So, based on my experiences I am just not that invested in Skype or any other messaging platform, but the occasional Facebook messaging and my native phone messaging. With the exception for video connectivity, and for me that's not used very often because there isn't a need to. Skype as far I know has never been considered a popular messaging platform to begin with. Facebook, because that's pretty much the internet social standard for the occasional check in. In my case I just us the native messaging app on my phone with contacts that matter, and vice versa. I'm surprised many people use messaging apps in general. PS: I will duplicate that post on The Verge as I'm curious to see what people not invested in MS think. Today in conversations it's all about Spotify, Rdio, Pandora, even the newcomer Beats Music gets more hype than Xbox Music! Where did it go wrong for streaming? And where is it going wrong for messaging now? This reminds me of when Microsoft had something very special with Zune Pass but didn't seem to know what to do with it. Why isn't Skype built in a way that you would think 'OK I'm going to use that service now'. They pretty much all use WhatsApp and a fair chunk use FB messenger. None of my friends use Skype for messaging, they only use it when they need to make a free call abroad. Most video podcasts out there have moved from Skype to Hangouts. I'd like Daniel or Jay to come and explain why they had to use Hangouts to make a podcast about Windows. This is one thing you can't blame on the WP small userbase, this is an issue with Microsoft, they are definitely doing something wrong. It's WhatsApp, Viber, Line, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, BBM, Hangouts, iMessage (even though it's not cross platform) that steal the headlines. Yet whenever you see a messaging article or discussion, Skype is just barely mentioned, sort of not relevant. Skype exists on Windows Phone, Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows, Mac, Linux, it's on phone, mobile, tablet, Smart TV, Xbox One, PlayStation Vita, Kindle Fire, on the web via Outlook, Windows Live Messenger users were moved to Skype, GroupMe works over sms, they offer text messaging, video messaging, group messaging, this is pretty huge. That's really something I don't understand.

Who owns skype