Not much time to write on my blog these times, anyway: I found this interesting article on how to make free/cheap calls from web browser and I regret to notice that Sitòfono is not listed there.
But I guess this is due to the "free" model that has been considered: free calls that nobody pay, except the VoIP company holder of the free web telephony product.
BUT this is not a sustainable model, it needs to gather some revenue stream, which is not VC funding!
On the other hand, Sitofono is based on a more realistic revenue model: Sitofono is bought by companies/professionals who want to be reached from the web by various media channels (email, chat, voice call). Caller does not pay for the call, which is offered by the sponsoring company/professional.
Just one more point: one of the disadvantages of web call back model is the possibility of making call tricks or jokes to some victim. In this case, the offender puts the number of the victim in one of the boxes, and starts the call. The offender is not immediately recognizable, unless by asking the VoIP company who started the call.
There is no "perfect" answer to this, but one strategy is better than none :)
Showing posts with label cernio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cernio. Show all posts
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Why Nokia should wink at thunderbird
Nokia is moving steadily on a wholly new terrain, that of Mobile Internet Users.
MIUs are not business people. They don't use blackberry. They do have some sort of business to do of course, but their usage of mobile phone is a mixture of work, family, love, friends, games.
People will have different profiles of their digital lifestyle.
They are TV consumers, on the couch, with their media center.
They are news consumers and producers, at home, with their internet tablet or laptop.
They are dwellers of an on-line village, and they send messages, write scraps, do some twittering, participate in a chat and, last but not least, they read e-mail.
Therefore, people have many devices and use them to do many activities. Sometimes you need to switch from a device to another, and you need your activity to be transported on the other devices. Then, you need synchronization so as to keep the same information in more places.
Just think about all the various kinds of information you produce/consume on your mobile phone:
Trying to flip the question: why Nokia is not focusing on the eldest and the more widely spread internet communication system, e-mail? Why Nokia is not working on a PC calendar system that integrates with Lifeblog?
My digital life would be marvellous if I could sync my contacts, their photos, the conversations I've had with them, the dates I planned to see them?
Nokia has acquired intellisync (enterprise mail and PIM synchronization), avvenu (remote locker), navteq (navigation technology), Loudeye (digital music aggregator), Twango and recently Trolltech (widely used GUI technology).
Therefore, Nokia intention is clear: "put contents online, use Nokia mobile computers and live with them".
OK, fine mr Nokia, but I also want a docking station, a bigger monitor and a full size keyboard :) And that's my PC, and my PC has thunderbird, and -guess what? Thunderbird is powerful and open source...
MIUs are not business people. They don't use blackberry. They do have some sort of business to do of course, but their usage of mobile phone is a mixture of work, family, love, friends, games.
People will have different profiles of their digital lifestyle.
They are TV consumers, on the couch, with their media center.
They are news consumers and producers, at home, with their internet tablet or laptop.
They are dwellers of an on-line village, and they send messages, write scraps, do some twittering, participate in a chat and, last but not least, they read e-mail.
Therefore, people have many devices and use them to do many activities. Sometimes you need to switch from a device to another, and you need your activity to be transported on the other devices. Then, you need synchronization so as to keep the same information in more places.
Just think about all the various kinds of information you produce/consume on your mobile phone:
- addressbook
- agenda
- notes
- messages
- photos
Trying to flip the question: why Nokia is not focusing on the eldest and the more widely spread internet communication system, e-mail? Why Nokia is not working on a PC calendar system that integrates with Lifeblog?
My digital life would be marvellous if I could sync my contacts, their photos, the conversations I've had with them, the dates I planned to see them?
Nokia has acquired intellisync (enterprise mail and PIM synchronization), avvenu (remote locker), navteq (navigation technology), Loudeye (digital music aggregator), Twango and recently Trolltech (widely used GUI technology).
Therefore, Nokia intention is clear: "put contents online, use Nokia mobile computers and live with them".
OK, fine mr Nokia, but I also want a docking station, a bigger monitor and a full size keyboard :) And that's my PC, and my PC has thunderbird, and -guess what? Thunderbird is powerful and open source...
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Estara more and more on e-commerce
As you already know, eStara is becoming more and more focused on e-commerce solutions and aligned with the incorporating company, ATG.
