Skype’s Days Are Numbered Take 2

I continue to feel Skype's days are numbered. All one has to do is look at history. AIM (AOL's Instant Messenger) and ICQ were once the kings of Instant Messaging (IM). And while they are still around, the best way of describing them, along with Yahoo! Messenger, is to say they are on life support. Beyond SMS and the cheap calling that's already available over mobile which has basically gutted the need for those apps, there's now newer and more robust apps like WhatsApp and Viber that have taken the mobile ownership away from Skype, as has Twitter and Facebook's Messenger. 

And now, with WebRTC becoming more and more a part of any web developer's toolkit, Skype's market share is beginning to erode as more discreet communications is being embedded into apps and web pages. 

Take a look at companies like client Temasys and their platform, and also some others like TokBox now under the leadership of longtime pal and former client at SightSpeed Scott Lomond, PubNub and &Yet to see what they're up to.  

These companies are the next Twilios and AWS' of the world, taking real time communications and making it easier for web and app developers and designers to put communications into just about anything. And that is where Skype gets eviscerated. Looking at what they have vs. some of the candy coated, wolf's in sheep's clothing offerings from the bigger boys is telling me why there's been a lot of FUD being tossed about WebRTC a few months back and has others hyping and drinking the kool-aid, like we're back in 1999 more about what's "coming" than what is here today and being deployed today.

Want to see this stuff in action? Take a look at Appear.InGetARoomTalky, Talko and BANG. Cast an eye in the direction of HipChat and their recent updates. Take a gander in the direction of VOBI.

WebRTC is also already alive and well in the likes of client iotum's Calliflower and pal Craig Walker's UberConference. Vonage already put WebRTC inside their mobile app and rumor has it that T-Mobile is playing around with it while client Truphone has demonstrated some neat tricks that makes calling someone without a phone number who you only know via social media, possible.

So, when you add it all up. Skype's days are numbered. And that's just fine.

Update: Wall Street Journal has a parallel story.