4# eros_zz  
Sorry, seen that the comments should be given by users, not by the original poster.
In this case, why Microsoft bought Skype? It seems that Microsoft bought Skype at a relatively high price comparing to 18 months ago, which is a bad operation. But we should know that 18 months ago,  when the  world was in financial crisis and many enterprises were facing being bankrupted, so we should not put today's situation as the basis of analysis.  And then the Web 2.0 trend was not so clear, Facebook, RenRen, MicroBlog were not so popular as now. Web 2.0 and the integration of internet and phone are the main reasons why Microsoft made this deal, it is my perspective.
Another reason may be Microsoft wants to gain more customers from corporations, as it is stated that this action may be led by the concern on corporate users.