eBay recently launched a service providing users with SMS and IM alerts for when monitored auctions change status or they are outbid. When I first clicked the link to sign up for an alert, I expected Skype to be the first thing I saw. Maybe this was to be the first real use that eBay's had for Skype. However I was disappointed with what I saw.

Skype was missing. Does eBay not trust their own product enough to use it themselves? What are their limitations? What do other IM networks have that Skype doesn't? I have an answer. Reliabilty.

Skype's P2P architecture makes having a reliable server-side client next to impossible. Messages aren't always delievered, voicemails pile up, and supernode traffic bogs down servers. What the developer community needs is a stripped-down cross-platform client for connecting to the Skype network. This client could get rid of Skype's colorful GUI bloat and perform core tasks such as handling chat messages and calls. Combined with a Call Forwarding API, Skype would have the business market hands-down if they just took this one little step.

Hey Skype, if you need a developer for it, you know my number.

More on Skype and alerting:

• Some public Skype events and why Skype should embed calendaring. Phil Wolff, Skype Journal.
• Skype Heartbeat is a good second step, but we need more. Phil Wolff, Skype Journal.
• Skype RemindMe. Uri Levanon, Skype Journal.