Great, great posting. I also think that GV will not find favor with the larger scale enterprises. It will be interesting to track the uptake of Google Apps in that regard. A caveat I might add is that Google may (just may) teach people new habits (because they are incentivised by free), with regards handling the "close the loop" numbering regime.
Siminoff
· 9 months ago
You might be right and it is never smart to underestimate someone as large as Google but I just do not believe that the one number system will work from anyone other than a carrier that can control the switch and the caller ID. If they can get the carrier deals to pulse out their one number than they might have a chance.
DS
· 9 months ago
Exactly...start modeling pricing options for the carriers and your sell-out price if they just want to take it all!
khylek
· 9 months ago
Great post. It seems like a long wait and a lot of time and money invested, and I'm struggling to find the business benefit (even in the long term) for Google.
Jo
· 9 months ago
This is a fascinating post. Not knowing much about the markets - I have no idea if you are right but I do know we've been thrilled with Phonetag and won't be leaving anytime soon. I do think VM to text is the future though. It's made our lives 1000% better. Plus every once in awhile the transciptions give us all something to laugh at!
Larry Lisser
· 9 months ago
Super post. This and the one from Doug at FierceVoIP (http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/embargo-until-m...) are the first - finally - that I have seen that bring this announcement into perspective. Reading the New York Times last week you would think the idea of one number for life was just invented yesterday.
Thanks to the emergence of cloud based telephony, there are now too many good entrepreneurs in this space to enable one company to take it over. Validate it yes. Take it over, no.
Keep up the good work.
nigelc
· 9 months ago
Point 4 is the killer for me. I signed up for Grand Central a long time ago but couldn't get people to call me on the new number. Caused a lot of confusion. Finally I went back to all my old numbers with Phonetag on the back end of all of them - works like a charm. I'm not switching any time soon. -Nigel
Siminoff
· 9 months ago
It is almost impossible to switch to a new number. Unlike email where you can keep the old account and just reply from the new one, GV is the opposite. Thanks for the comment and for being a customer.
HJRye
· 9 months ago
Google's omnipresence makes GV usage worth more to them than other firms. Google is a data company. They are painting a comprehensive picture of user behaviors. GV allows them to learn about users in a new way, filling in more of their overall picture.
Take a look at Google Checkout. Is their service any better than PayPal's checkout functionality? Not really. But this key addition allows Google to own the entire cycle of e-commerce: - customer searching for a product using Google - customer clicks on a Google-tracked link - finally, when a customer buys, Google can connect all of the dots
That information is not worth as much to PayPal because they don't know all of the steps taken by the user beforehand. GV allows them to connect more dots.
Google does not offer new services for free because they are altruistic. They do so to improve their targeted marketing services. They have decided that they want this data bad enough to give another service away for free. Your third point implies that similar firms are competing on an equal playing field. This data is worth more to Google than it is to Simulscribe. The outstanding question is how much Google is willing to pay for it. They don't have a track record of offering free services and then converting them to paid services. You will need to beat them on quality. Good luck!
Siminoff
· 9 months ago
Ok but I do not believe that they can afford $60 per customer per year and I am willing to bet my money on that...
Only time will tell, thanks for the insightful comment.
evansolomon
· 9 months ago
Really enjoyed this post Jamie. I kind of wish you had talked more about the carrier aspect of these services, because I think that can actually act as a really nice insurance policy for PhoneTag. Google has a lot of incentive to try to beat and/or be the next carrier, and in doing so they obviously take a lot of downside risk. Carriers, as horrible as they are as partners based on talking to lots of mobile companies, seem far more likely to try to work with PhoneTag than Google. This is obviously just (mostly uneducated) conjecture, but I'd be interested in what you have to say.
Siminoff
· 9 months ago
The post was already so long that I had to cut a little out. The carrier market is very interesting in how it plays now with us. We currently have the best technology by far in this space and as you point out even if Google had equal technology it is improbable that they (carriers) would buy it from Google.
I will try to do another post to elaborate on the carrier side if I get some free time.
kenberger
· 9 months ago
2 points well in your favor:
1. The notion that GV comes out and now we don't need Simulscribe is like saying that we have Facebook so why do we need Twitter? Twitter offers just 1 feature (the status line), while FB offers so much more, etc. Well it turns out that the status line is a realm unto itself with plenty of room for innovation. So both companies thrive (it's a much more complicated argument, of course).
2. I have now tested GV's transcription service extensively and can report that it is VASTLY INFERIOR to PHONETAG. GV is a comprehensively kick-ass product, to be sure, and I will use it a lot. But now that I'm spoiled by Phonetag's quality, and its soundfile email attachment ability, I see that GV is not even in reach of the bar.
I wish that GV would allow me to fwd my calls off for handling to Phonetag, much as there is a code for each mobile carrier whereby I can do that. It's probably unlikely that Google will allow that, because they want to possess the text data so they can search it. So they are well-advised to work with you or try to buy you!
All Comments
Thanks to the emergence of cloud based telephony, there are now too many good entrepreneurs in this space to enable one company to take it over. Validate it yes. Take it over, no.
Keep up the good work.
-Nigel
Take a look at Google Checkout. Is their service any better than PayPal's checkout functionality? Not really. But this key addition allows Google to own the entire cycle of e-commerce:
- customer searching for a product using Google
- customer clicks on a Google-tracked link
- finally, when a customer buys, Google can connect all of the dots
That information is not worth as much to PayPal because they don't know all of the steps taken by the user beforehand. GV allows them to connect more dots.
Google does not offer new services for free because they are altruistic. They do so to improve their targeted marketing services. They have decided that they want this data bad enough to give another service away for free. Your third point implies that similar firms are competing on an equal playing field. This data is worth more to Google than it is to Simulscribe. The outstanding question is how much Google is willing to pay for it. They don't have a track record of offering free services and then converting them to paid services. You will need to beat them on quality. Good luck!
Only time will tell, thanks for the insightful comment.
I will try to do another post to elaborate on the carrier side if I get some free time.
1. The notion that GV comes out and now we don't need Simulscribe is like saying that we have Facebook so why do we need Twitter? Twitter offers just 1 feature (the status line), while FB offers so much more, etc. Well it turns out that the status line is a realm unto itself with plenty of room for innovation. So both companies thrive (it's a much more complicated argument, of course).
2. I have now tested GV's transcription service extensively and can report that it is VASTLY INFERIOR to PHONETAG. GV is a comprehensively kick-ass product, to be sure, and I will use it a lot. But now that I'm spoiled by Phonetag's quality, and its soundfile email attachment ability, I see that GV is not even in reach of the bar.
I wish that GV would allow me to fwd my calls off for handling to Phonetag, much as there is a code for each mobile carrier whereby I can do that. It's probably unlikely that Google will allow that, because they want to possess the text data so they can search it. So they are well-advised to work with you or try to buy you!