脸谱网 Partners with Skype on Video Chat; Is this 'Awesome'?
Be careful about overhyping things. That seems to have been the takeaway from today's live 脸谱网 公告.
上周, 马克•扎克伯格, 脸谱网的首席执行官, told Reuters that his company would "launch something awesome" next week. Today he announced integrated 视频聊天 (powered by Skype), group text chat, and a redesigned chat console.
The Internet let out a collective, "Hmmm," and then turned to Twitter.
"It's just not that exciting," tweeted @vickyayala. "We were hoping for an iPad app :-/ Does this news excite you?@ilovetwill问道.
Video chat or video calling is a high-profile feature that gets a lot of headlines whenever a new company offers it, but never takes off in a big way. Look at when Apple added video calling to the iPhone: iPhone owners tried it a few times and then most forgot about it. Unless it's for business purposes or there's a new baby involved, people aren't all that wowed by video calling.
But maybe this time will be different. Bundled into the world's largest social network (with over 750 million users), Skype video calling will give people an easy way to make a face-to-face connection. 脸谱网 is adding access in stages. It started by offering it to millions of users today and will add more accounts over time.
The 视频聊天 feature works with a plug-in that can be downloaded and installed in under a minute. Zuckerberg emphasized how easy and non-technical the installation was.
The company also modified its instant messaging tool so that it now offers group chat. The 视频聊天 is strictly one-to-one, for now. Zuckerberg said that group chat is in the works, as is mobile access.
"The vast majority of 视频聊天 is one-on-one chat. ... I just think this is super-awesome," CNN quoted Zuckerberg as saying.
Since the newly launched Google+ social network offers video, some will see this as a response. Really, it's a natural way for both services to grow, whether or not 视频聊天 finds widespread use.
相关文章
Skype is an excellent tool for getting live viewer input during a show. Use these tips to ensure that the resulting video is always strong and clear.
12月29日
Skype TX在这里, offering a broadcast-quality rack-mounted solution for demanding media professionals. 流媒体 West attendees got a first look, as well as all the product's specs.
11月19日
The social networking giant wants to connect its members with video creators, rather than making its own programs.
9月11日
The leading video calling service chooses VP8, but will new owner Microsoft agree?
2011年8月4日
Your customers or fans will help promote your content for you, if you're using the right tools and rewards.
2011年6月15日