Skype Acquires GroupMe
Skype acquires group messaging service GroupMe, to help users stay in touch and make decisions; http://eicker.at/SkypeGroupMe
Tagged: Skype Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
-
Gerrit Eicker
-
Gerrit Eicker
Software
Andreessen: Software is eating the world – virtually and in the physical world; http://eicker.at/Software
-
Gerrit Eicker
Andreessen: “This week, Hewlett-Packard (where I am on the board) announced that it is exploring jettisoning its struggling PC business in favor of investing more heavily in software, where it sees better potential for growth. Meanwhile, Google plans to buy up the cellphone handset maker Motorola Mobility. Both moves surprised the tech world. But both moves are also in line with a trend I’ve observed, one that makes me optimistic about the future growth of the American and world economies, despite the recent turmoil in the stock market. – In short, software is eating the world. … Why is this happening now? … Over two billion people now use the broadband Internet, up from perhaps 50 million a decade ago, when I was at Netscape, the company I co-founded. In the next 10 years, I expect at least five billion people worldwide to own smartphones, giving every individual with such a phone instant access to the full power of the Internet, every moment of every day. … Software is also eating much of the value chain of industries that are widely viewed as primarily existing in the physical world. … Companies in every industry need to assume that a software revolution is coming. This includes even industries that are software-based today. … Instead of constantly questioning their valuations, let’s seek to understand how the new generation of technology companies are doing what they do, what the broader consequences are for businesses and the economy and what we can collectively do to expand the number of innovative new software companies created in the U.S. and around the world.”
-
-
Gerrit Eicker
ARD/ZDF-Onlinestudie 2011
Die ARD/ZDF-Onlinestudie 2011: 3/4 der Deutschen online, Videokonsum steigt, Teilhabe niedrig; http://eicker.at/Online2011
-
Gerrit Eicker
ARD/ZDF (PDF): “73,3 Prozent der Bevölkerung (2010: 69,4%) sind mittlerweile online. Damit stieg die Zahl der Internetnutzer ab 14 Jahren in Deutschland binnen eines Jahres von 49,0 Millionen auf 51,7 Millionen. Besonders nachgefragt werden Bewegtbilder im weltweiten Netz, die 68 Prozent (2010: 65 Prozent) aller Onliner abrufen. Dabei schauen sich 29 Prozent (2010: 23 Prozent) TV-Sendungen zeitversetzt an. Der Anteil derer, die live im Netz fernsehen, liegt bei 21 Prozent (2010: 15 Prozent). Dies sind rund 19 Millionen Menschen, die zumindest gelegentlich Fernsehinhalte im Internet sehen – vier Millionen mehr als 2010. Dabei ist die Zunahme bei den 14- bis 29-Jährigen überdurchschnittlich hoch. … Auch die Nutzung sozialer Netzwerke wird immer beliebter: Bereits 43 Prozent der deutschen Internetnutzer haben ein eigenes Profil in einer Social Community angelegt (2010: 39 Prozent)… Deutlich angestiegen ist auch die mobile Nutzung: Statt 13 Prozent (2010) gehen aktuell 20 Prozent der Onliner unterwegs ins Netz. 17 Prozent der deutschen Onliner nutzen Apps auf Smartphones oder Tablet-PCs.”
ARD/ZDF (PDF): “Auch 2011 bleiben die bekannten geschlechtsspezifischen Unterschiede weitgehend erhalten: Frauen verbringen weniger Zeit im Netz als Männer. Während 82 Prozent der Männer nahezu täglich im Netz sind und dafür rund 150 Minuten täglich aufwenden, sind es nur 70 Prozent der Nutzerinnen bei durchschnittlich 123 Minuten. Männer sind grundsätzlich aktiver im Netz. Sie surfen häufiger, zeigen eine höhere Affinität zu Audio- und Videoanwendungen und nutzen ganz generell mehr und zeitaufwendigere Anwendungen als Frauen. … Nach den aktuellen Ergebnissen der ARD/ZDF- Onlinestudie 2011 entfacht die Idee des Web 2.0 als ein Netz zur aktiven Beteiligung weiterhin keine Breitenwirkung. In Bezug auf die (passive) Nutzung sind drei Web-2.0-Angebote erfolgreich: Wikipedia, Videoportale (z. B. YouTube) und private Communitys (z.B. Facebook). … Die Grundidee der aktiven Mitwirkung bleibt grundsätzlich weiterhin nur für ein Drittel der Onliner interessant. … Für über die Hälfte ihrer Nutzer ist eine private Community tagtäglicher Begleiter.”
