One of the persistent stories making the rounds over the last couple of weeks has been the failure of Voice 2.0 startups. Fierce wireless characterized EQO’s staff cuts reported October 12 as “the latest of the Voice / Phone 2.0 facing imminent disaster”, while techvibes and GigaOm chose a similar tone.
This morning’s discussion was about the state of Voice 2.0, and some of the successes and failures in the space. The Voice 2.0 Manifesto described Voice 2.0 as being driven by directory, presence and a number of other characteristics. Today the simplest way to describe it as the intersection of the Web and voice, because in so many ways the web has the same characteristics as the Voice 2.0 model.
We discussed the cuts at EQO, briefly, and the failures of Jangl, TalkPlus. As Om Malik noted in his piece, the current economic climate doesn’t allow for free rides for startups without revenue any longer.
We also discuss Skype as a Voice 2.0 player. The suggestion was made that with Skype’s new Asterisk integration, it has become much more open than before.
Mashups, and mobile were topics of conversation as well including a discussion of BT’s acquisition of Ribbit.
Our conclusion? Voice 2.0 is alive and well. Companies without business models, however, are suffering, and not just in the Voice 2.0 arena.
On the Calliflower Conference Call this morning: James Body, William Volk, Shai Berger, Tim Panton, Jonathan Jensen, Sergio Meinardi, Warren Bent, Carl Ford and Sheryl Breuker.
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Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry make Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
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