A clear sign of this is the announcement that the estara blog "Multichannel musings", a fruitful reading for my mind, is going to be merged with the more specialized www.ecommerceinsights.com
This is a clear sign that "action-to-ease-purchase" tools are becoming more and more important.
As Chris Andersen states in his book "The Long Tail", infinite choice is an advantage, provided that you support your customers with tools that give hints and support, without confounding them with a multitude of undifferentiated products.
I think that ATG is doing really well, by providing the powerful combination of recently acquired CleverSet and eStara click-to-call and click-to-chat tools.
A clear sign of this is the announcement that the estara blog "Multichannel musings", a fruitful reading for my mind, is going to be merged with the more specialized www.ecommerceinsights.com
To continue bringing the strengths of ATG’s and eStara’s market insights together, beginning February 18, eStara MultiChannel Musings will find a new home within ATG’s eCommerce INSIGHTS blog, since the coverage areas are so complimentary.
This is a clear sign that "action-to-ease-purchase" tools are becoming more and more important.
As Chris Andersen states in his book "The Long Tail", infinite choice is an advantage, provided that you support your customers with tools that give hints and support, without confounding them with a multitude of undifferentiated products.
I think that ATG is doing really well, by providing the powerful combination of recently acquired CleverSet and eStara click-to-call and click-to-chat tools.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
mastercard parody :)
Getting expert advice on how to gather visitors to your website and increase traffic: 3000 $, with WebMasterCard.
Planning a full fledged web marketing campaign with web advertising so as to put banners and ads on Google Adsense and Yahoo search marketing: 8000 $, with WebMasterCard
Changing your website behavior, by continuously publishing updated content and periodically revamping its look and feel, 12000 $, with WebMasterCard
Installing customizable KPIs on Google Analytics and aggregating e-commerce sales data with website statistics: 2000 $, with WebMasterCard.
Watching your 5000 new visitors per day disperse everywhere and abandoning the online sales path like rats on a sinking boat, just to earn 1 purchase per day... priceless
Would you NOW consider some smart mechanism to engage your customers and keep them on your online shop?
I can help you: just call me, it's free!
Planning a full fledged web marketing campaign with web advertising so as to put banners and ads on Google Adsense and Yahoo search marketing: 8000 $, with WebMasterCard
Changing your website behavior, by continuously publishing updated content and periodically revamping its look and feel, 12000 $, with WebMasterCard
Installing customizable KPIs on Google Analytics and aggregating e-commerce sales data with website statistics: 2000 $, with WebMasterCard.
Watching your 5000 new visitors per day disperse everywhere and abandoning the online sales path like rats on a sinking boat, just to earn 1 purchase per day... priceless
Would you NOW consider some smart mechanism to engage your customers and keep them on your online shop?
I can help you: just call me, it's free!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The power of crowds: wis.dm
It seems to me that there are more social networks than users. It's a joke, of course, but it's also partially true.
Indeed, each social network specializes on some kind of "environment". I am a passionate product manager with a focus on online communications, I like sailing and windsurfing, and I love torturing my family and neighbors with my clarinet.
That means that I belong to three environments, to the least:
But then, how can I socialize with people that share an interest in common with me? How can I do this without pretending to add people to my network in the hope that he or she will be a good "network element" to be friend with?
The wise answer is: ask.
In wis.dm you ask lots of questions. People ask lots of personal, political, religious questions.
Everybody has an opinion, you have to answer a simple "yes" or "no". It is addicting.
You can make a choice by asking the crowds, they will give you the results: like flocks protect themselves from predators using their collective behavior, we humans can use our common knowledge to empower our own decisions with the power of wisdom of crowds.
Moreover, the magic that's under the hood of wis.dm computes an affinity score. People who think alike are matched and grouped. Clusters and "sub-flocks" form, and new groups with a strong cohesion on certain topics arise.
It's like the principle of cross-selling, isn't it?
What a pleasure for a marketing manager, all these profiles available... Even Google, with its immense archive of personal taster would be interested in this kind of data...
Indeed, each social network specializes on some kind of "environment". I am a passionate product manager with a focus on online communications, I like sailing and windsurfing, and I love torturing my family and neighbors with my clarinet.
