Communication Technology Doesn't Make Everything Better All the Time

Sometimes, modern communications make me pine for the old days.

As excited as I get about new technologies, especially the kind that facilitates and improves our experiences communicating with each other, I also think our over-reliance on communication technology can be a double-edge sword.

While we garner amazing amounts of information about people and places and things through advanced communication technology, I also believe we deprive ourselves of some of the mystery that existed -- and that some of us enjoyed --  before the invention of the tools we use to communicate on a daily basis basis.

Example.  When I traveled abroad as a college student, the adventure had a great element of mystery that's lacking for many of today's student travelers.  That's not to say that the anticipation of studying abroad is any less exciting for a college student in 2011.  I know that it is, as I recently witnessed my youngest daughter's anticipation of travelling abroad to study in Spain.

But the mystery, well, it wasn't quite at the same level for her as it was for me during my college years.  Let's just say it was different.

Before the availability of technologies like Google Street View, Facebook, Skype or Picasa, among others, college students travelling outside the U.S. for a semester abroad knew what the places they were visiting looked like through still images in brochures and magazines and textbooks, what they were told by other travelers and by what they saw on TV, etc.  They began getting to know their new room mates when they flopped jet-lagged into their living quarters, an apartment in Barcelona or a dorm room in Florence.  They decided if living with them would be tolerable after they got to know each other the old fashioned way, and not through a digital first impression courtesy of Facebook.

There was a great mystery to it all, a level of excitement that is different (better?) than what today's students are experiencing.

When my daughter received an email from her travel abroad administrator with the names of her soon-to-be roommates, she immediately viewed their pages on Facebook.  The pending roommates friended each other, exchanged messages, wrote on each others walls, viewed each others photos, knew each others interests -- all before meeting in person.

Using Google Street View, my daughter found the neighborhood she would be a part of for the next four months.  Together on her laptop, we scrolled up and down her street, checking out the shops, the apartment buildings, trying to figure out where the closest cafe was.

Now that Emily is safely (and happy) in Barcelona and settling in, we've been using Skype's chat tool as if she were in her dorm room at Northeastern University in Beantown.

We've had a few Skype video calls too, using the technology nonchalantly, taking for granted we are 3,651 miles apart.

Some of you may still remember the days when everyone in the house got so excited when a family member or friend was calling the U.S. from Europe.

There was a time when such a call was an exciting, planned event. Things are different today -- often better, but not always.

This evening, my daughter put up a batch of photos, taken earlier today, in a Picasa web album. 

Do You ooVoo?

Skype's announcement of its S-1 filing earlier this week is exciting and welcoming news especially during a period when the global economic picture for the remainder of 2010 is looking rather bleak.  If anything, the announcement was at least a distraction from the Fed's comments that the economy is slowing, the recovery remains sluggish and the threat of deflation looms.  That combined with recently reported unemployment statistics means the announcement of the pending Skype initial public offering (IPO) could not have come at a better time.

The announcement put a smile on my face, but to be honest, it only takes a hint of good news to do that these days.

There are tens of thousands of news stories and blogs posted this week covering Skype's S-1 filing from every conceivable angle.  "Is Skype's Filing Premature?"  "Will Investor's Buy if Customers are Hooked for Free?" "Is the Skype IPO Really Such a Hot Deal?' 

But I didn't see many posts about Skype's competition, specifically in the video communications space. So I thought I'd spend a little time on one competitor in particular.

First of all, I do Skype -- occasionally.  And 100 percent of my Skype calls are of the free video call variety.  That's another thing - Skype as a verb.  "Hey, let's Skype when you get back to the office."  Or, "Skype me when you get settled in Singapore."

You know your company has made it when your company name is used as a verb.  Like Skype. Like Google.

But also like ooVoo, a Skype competitor.  "Do you ooVoo?"   "Why yes, I actually do ooVoo?"

ooVoo is a New York-based video communication service company.  Its customer base pales in comparison to Skype's though the company claims it is adding more than 600,000 customers each month.

The 3Point team has been using ooVoo for quite some time and with great results.

The video and sound quality is truly amazing, for free or otherwise. I encourage you to give it a try.  I find it's a lot easier and more natural to have a conversation using ooVoo's video communications solution than Skype's.  Apparently, so do 8 out of 10 Skype users who participated in an ooVoo blind study.

You can read more about the results of the study here and then you can decide for yourself by downloading ooVoo's free application.

With that said, I'm ecstatic about Skype's plan for an IPO.  Skype released the first public beta version of its software seven years ago this month and since then it has worked doggedly to build a strong global brand and excellent products.  By announcing it's S-1 filing now, it has pumped some life into what is traditionally one of the slowest investment months of the year.  And it keeps 2010 on track as a rebound year for tech IPOs and IPOs in general. 

In a self-serving but related note, if you haven't had a chance to download our eBook on "Communicating as a Newly Public Company," there are some good tips in it and you can get it here.