Recently in Technology Category

Facebook and social networking in general are having challenges monetizing the tremendous volume of page views they generate but undeterred, social networking leader Facebook is expanding its potential to make money by selling virtual and physical goods in its gift shop. The company is running tests which allow users to purchase various goods for credits.

This may be a good time to address the fact that as of now this service is so entrenched that it has replaced telephone numbers as a primary form of communications for many. You could argue FaceBook already has a replaced most every phone company as the network of choice for communications. Skype and Twitter are other competitors in this regard but communicating in 140 byte increments seems crude to me - like using smoke signals. I still think Twitter is part fad.

But getting back to Facebook - what if the service is able to become a competitor to eBay and/or Amazon. Imagine Facebook emboldened by a model of revenue generation which works.

I would think the people in the company think massive profitability is around the corner as waiters in numerous Silicon Valley restaurants seemed to be happy to share stories about how much Facebook execs spends on wine and food in their restaurants. Whether the company has too much money, thinks they are entitled to work hard and play hard or feel they will be the next Google from a profitability perspective is unclear at this juncture but I am sure we will learn more soon.

What is crystal clear today however is that traditional carriers have lost their lock on their customers and every day they lose it a little more. It is the exact opposite of the grip of a hungry boa constrictor which tightens after each exhalation.

It is tough to know in advance if Facebook will be successful as a "baby" Amazon but so many people live within the application and it seems there is the potential for the company to come up with a way to benefit financially from all the clicks and eyeballs.

And if they do, carriers should be more concerned than they are now. After all, Google, Skype and Facebook are all gunning to be the primary keeper of the customer relationship and as they become more entrenched, carriers have the challenge of figuring out how best to integrate with applications from leading web vendors without becoming a simple commodity broadband provider.

Expect the conversation to continue at ITEXPO in Los Angeles September 1-3, 2009. It should be very exciting. The industry is at a crossroads.

With all the uncertainty in the world there are some things which we can agree upon. For example the demand for certain areas of technology has increased to grow even while global economies have not. We have seen that video, wireless and broadband are all segments of the market where new opportunities have presented themselves. Open-source too is another area where companies are looking to spend more. This is especially true in telecom where open-source intersects with SIP trunking to build new solutions which save money from a hardware and service perspective.

In order to help the world get the most out of open source communications we have a variety of open-source communications training courses in Los Angeles at ITEXPO Sept 1-3, 2009 which will help people receive certifications which will in-turn assist them in their career. Certifications in fast-growing areas such as this in fact have the ability to help people get jobs.

Two of particular interest are focusing on Switchvox and Asterisk - Switchvox training takes place September 1^st and Asterisk 123 training takes place Wednesday September 2^nd.

If you are a reseller, integrator, channel partner, enterprise/SMB IT/telecom worker, carrier operations manager or developer you can benefit from the Asterisk course and Switchvox training will appeal to anyone having anything to do with SMB phone systems. The certifications you achieve will be invaluable and I hope to see you at the show.

We have done our utmost to have ITEXPO be the most complete event it can be. There is literally enough information to keep you busy for all three days of the show (Sept 1-3) and you will likely need to bring others with you to keep up with all the opportunities once you are there. If you are trying to absorb it all you will likely want to follow this simple process.

Go to the conference home page at itexpo.com and click on the blue attendee link at the top of the page.

Click where the red arrow points

 

 

This is where much of the information you need is located. Be sure to register ASAP so you can get on the list for new events as they are added and of course the important show news and happenings. This conference promises to be one of our most exciting ever and I look forward to seeing you all there.

The goal of ITEXPO is not only to be the most complete educational experience in the communications and technology markets we also want to make the show fun and exciting. This is why we still give away a car after doing so for a decade at a variety of shows we have hosted. In addition, we will also be giving away the following gadgets at the keynote sessions.

• Sling Box
• Netbook
• iPhone 3Gs

Come to all of them in a few weeks in Los Angeles if you want a chance to win these shiny new toys.

