Facebook Announces Skype Video Calling

With Google Plus ascendant, Facebook's been feeling some pressure from a competitor for what may be the first time in recent memory. Google's new social network, with its Hangout video chatrooms, friend circles, and familiar online features, poses a definite threat to the established social giant--and now, Facebook has answered right back with an announcement of its own. As social network wizard and noted Geekologist Matt Marquez predicted last week, Facebook unveiled video chat via Skype today at a press conference in Palo Alto. Here's how it works.

Skype through Facebook will provide the same video-chat functionality as the familiar program without requiring an external download. All you'll need to utilize Skype is a plug-in, which you'll be prompted to download whenever someone tries to video chat with you. Facebook's video chat system supports one-on-one conversations only, but Zuckerberg told us that we shouldn't rule out group video chats just yet--especially since he's planning to implement group Facebook chats (in the traditional text-based format) sometime in the near future. There's also a redesign apparently on the horizon, but Zuckerberg didn't give a timeframe or share any further details on that subject.

The Skype/Facebook alliance is certainly a strong one--both programs see near-universal use in their respective fields--but Google Plus has the Hangout feature to hold over Facebook, even after this announcement. ("You know what's cooler than a one-to-one video chat? A billion-to-one video chat.") I'm not ready to take either side just yet, but for now, this has a certain ring of too-little-too-late. That's not to say that Facebook's down and out--not by a long shot. As the entrenched champion of social networks, it's still got the connections, relationships, and organizational tools that keep our social lives running at full tilt. Can Google Plus replace the world's most irreplaceable website? It may be too early to tell. We do know that Mr. Zuckerberg himself is deep behind enemy lines over on Google Plus, which may suggest further escalation in the months to come.

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