Great Point!<br><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 3:42 PM, David Gibbons <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:dave@videon-central.com">dave@videon-central.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; PADDING-LEFT: 1ex" class="gmail_quote">I think we're overcomplicating things here.<br><br>All they have to do is use their voice recognition software (you know, the one that we all train for free when we call 800-goog-411) to do basic transcription, and low and behold they have marketable data. Just like advertisers want to know what we do online, they will want to know what we walk about on the phone once that data is available.<br>
<br>Advertisers would pay an arm and a leg to know every time someone mentioned their product on the phone and in what context they mentioned it...<br><br>--Dave<br>
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<div class="h5"><br>-----Original Message-----<br>From: <a href="mailto:asterisk-biz-bounces@lists.digium.com">asterisk-biz-bounces@lists.digium.com</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:asterisk-biz-bounces@lists.digium.com">asterisk-biz-bounces@lists.digium.com</a>] On Behalf Of Garrett Smith<br>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 4:19 PM<br>To: Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion<br>Subject: Re: [asterisk-biz] Google's voice product [OT]<br><br>Google voice is not a business. It's a feature of a greater offering that may or may not come.<br>
<br>You have to look at Google voice in the context of what Google is - an advertising company that wants to be a commerce company. To think that Google has ambitions past bolstering and or protecting their main income streams (ads) is far fetched at best.<br>
<br>In order for Google to continue to drive ad revenues they need more advertisers. To do this they need to make it easier to create something that requires advertising (I.E. an online business).<br><br>Slowly but surely Google is piecing together all of the components an entrepreneur or existing offline business needs to do business online. Sort of what eBay tried to do (but is failing at with) PayPal and Skype.<br>
<br>Google offers a way to make a site (Sites), optimize it for search (Site optimizer, webmaster tools), advertise it (Adwords, Ad manager), track performance (Analytics) and take payments (Google checkout). Now sprinkle in hosted productivity and collaboration products like Google docs, and way to communicate (Google Voice, Google talk) you've got all of need to launch a basic business online.<br>
<br>Today these all look like disparate offerings, but when put together they actually fit together well.<br><br>Can Google execute on this? Don't know. That's their problem.<br><br>But don't expect them to be a VoIP/voice provider in any traditional sense.<br>
<br>Worse case they'll use Google voice as a way to cover the black hole created by online leads that are converted offline. Like what Ifbyphone is doing with their call tracking services (<a href="http://public.ifbyphone.com/services/call-tracking" target="_blank">http://public.ifbyphone.com/services/call-tracking</a>).<br>
<br>It's a big problem for many marketers. Many of which would spend more if they new where all of their revenues were coming from.<br><br>Garrett Smith<br><br>716-250-3408 OFFICE<br>716-685-2012 FAX<br>716-903-9495 MOBILE<br>
<a href="mailto:gsmith@voipsupply.com">gsmith@voipsupply.com</a><br><br>Meet me on Facebook or LinkedIn<br><br>Have I exceeded your expectations? Please share your experience with my boss, Benjamin Sayers, CEO<br><br>NOTICE: The information contained in this email and any document attached hereto is intended only for the named recipient(s). It is the property of the VoIP Supply, LLC and shall not be used, disclosed or reproduced without the express written consent of VoIP Supply, LLC. If you are not the intended recipient, nor the employee or agent responsible for delivering this message in confidence to the intended recipient(s), you are hereby notified that you have received this transmittal in error, and any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this transmittal or its attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmittal and/or attachments in error, please notify me immediately by reply e-mail or telephone and then delete this message, including any attachments. Our mailing address is 454 Sonwil Drive, Buffalo, NY 14225 USA.<br>
<br><br>-----Original Message-----<br>From: <a href="mailto:asterisk-biz-bounces@lists.digium.com">asterisk-biz-bounces@lists.digium.com</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:asterisk-biz-bounces@lists.digium.com">asterisk-biz-bounces@lists.digium.com</a>] On Behalf Of Peter Beckman<br>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 1:46 PM<br>To: Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion<br>Subject: Re: [asterisk-biz] Google's voice product [OT]<br><br>On Tue, 17 Mar 2009, SIP wrote:<br><br>> The Pogue article is, as to be expected, gushingly lavish with Google<br>
> praise.<br>><br>> Which leads me to a question: how is this envisioned in the world of<br>> consumer VoIP (is anyone even still IN that business) ? The article<br>> mentions that the entire service, single number, VoIP calling,<br>
> transcription services, etc. will be completely free and ad-free. Where,<br>> then, is the business plan?<br><br> I'm sure there will be "Pro" features for a monthly fee, or they will make<br> enough money on International Minutes. They might eventually include<br>
advertising.<br><br> There are many things Google offers that don't cost you cash, but they<br> monetize it. VoIP is making the telephony world a commodity, and it<br> continues to get cheaper.<br><br> Some of the things Google is doing will flow down to us, hopefully that<br>
includes SMS abilities on SIP-delivered originated DIDs. Since Google has<br> done it, they've set a precedent.<br><br>> With its constant marketing steamroller, and its massive brand<br>> recognition, I don't see, honestly, how 95% of the non-facilities-based<br>
> consumer voice products out there will stand up to it.<br><br> Google Voice fits a niche -- people who are willing to give up what has<br> been their primary number for years and get a new number, and then give<br> that out to everyone, and hope that in a year or two Google doesn't shut<br>
down this little venture that nobody paid for and nobody seems to be able<br> to match.<br><br> It's not home phone service. It's not a business IVR. It is for the<br> individual to manage their calls. They don't know it's VoIP, or if they<br>
do, they don't care or don't know what that means. It works for them, and<br> that's great.<br><br> Remember -- there's a company down the street quietly doing $20M annual<br> revenue for some obscure, I-never-thought-of-that business. We small fry<br>
do NOT compete with Google, we can't. We provide unique services and find<br> the customers that like and need what we provide, and we do a nice<br> business for ourselves and our employees (and maybe our investors).<br>
<br>> But how long will it be the way it is now -- free of charge for basic<br>> services and ad-free? Is this a first salvo to slaughter the competition<br>> as cleanly as possible before the shift in business models? I don't see<br>
> how even Google could sustain a product of this complexity and sheer<br>> cost without SOME method of making that cost back, and if common models<br>> of free to pay business marketing have taught us anything, it's that you<br>
> can't build a sustainable business model around a service which is<br>> primarily free except for a few bits and pieces that might cost if<br>> people bother to use them.<br><br> They will monetize it. Maybe it will be advertising, but maybe it's just<br>
to see how many people sign up and actually use it. I've had my account<br> for a few years now, but I don't use it. I never was ready to give up<br> control of my telephony to an unpaid service.<br><br> But Google will find a way to monetize Google Voice, directly or<br>
indirectly, or will shutter it like Google Notebook in a few years.<br><br>---------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Peter Beckman Internet Guy<br>
<a href="mailto:beckman@angryox.com">beckman@angryox.com</a> <a href="http://www.angryox.com/" target="_blank">http://www.angryox.com/</a><br>---------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
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