WERBLOG HAS A GOOD POINT

Kevin Werbach makes several good points in regard to the EBAY SKYPE match up. One is that there really was no more logical match-up as Yahoo, Google and MSFT are in position to start their own VoIP service. The phone companies would have bought it only to kill it.

Another point is the "power of three". PayPal is the perfect go between to help build-out Skype. For Skype to receive payment of relatively small amounts many millions of times, the PayPal service should work well. EBAY will give Skype. much exposure and the means to gain share in America. It is especially attractive for "free classified" advertising. As a small businessman, I appreciate the idea of free classified advertising except for a payment for each response.

Kevin has also posted an excellent article about the "new internet". The winning model is still in question. AOL has moved in the direction of Google but then might make a deal with MSFT. Will we end up with 6 major "channels" or with wide open availability of content with payment for individual access?

The long tailed bell curve comes into play. It is clear that Google and Yahoo intend to offer millions of video clips. Most of these should be available in exchange for a relatively small amount of advertising space. Obviously, TWX. and others are going to hold new content pretty close.