News February 17, 2010

Reach Out And Ping Someone

I had an unusual experience yesterday. A friend and colleague IMed me using Google Talk. His wife׳s computer was on the fritz (I told him to get her a Mac!). We trouble-shot the issue for a while.

So what was so unusual about this? Until recently he would have picked up the phone and called me but instead, he IMed. Moreover, we never actually talked. The entire “conversation” was through chat. Sure picking up the phone and speaking would be more personal but this was far more.. convenient.

For better or for worse IM has replaced voices calls in so many aspects of my work and my life. When Elana and I want to leave messages for one another we either email or IM. No more voicemail tag for us. And now that she has a BlackBerry she and her best friend tend to IM throughout the day. When my assistant wants to get a message to me she rarely tries to “reach out and touch someone” anymore. Nope. Email or IM works better because she can get the message to me clearly regardless of whether or not I can speak at that moment. And I’m not alone.

On so many levels connecting through some sort of messenging service has replaced the voice calls of old and my experience yesterday puts Verizon’s decision to allow Skype over 3G in perspective. They don’t WANT to make the change they HAVE to make the change.

Why? Because the way people use their networks is changing… Quickly. Many of us are using more and more of their data pipes and making fewer and fewer traditional calls. And when we DO make calls it is increasingly over Skype, TruPhone etc or using a data connected ooma phone system at home that bypasses any traditional network entirely.

So why is Verizon allowing Skype calls? I suspect it is because they see the writing on the wall. People will use more and more of their data network and less and less of their calling minutes. Their business model was originally built around voice with data as an add-on. With the rapid change that is taking place voice is NOT the business for them to be centered on if they want to stay in business.

I’m curious… have you seen your use of “voice calling” decline while your use of email and chat has grown? Are you happy about the change?

Tags: Verizon, VoIP

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About Dan Cohen

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Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him.

Larry Greenberg

I’m not so sure I agree with your take on the reasoning behind Verizon’s decision. While I agree that more and more people are using IM and E-mail as way to communicate with each other rather than the traditional telephone I don’t see VOIP phone’s replacing or even making a dent on these traditional phones, or cellular phones for that matter, anytime soon.

I think Verizon’s decision to offer Skype over 3G wasn’t done under pressure to keep up. Rather they did it because it makes them look good in the press vs. their chief competitor (AT&T) and they’re doing it knowing it’ll have little or no impact on their network. My guess is the number of Verizon users who use Skype for calling is unsubstantial, Verizon knows this and is simply throwing a bone.

Just like AT&T’s decision this week to allow use of the Slingbox application for iPhone over 3G. This isn’t going to have a major impact on AT&T’s network because there just aren’t that many people using Slingboxes.
Dan Cohen

You may be right but either way, I DO see this as another step toward focus on the data pipe and not the voice stuff.
Joel McLaughlin

Most people I know use their smartphone for Data more than anything. They us SMS, IM, E-mail, the web, Youtube, twitter and more data centric things. I know if you looked at the amount of time I use my phone for Data vs the amount of time I use it for voice,you’d see data edging everything else. VoIP will replace traditional voice for those who really need it. What surprises me now is that there isn’t a phone who’s only way to do voice calls is VoIP and that Verizon wasn’t the one to go that way. In the back end, most calls end up on a VoIP system of some sort anyway. Might as well make it VoIP from end to end and that way you just have to make your network do one thing really well….DATA.
http://www.geardiary.com Carly Z

I have definitely noticed a similar trend. Most people IM me via gtalk, email or text me. its just easier.

And with the droid’s ability to give you IM, sms, call or email options from each of those programs it is even easier. One click and you go from IMing to texting, and it hardly feels like you jumped programs. Voice calls require much more work.
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