That means that I belong to three environments, to the least:
- Online techno geeks and community passionates
- Sailing
- Classical music
But then, how can I socialize with people that share an interest in common with me? How can I do this without pretending to add people to my network in the hope that he or she will be a good "network element" to be friend with?
The wise answer is: ask.
In wis.dm you ask lots of questions. People ask lots of personal, political, religious questions.
Everybody has an opinion, you have to answer a simple "yes" or "no". It is addicting.
You can make a choice by asking the crowds, they will give you the results: like flocks protect themselves from predators using their collective behavior, we humans can use our common knowledge to empower our own decisions with the power of wisdom of crowds.
Moreover, the magic that's under the hood of wis.dm computes an affinity score. People who think alike are matched and grouped. Clusters and "sub-flocks" form, and new groups with a strong cohesion on certain topics arise.
It's like the principle of cross-selling, isn't it?
What a pleasure for a marketing manager, all these profiles available... Even Google, with its immense archive of personal taster would be interested in this kind of data...
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Everybody click to call!
Markus Goebel writes a post about click to call applications, this time TringMe is the star.
(BTW, thanks for mentioning Sitòfono, among the similar services)
The curious thing is that Markus is experiencing funny calls from all countries around the world. That is the "power" of real free calling experience, and we have to cope with it.
Whether we filter calls by selecting certain countries or hour ranges, as long as we behave as worldwide reachable people, we need to manage all calls, and to understand that click-to-call buttons are powerful instruments that can shoot in your foot.
Bloggers like me and Markus tend to be online most of the time and happy to answer but, sometimes, things can go in unexpected manners:
That is not a big problem for Markus, or for me, but if it were an online shop that could mean "a customer to be managed".
I think we still have to learn how to use our click-to-call. And, perhaps, click-to-call applications need much more than just click-and-speak.
Technorati Tags: cernio,
(BTW, thanks for mentioning Sitòfono, among the similar services)
The curious thing is that Markus is experiencing funny calls from all countries around the world. That is the "power" of real free calling experience, and we have to cope with it.
Whether we filter calls by selecting certain countries or hour ranges, as long as we behave as worldwide reachable people, we need to manage all calls, and to understand that click-to-call buttons are powerful instruments that can shoot in your foot.
Bloggers like me and Markus tend to be online most of the time and happy to answer but, sometimes, things can go in unexpected manners:
I am OK with such calls, but please understand that I can only answer during working hours in my time zone. The rest of the calls goes to the voice mail box. The yesterday's caller didn't even understand that he was talking to an answering machine. He thought that I was on the phone with him but refusing to answer, so he got a little upset.
That is not a big problem for Markus, or for me, but if it were an online shop that could mean "a customer to be managed".
I think we still have to learn how to use our click-to-call. And, perhaps, click-to-call applications need much more than just click-and-speak.
Technorati Tags: cernio,
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
SPOCK - Social network Mash Up
It's natural. One is not enough.
Having one TV channel or one political representative or one idea or clothes of one color is not good.
Having kazillions of everything is worse. When it comes to information management, you feel lost.
Now think about social networks and communities:
OK, don't pretend I write a complete list here. Ask Mashable for that :)
But this time we have a collector. A gatherer. Something really interesting.
It's called Spock.com and it's the "Who's Who 2.0".
Basically, it's an Identity search engine. But this is a simplistic definition.
Spock is actually innovative, and these are the most intriguing features:
What's missing? A click-to-call application, like Sitòfono :)
Having one TV channel or one political representative or one idea or clothes of one color is not good.
Having kazillions of everything is worse. When it comes to information management, you feel lost.
- Kazillions of websites
- Kazillions of blogs
- Kazillions of Newspapers
- Kazillion of business directories
Now think about social networks and communities:
OK, don't pretend I write a complete list here. Ask Mashable for that :)
But this time we have a collector. A gatherer. Something really interesting.
It's called Spock.com and it's the "Who's Who 2.0".
Basically, it's an Identity search engine. But this is a simplistic definition.
Spock is actually innovative, and these are the most intriguing features:
- tag yourself, tag other people
- spock robot auto-tags you. And it is usually good!
