The new IM marketplace

Ever since Ebay bought Skype, the instant messenger and VOIP industries have taken center stage in the blogosphere and tech news world.

Many thought Ebay simply use Skype as a means of allowing Ebay customers to communicate during their transactions, but it appears that Ebay is going to promtoe Skype as the primary VOIP tool for businesses and consumers. It's going to be a standalone communications business.

How will Google react? Google has high hopes for it's Google Talk as an instant messenger / VOIP player, but it already trails AIM and Yahoo Messenger by several million users. Now it is a tremendous uphill battle for them to catch Skype. Google has since revealed plans to debut an Ebay/Craigslist.com type system where users can post free classifieds online.

A new marketplace is also emerging for IM products - add ons that promise extended functionality, such as Mercado's Music Search for Google Talk.

As millions of teens use Instant Messaging as their preferred means of communication, they will certainly want to continue doing so when they enter the work force. Look for Instant Messaging with VOIP to become the main platform for communication within the next five years.