The big story that has grabbed people’s attentions in the digital world this week is Facebook’s announcement of a new video calling feature which will be powered by Skype.

Looking at the Mosaic groups which visit Facebook and the Skype website we can see the new audience opportunities this partnership offers both parties.

For Skype, the attraction of partnering with Facebook is that their video calls will start being used by some of the less affluent but prolific Internet users such as Claimant Cultures, Ex-Council Community and Industrial Heritage. These groups are all over indexed with Facebook but are currently not using Skype as much as the average Internet user. Facebook on the other hand will get to tap into the multi-ethnic audiences that Skype already attracts in Upper Floor Living and Terraced Melting Pot as well as the more affluent Liberal Opinions and Alpha Territory users.
The integration of video calling into Facebook should help the social network extend its dominance in the market, and will give people another moment to pause for thought before pursuing the new Google+ project. We will keep a close eye on Facebook over the next few weeks; it will be interesting to see if as a result of video calling, average visit time on Facebook goes up past the 27 minutes it currently boasts. The other factor to monitor will be to see if in the long term the audience profile of Facebook and Skype become closer as people use both services more.
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