I have Facebook, I have Skype, I have Facetime on my iPhone. I have an address book for each and if I wanted to, I could combine them. So the announcement of Facebook and Skype easing the communication across their two platforms simply makes me yawn. And I suspect others, too. "After all, Facebook's "awesome" news today was totally one-upped a week earlier by Google Hangouts, a Google+ feature that doesn't just let users video chat, but lets them do it with up to 10 people simultaneously (Facebook's Skype integration is just one-on-one)." No doubt a group party line seems more innovative although reminiscent of the time when operators were required to connect callers and neighbors could eavesdrop on other people's calls.
As to Facebook, sometimes I want to post or read other posts; I don't necessarily want to chat, let alone Skype. But if I am listed as online, it is hard to say that I was away. With the phone, I can simply not pick up and callers can think I am not at home. Is a Facebook-Skype collaboration problematic? No, convergence of apps and communication seems necessary, but with a mobile population and apps that make us look like we are always on, we may simply lose another bit of privacy.
As to the article in PC Magazine, Facebook in 5 years will thrive as long as it continues to innovate and be forward thinking. Otherwise, like others in its path (Prodigy, AOL, and others) they could find themselves moving from leader to has been.
