Will Most International Calls Be On Skype Someday?

Skype may never completely replace public switched telephone networks (i.e, traditional phone lines).  But Skype-to-Skype calls have made stunning growth.  And that growth has accelerated in the past two years, since 2011.

Not only that, but Skype is growing faster than traditional telecommunications companies for international calls.  That means it’s not just the volume of international calls going up â€" it means Skype’s growth is coming at the expense of traditional phone lines.  In other words, Skype is supplanting traditional telephone lines, at least when it comes to international calls.

A new study from TeleGeography finds that Skype international calls grew 36 percent in 2013.  Per the chart below, “Skype added approximately 54 billion minutes of international traffic in 2013.”  That’s “50 percent  more than the combined international volume growth of every telco in the world,” according to TeleGeography.  Users spent a total of 214 billion minutes on international Skype-to-Skype calls in 2013.

skype-international-call-traffic-growth-2

Many â€" if not most â€" Skype calls are personal calls between family members, and the numbers in the chart don’t reflect how many are business calls.  Still, small businesses have become eager users of Skype, given the low cost.  So it’s likely that some of that growth is coming from small business users who like the price of Skype.

Skype is owned by Microsoft.  The basic version of Skype is free.  However, there is a business version available for file sharing and chatting with multiple contacts at once. But the free version allows free over-the-internet video chats between any Skype users.

The company’s Skype Collaborations Project highlights examples of how the video chat tool is allowing businesses to operate across borders. For example, Apolis, a Los Angeles-based outfitter, highlights how shoes made by a family run business in Palestine are sold by an Israeli distributor in Tel Aviv. The two companies communicate only via Skype.

Image: Skype



Court: Bloggers Are Same as Media Under 1st Amendment

Another court has determined that you don’t have to be part of the traditional media to be entitled to First Amendment protections.  In essence, bloggers ARE the media when it comes to the First Amendment.

What this means is, if a blogger is sued for libel on a statement of public concern, the injured party has to prove the blogger made the statement “with negligence.”

The case involved a blogger who made some strong accusations on several blogs.   Here’s a simplified summary of the case:

  • A blogger published blog posts on sites such as BankruptcyCorruption (.com).  In one of her blog posts, she accused a company and one its principals of  tax fraud.
  • Naturally, the company and the person she spoke about were none too happy.  They sent her a cease and desist letter.
  • The blogger neither ceased nor desisted.  One thing led to another,  and the blogger ended up being sued for libel.  
  • The case went before a jury. The jury found the blogger liable for defamation â€" and awarded a $2.5 million judgment against her. 
  • The blogger appealed, getting Professor Volokh (a blogger and eminent law professor) to represent her on appeal.
  • She didn’t deny that her statement was untrue.  Instead, she argued that the other side had to prove she made her statement “negligently” just as in the case of any journalist. But the jury hadn’t been told to decide negligence by the judge, and so the judgment was invalid.
  • The appeals court agreed â€" and reversed the judgment.

That’s a bare-bones outline.  There are other facts and legal niceties, but this isn’t the place to get into those.

Here’s the key takeaway:  bloggers are entitled to be treated under the same standards of free speech as someone called a “journalist.”  The Federal District Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit wrote (court decision here):

“The protections of the First Amendment do not turn on whether the defendant was a trained journalist, formally affiliated with traditional news entities, engaged in conflict-of-interest disclosure, went beyond just assembling others’ writings, or tried to get both sides of a story. As the Supreme Court has accurately warned, a First Amendment distinction between the institutional press and other speakers is unworkable:  ’With the advent of the Internet and the decline of print and broadcast media . . . the line between the media and others who wish to comment on political and social issues becomes far more blurred.’ “

Some journalists have argued there should be a distinction between journalists and bloggers. However, that distinction carried over to the law would be an example of “bad facts make bad law.”  That old adage means, when it’s an ugly situation, there’s a temptation by a court to make up a new rule to solve a unique problem. But in so doing, the court just creates more issues.

Here it would have the unintended consequence of giving someone with a title of “journalist” higher free-speech rights than the average person.

You may not agree with the blogger’s tactics in the case.  But the appeals court said that’s a not a reason to deny a freedom-of-speech protection. Let a jury decide â€" in a new trial â€" whether she was negligent when she made the untrue statement. But don’t deny her a constitutional protection just because she isn’t employed as a “journalist.”

Pioneer Courthouse image: Shutterstock



Phone Etiquette: A Refresher Course in Courtesy

Good communication and phone etiquette is incredibly important (and sometimes hard to come by) in today’s fast paced world.  Talking on the phone is one of the most common ways in which to do business and good manners can go a long way in helping to establish trust with a potential client and even landing a sale.

Here are a few things to keep in mind during your next call.

Smile

Your ‘upset’ voice sounds completely different than your ‘happy’ voice and the latter is much more pleasant to conversate with. Even if you find yourself in a bad mood when the phone starts to ring, take a deep breath and smile.

It will make a difference to the person on the other line.

Answer the Phone Patiently

Picking up the phone with a terse, “Bob here,” or simply, “sales department” will make the caller feel immediately put off. Instead, answer with a friendly salutation and your name.

This small adjustment will start your conversation off on the right foot.

Speak Clearly and Not Too Loudly

The phone’s microphone is usually never more than a few inches from your mouth, so there is no need to raise your voice while talking.

Talking slowly and clearly is also a good idea, as is waiting to eat your lunch until after you get off the call.

Don’t Hang Up First

Have you ever been almost done with a phone call when the other person suddenly hangs up just as you say “goodbâ€"“? This can be a turnoff and give the call a negative final impression.

Don’t be the person that rushes off the phone. Calmly sign off and then wait for the other person hang up first.

Stay on Neutral Topics

Try not to bring up politics, religion and other sensitive topics when on a call with someone you don’t know wellâ€"even if you have an inkling to their favor. For example, just because your potential client lives in San Francisco and has a newborn named Barack, don’t start in on how excited you are for the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

You never know. The person might be a far right-winger and the conversation could be long gone before you could grovel enough to say how great Chris Christie would look in the White House.

Wait Your Turn

The prospect with whom you are chatting has the gift to gab and you haven’t said a peep in 20 minutes. That’s okay. Wait your turn and don’t interrupt; it’s rude.

They will have to take a breath at some point and, more likely, will realize that they’ve been hogging the conversation for too long and let you have a turn.

Voicemail: Keep Your Message Short and Slow

Think of a voicemail as a post-it note: A few words will do. No one likes long, drawn-out messages, so just include your name, company name, the reason why you are calling (in 20 words or less, if possible) and your phone number.

When saying your phone number, slow it down to turtle speed. Take breaks between numbers so the other person has time to write it down or say it twice before hanging up.

Phone Photo via Shutterstock



How to Make Your Business “Highly Recommended”

Jan 19, 2014 by Ivana Taylor In Business Books 0

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