Recently some media outlets reported incorrectly (links intentionally left out) that Truphone is not working on the iPhone due to a bug in Apple's OS. As it turns out this was a mistake which was caused by misreading  a reference to the bug in a Truphone newsletter. I did just test the application out on an iPhone and it is fine. Here is more if you are interested.

I came across this press release and article on Brightcom's telepresence solutions which will be on display at ITEXPO. Telepresence is just one area of the market which makes the event a must-attend as companies can use the technology to cut travel costs and reduce their carbon footprint. Often in fact a travel budget is cut and an IT department is then left scrambling trying to find a video solution which will take the place of the lost airline seats/dollars. In fact this is why now would be a great time to register to attend the event and come visit Brightcom and the other video vendors at the show.

I started my day today with a cup of coffee and this article from Carl Ford about some areas of discussion at the upcoming 4GWE show in about two weeks in Los Angeles, California. White space, backhaul and machine to machine communications are just some of the areas he touches on and will be covered at the event. It should make for a crucial educational and networking experience and Carl and I look forward to seeing you at the show.

Years back I started to utilize the website ofoto to store my pictures. What a great service with its ability to share your photos immediately with others. Years later Kodak purchased the company and integrated it into its backend photo processing systems. I am still a loyal customer of what is now called Kodak Gallery but recently the company changed its policy, forcing users to order a certain dollar amount in order to keep from having their photos deleted. In my case the magic number was $20.

Interestingly I am a big fan of printing photos but haven't had time to print much lately.

I do understand Kodak needs to make a living and I also understand how hard it is for a company which was a virtual monopoly to reposition itself in the digital era.

But rather than rush to print more photos this experience made me pause a bit. After all I am not thrilled to have a company change its policy on me after it told me there would be no charge to store photos. This is not what you call a stellar CRM experience.

This is probably the reason I didn't act quicker and logged on today to find all my photos gone. Wiped. My kids being born... My wife as fiancé, my cousins, parents, sister, friends. All gone.

The shocking screen I saw today

I learned when I called the company at 1-800-360-9098 that my photos are actually not deleted but hidden. I suspected as much but I am still having seriously mixed emotions about the company. After all if they did delete my photos I would likely be on my way up to Rochester to have a frank talk with the CEO.

Its all fun and games until someone loses every photo they ever took

I was told my photos should come back in 24 hours or so but I will not receive an email when they are restored. The operator suggested I keep checking online for when they appear. (See my thoughts on free time above)

If this happens to you, don't worry. You see I was told 72 hours after the photos appear they will disappear and I have to make a purchase between the time the photos are there and aren't. I didn't ask how long they are kept hidden but I should have.

On a separate but related note, Kodak is looking for help from its community of fans to help it name its new pocket-sized video recorder. My first thought is the new Kodak - Better Late Than Never but I think this moniker may be a bit too long for a small device and not quite in line with the company's business practices. Instead I invite them to have it use the above online photo storage practices and proceed to call it the the new Kodak iHostage.

This is a critical time for resellers and agents as the economy is slow and this puts margin pressure on virtually everyone. Moreover access to credit is more challenging today than ever. This puts VARs and integrators in a precarious position as they look to finance deals they have sold.

Every cloud has a silver lining as they say and the precious metal lining resellers need to be intimately familiar with is IP communications as this market is still vibrant with opportunity. Yes, companies are still investing in technology and VoIP and video systems are doing well as they save money and increase productivity.

Video solutions such as telepresence - and even "personal" models in the sub-$10k range are enjoying growth as they save companies travel costs.

For over a decade I have worked with thought leaders in the communications market to educate the channel on how to make money in communications. In the nineties the opportunity was CTI but today it is IP communications. I cannot oversell how much money is being made by resellers in the open-source telephony markets, IP video and SIP trunking. There is a historic opportunity in tech and telecom and it is being quickly discovered by many. The best way to stay ahead of the curve is to come to my Making Money in IP Communications session at ITEXPO in Los Angeles, California in two weeks, Wednesday, September 2, 9:30-11:00 AM.

Be there or miss out  .