype. Everything was set to go, but something went wrong with legal issues concerning technology rights. Now who has come to the rescue? Microsoft just scooped up Ebay wrong doings for 8.5 billion dollars. That’s right, the all-time favorite in free web calls and low rate calls to land lines and cell phones is now in Bill Gates’ pocket.
I’ve heard and read opinions from several friends and colleagues – especially @JackSocialMed1a a friend and a twitter user- about this acquisition. The majority seems to be disappointed. They (and frankly, me too) have little faith in what Microsoft can do for Skype. Skype was, at the beginning, having a few problems regarding reception and clarity in voice calls. With time, that has been enhanced almost to perfection. Everyone has been fascinated with advantages it offers over any other similar service. In my trips, this has been my utmost communication tool with the world. But really… how can Microsoft improve it?
Our faith is set on Google now to come up with a better, newer product now that Skype has been taken from us (Microsoft: please prove us wrong!). They say, however, that it’s more than just wishful thinking. Google is in fact working on a product this similar, and perhaps better: Google Voice. Will it ever skyrocket? Let’s see what the near future brings. In the meantime, get your headsets strapped on while it’s settled.