eBay is a great platform for online auctions.

Popular VoIP service Skype is currently a subsidiary of eBay , the result of a $1.3 billion deal that went down a few years ago. Now, eBay is looking to say goodbye to Skype and send them off as an individual entity. If you want the facts and details, Ars Technica has a great writeup ; I won’t reiterate the same content here.

I couldn’t be happier to hear this news. Especially with the rumors surrounding the possible acquisition of Twitter by Google, it seems that the major players are running the risk of becoming a bit too powerful. As I said in a recent tweet:

I really hope Google doesn’t acquire Twitter. I’d love to see more growth, not “Google Tweets”. Google doesn’t need to own everything.

Unfortunately, Skype won’t go straight back to the founders; they’ll do an IPO in 2010. It’d be nice if Skype’s founders could continue the vision of innovation that started the company, but if that’s not possible, at least someone else with ambition to move forward will be able to pick up where Zennström and Friis left off.

Skype will become an individual entity.

Nonetheless, this is a step in the right direction. eBay’s a great platform for online auctions, but the relevance to VoIP (and content rating, for that matter) is a stretch. The Skype-powered buyer/seller communication system never really took off, and it’s been a strained relationship at best.

But why did Skype sell to eBay to begin with? Is our main goal to work hard, to put our heart and soul into a product, then just sell out? It can’t be all about the money. You have to love what you do and have the desire to stick with it. Sure, success is relative. To some people, giving up control in exchange for a chunk of cash is acceptable. I also realize that every venture isn’t going to be the investment of the century, and that you do need to have some type of exit strategy should the need arise. But Skype’s business model is largely profitable, and has the potential to thrive as an independent company. I’d like to see more specialization, improvement, and growth, not companies acquiring others simply for the sake of equity and ownership.

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.