VIVOX Voice Everywhere

A: It was a combination of a few things. At the forefront, I saw the Internet changing. This may sound obvious now but a few years ago it wasn’t. The Internet quickly went from being a publishing tool with static communication to a much more interactive medium. At this time, the breadth of social was really rising – Facebook was emerging on the scene, there was a rapid growth in online games, and in general, an explosion of interaction. This got me thinking. Fundamentally people talk to each other every day, so shouldn’t they be able to communicate as easily and naturally online as well?

What I also saw was technology coming to a point where it really worked – Skype was connecting people around the world and broadband penetration was getting to where it was supposed to be. But with all these advancements, people weren’t really taking advantage of the technology to bring interactive communication online. (more…)

There has been a major transformation in the social communication industry over the past few years. First we were introduced to social networking and then social commerce. People started coming together in online groups to communicate and exchange ideas, pictures and more and then this collaboration started appearing in commerce and beyond as user-generated content. It wasn’t long before the opinions of others became paramount in decision making online.

While consumers wholeheartedly embraced various devices with which to communicate (mobile phones, tablets, etc.), voice really remained as the preferred method of communication. And this is where Vivox came in and redefined the industry with VoiceEverywhere. We merged voice with online social networks and made social communication possible both online and offline – wherever interaction is possible – so people can talk to each other from within, outside, and across all online communities and connected experiences. (more…)

Vivox was included in a recent Juniper Research report entitled ‘Mobile Voice & Video Calling: Strategic Opportunities & Business Models 2011-2016′ in which the analyst firm predicts that the role of voice in communications is changing, with voice becoming increasingly available as an extension.

I don’t necessarily disagree with Juniper and even Om Malik who also believes “voice has been reduced to being an app.”  We’ve seen for ourselves the demand for voice apps – the response to the new Bobsled mobile apps has been hugely positive. However, from my perspective, voice as an app is an oversimplification. Yes, access to cheap or even free voice calling will become more prominent especially as long distance and international calling becomes more affordable. In that regard, apps are a great solution for voice, and in certain instances it is that simple.

However, as an industry, it seems to me we’re focusing on the wrong things. Rather than simplifying “voice” and “calling” as we know it today, and frankly have known it for the last 80 or so years, we should be focusing on how to make the experience better for the end user. We should be striving to utilize improved technologies to create an experience that makes more sense. (more…)