Things That Won't Get Your Company Through The Recession: Limited, Hard To Use Free VoIP
from the well-trod-path-of-failure dept
The price of voice calling has long been moving towards zero, making the "cheap phone calls" business model a fairly unattractive one. But, as Om Malik points out, that doesn't stop VoIP startups from traveling down the same path as previous failures by trying to use "free calling" offerings to build a business. The latest is a company called Jaxtr, which is touting a service that allows its users to call each other for free (how original!). But it's not so straightforward: in addition to both people on a call having to be Jaxtr members, the service gives each of them a special local number to call to reach the other person. So instead of just dialing, or clicking on a user in a buddy list, this is the process:Jaxtr members simply enter the number of the jaxtr member they wish to call. Jaxtr will then give them a local number to reach that person. Once they initiate the call, jaxtr notifies the person they are calling, and will give that person a local number to call, too -- allowing the parties to connect directly. They can then talk for as long as they like, free of any charge from jaxtr. These assigned local phone numbers can also be used again by the same parties on an ongoing basis.Two points: it still requires members to have their own phone service and make a local call, and, as Om notes, it's the same kludgy approach that's been tried before by other VoIP companies, with little success. Prices of voice calls are falling across the board, making the inconvenience of systems like this a huge barrier for users to overcome when compared to direct-dialing or other voice-calling or voice-chat services. But Om hits the nail on the head when he asks how VoIP companies can make money from free calls. Jaxtr says its plan is to convert free users to paid customers; they should check out how that's fared so far for Skype, even with its tens of millions of users.
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Filed Under: voip
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However...
eBay basically did nothing to promote Skype, and continues to not promote the product to the millions of daily visitor to their ring of sites. eBay would (for some reason) rather lace their pages with ads for Netflix and ads for competing ecommerce site rather than promote Skype - the least they could do is to do both. eBay also has a built in marketing tool, and that is eBay's MyMessages. They have a captive audience of millions of sellers who MUST check their messages on a daily basis. One wonders why they do not bombard these sellers with messages and offers for Skype.
And speaking of offers...eBay seems reluctant to offer any deals to sellers who use Skype, despite a decline in revenue, core listings, traffic, and the utter failure to monetize Skype. The whole Skype debacle seems to have been a case where eBay bought the company just so Google couldn't get it - it's as if they don't even care about the billions of dollars that were spent, and they're just happy Google or Microsoft didn't get their hands on it.
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Monetising Skype
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Wow
Not counting overhead, it will take about six more years to make back the initial investment in revenue.
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I paid for skype
never heard of Jaxtr before now and this description just sounds silly
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Missing the point...
I've been in and around this space for 15 years and VoIP adoption is slow because there is no compelling switching motivator. Don't believe me - check out how VoIP companies pitch themselves - "You can save XXX dollars per year by switching to XXXXX".
As I said 2 years ago - VoIP will be mainstream when the applications exist which fundamentally change the question from "why would I use VoIP" to "How can I not use VoIP - I lose 75% of the value if I don't". We aren't there yet because no one will abandon the whole network/subscriber model and sell the application instead of the connection.
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Re:
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Skype
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Or two at the current, or even slowing, growth rate. Even less if they figure out other revenue streams.
Why are people so dumb?
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