- build a trust network over more social networks
- vote whether a tag is relevant or not for that person
- review and mark relevant/irrelevant tags attributed to you
- link people by adding tags to the link: "Bob is Alice's [friend/colleague/boss] That's semantic folksonomy!
What's missing? A click-to-call application, like Sitòfono :)
Thursday, December 06, 2007
[Updated] Release Review: "3CX Proves That Soft Is Better Than Hard - When It Comes To Phone Systems" :)
I already talked about 3CX some weeks ago.
It is a dynamic company which produces a Windows based software PBX that could replace the highly expensive hardware ones.
It is also a company with a kind of sense of humor: if "3CX sounds like Free Sex" could be in doubt, their press release title clarifies everything :)
They just delivered version 5 of their 3CX Phone system. From their Press Release:
I think they can make 3CX Phone System a real success if:
Having said that, I think 3CX new release is really putting a highly competitive challenge among the other players. As usual, 3CX phone system is released as Free and Business editions, and here you can compare them by feature availability.
To me, the Business edition is worth just for these features, among others:
What I would like to see in this PBX is some more... "specialization": what about a specialized version for Sales Force Automation? What if the call log could be mashed up with geolocalization and, for instance, SugarCRM? Could you imagine a direct telemarketing firm which builds a "conversion efficiency map" based on call duration, position, and customer acquisition data?
And (obviously for me) what if 3CX-powered companies could put a simple button on their websites and let their visitors call them, for free?
How do you see a synergy/a mashup between 3CX and Sitòfono?
Just one note. Since I still pretend to be a web developer, I've a running copy of Apache HTTPD server on my PC. 3CX tried to install a new one and this produced a conflict (it's the service name registration, I think). Now I need to rename the new HTTPD service in order to access the management console.
Anyway, if 3CX is going to be installed on some kind of windows server, I expect there will already be an Apache installation on it. I'd like to see an installation option like:
"Apache HTTPD detected: would you like to use this version or install a new one?"
Alternatively, I'll put some other lightweight HTTP server in the installation package.
[Update]: I am sorry it wasn't explicit about the fact that 3CX does really take into high consideration their customers. I already knew that, but I haven't written that clearly. What I wanted to write is to suggest is some more immediate, more engaging contact between customers and 3CX, like phone contact, for a company that's so keen on customer relationships.
In facts, few hours after I published this post, I've received an e-mail from the local distributor which offered help to install and to solve my issues.
Moreover, I've been contacted by 3CX PR thanking me about the suggestions given in this post. Regardless of the product's future evolutions, this means that 3CX is strongly oriented to customer feedback and does not leave out any suggestion.
That's what I consider a great customer care job!
It is a dynamic company which produces a Windows based software PBX that could replace the highly expensive hardware ones.
It is also a company with a kind of sense of humor: if "3CX sounds like Free Sex" could be in doubt, their press release title clarifies everything :)
They just delivered version 5 of their 3CX Phone system. From their Press Release:
3CX Proves That Soft Is Better Than Hard - When It Comes To Phone Systems
3CX Phone System allows businesses to completely break free from the shackle of hardware-based, proprietary phone systems. Built on the open SIP standard, 3CX Phone System interoperates with all popular SIP phones, VOIP Gateways and VOIP providers.
Nick Galea, CEO at 3CX said, “We are excited to deliver version 5 of 3CX Phone System at a time when the market is realizing that proprietary, hardware-based PBXs are becoming obsolete. 3CX IP PBX is a modern software based PBX that evolves the communication of businesses to the 21st century, by delivering mobility, productivity and cost-saving advantages”.
I think they can make 3CX Phone System a real success if:
- They target small offices and business that have branch offices, esp. worldwide.
- They plan to specialize their application on at least one direction. It could be an add-on, so that the general purpose version can still work unaffected for the broader market.
- They plan to give phone support, along with online chat and e-mail. You know, if something is not working, it's bad. When it comes to phone systems, it's really bad. If something is not working on your phone and you cannot receive support, it's DOOM!
- Customers are aware that 3CX is not responsible of any service interruption/problem on the data pipe. "If your ADSL is down, your phone is down. Just make sure you have a B plan for your phone system, if you need high availability". Most of offices don't, anyway.
Having said that, I think 3CX new release is really putting a highly competitive challenge among the other players. As usual, 3CX phone system is released as Free and Business editions, and here you can compare them by feature availability.
To me, the Business edition is worth just for these features, among others:
- Call recording
- Bridging with other 3CX servers (branch offices)
- Firewall friendly VOIP client with included mini VPN – ideal for remote users
- Voice mail messages via e-mail
What I would like to see in this PBX is some more... "specialization": what about a specialized version for Sales Force Automation? What if the call log could be mashed up with geolocalization and, for instance, SugarCRM? Could you imagine a direct telemarketing firm which builds a "conversion efficiency map" based on call duration, position, and customer acquisition data?
And (obviously for me) what if 3CX-powered companies could put a simple button on their websites and let their visitors call them, for free?
How do you see a synergy/a mashup between 3CX and Sitòfono?
Just one note. Since I still pretend to be a web developer, I've a running copy of Apache HTTPD server on my PC. 3CX tried to install a new one and this produced a conflict (it's the service name registration, I think). Now I need to rename the new HTTPD service in order to access the management console.
Anyway, if 3CX is going to be installed on some kind of windows server, I expect there will already be an Apache installation on it. I'd like to see an installation option like:
"Apache HTTPD detected: would you like to use this version or install a new one?"
Alternatively, I'll put some other lightweight HTTP server in the installation package.
[Update]: I am sorry it wasn't explicit about the fact that 3CX does really take into high consideration their customers. I already knew that, but I haven't written that clearly. What I wanted to write is to suggest is some more immediate, more engaging contact between customers and 3CX, like phone contact, for a company that's so keen on customer relationships.
In facts, few hours after I published this post, I've received an e-mail from the local distributor which offered help to install and to solve my issues.
Moreover, I've been contacted by 3CX PR thanking me about the suggestions given in this post. Regardless of the product's future evolutions, this means that 3CX is strongly oriented to customer feedback and does not leave out any suggestion.
That's what I consider a great customer care job!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Sitòfono Christmas present!
Sitofono - Online customer contact tool.
Hey, this Christmas I am going to offer one free click-to-call to a tourist agency, a hotel, or a restaurant, with unlimited calls for three months!
Put Sitòfono in your website and in your e-mail signature, and receive immediate feedback by talking to your customers, from the Web.
Sitofono gives voice to your online business!
Just send me a brief description of:
I'll contact the winner on December the 15th.
More info on Sitòfono here: http://www.sitofono.com/
Please forward to anyone interested!
Technorati Tags: cernio, click-to-call, Christmas offer, contact management,
Hey, this Christmas I am going to offer one free click-to-call to a tourist agency, a hotel, or a restaurant, with unlimited calls for three months!
Put Sitòfono in your website and in your e-mail signature, and receive immediate feedback by talking to your customers, from the Web.
Sitofono gives voice to your online business!
Just send me a brief description of:
- your activity,
- your website,
- the phone number you want to be connected to Sitofono,
- and where you would like to position the call-button.
I'll contact the winner on December the 15th.
More info on Sitòfono here: http://www.sitofono.com/
Please forward to anyone interested!
Technorati Tags: cernio, click-to-call, Christmas offer, contact management,
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Joost
I've been trying Joost yesterday night for the first time, after a really busy period.
Here are few "raw" comments, I'll give more detailed in the future:
Ah, if you want an account (unless they unlocked the closed beta program) just contact me via sitofono or via Hictu (nickname: cerion)
Technorati Tags: cernio, joost, iptv, hictu,
Here are few "raw" comments, I'll give more detailed in the future:
- Quality: decent, sometimes good. Few glitches are not a problem on a documentary or "easy watching" tv. But I'll become berserk if I see glitches while watching a horror movie!
- Quantity: lots of theme-oriented videos (extreme sports, jackass, music), but which I qualify as: if-I-have-nothing-to-do-Ill-watch-it or good-to-watch-while-cooking-dinner
- User experience: impressive! The control panel is something really worth seeing, the channel navigation experience is lightweight, slender
Ah, if you want an account (unless they unlocked the closed beta program) just contact me via sitofono or via Hictu (nickname: cerion)
Technorati Tags: cernio, joost, iptv, hictu,
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