ARD/ZDF (PDF): “80 Prozent der Onliner senden und empfangen wöchentlich E-Mails, 25 Prozent nutzen Instant-Messaging-Dienste wie ICQ, MSN Messenger oder Skype, und ein Fünftel (21 %) tauscht sich in Gesprächsforen, Newsgroups oder Chats aus … Trotz der Konkurrenz durch Web 2.0 ist die Nachfrage nach diesen Angeboten ungebrochen – Communitys reichen (noch) nicht annähernd an diese hohen Nutzungszahlen heran. Allerdings verzeichnet die ARD/ZDF-Onlinestudie aktuell erstmals sinkende Nutzungszahlen bei der elektronischen Post. – Bei den Web-2.0-Intensivnutzern, den Teenagern, scheint die Zeitenwende bereits eingeläutet. Der Austausch per privater oder beruflicher Community liegt 2011 erstmals vor der E-Mail-Kommunikation. … 12 Prozent aller Onliner, das entspricht rund 6,25 Millionen Menschen, interessieren sich sehr dafür, sich aktiv einzubringen. Erweitert man den Kreis der potenziellen Web-2.0-Interessierten um jene Onliner, die zumindest ‘etwas interessiert’ sind, sinkt das Potenzial im Vergleich zu den Vorjahren etwas und bleibt unter der 30-Prozent-Marke. … Für die überwältigende Mehrheit der Onliner ist das Produzieren von User-generated Content eher uninteressant. … Weblogs fristen weiterhin ein Schattendasein im Web-2.0-Universum. Nur 1 Prozent aller Onliner nutzt solche Webpublikationen regelmäßig mindestens einmal pro Woche.”
-
Gerrit Eicker
Facebook Video Chat
Arrington: Facebook will launch a new video chat product, powered by Skype, that works in browser; http://eicker.at/FacebookVideoChat
-
Gerrit Eicker
Facebook: “The new chat design includes a sidebar that lists the people you message most. Now it’s easier to find your friends and start a conversation. The sidebar adjusts with the size of your browser window, and it automatically appears when the window is wide enough. … We’re also launching multi-person chat, which is one of our most requested features. Now when your friends can’t figure out what movie to see, you can just add them to a chat and decide together. To include more friends in your conversation, simply select Add Friends to Chat. … Video chat has been around for years now, but it’s still not an everyday activity for most people. Sometimes it’s too difficult to set up, or the friends you want to talk to are on different services. – So a few months ago, we started working with Skype to bring video calling to Facebook. We built it right into chat, so all your conversations start from the same place. To call your friend, just click the video call button at the top of your chat window.”
Gerrit Eicker
Google Plus Huddle
Huddle adds group messaging to Google Plus, turning different conversations into one group chat; http://eicker.at/GooglePlusHuddle
-
Gerrit Eicker
Google: “Coordinating with friends and family in real-time is really hard in real life. After all, everyone’s on different schedules, in different places, and plans can change at any moment. Phone calls and text messages can work in a pinch, but they’re not quite right for getting the gang together. So Google+ includes Huddle, a group messaging experience that lets everyone inside the circle know what’s going on, right this second.”
Google+: “Texting is great, but not when you’re trying to get six different people to decide on a movie. Huddle takes care of it by turning all those different conversations into one simple group chat, so that everyone gets on the same page long before thumbs get sore.”
Outsource House: “Group messaging is cool and was made prolific by Blackberry. Now that Blackberry is going downhill really fast, where are we going to get our group messaging from? Well if Google has anything to to say about it, then it will be Google plus Huddle. I even like saying it. “We will Huddle.” Rather than… “We will BBM”. This, if done well good take market share from BBM, whatsapp, Skype, and all the other players in this arena. This will also allow people who have never liked Blackberry (like me) to be able to have a conversation with all my friends no matter what phone they might have.”
Gerrit Eicker
Amazon Cloud Drive
Amazon starts Cloud Drive with 5 (free) to 1,000 GB for music, photos, videos, documents; http://eicker.at/AmazonCloudDrive
Gerrit Eicker
Information Monopolies
WSJ: Do away with Google? Break up Facebook? We can not imagine life without them, and that is the problem; http://eicker.at/1e
Gerrit Eicker
FaceTime
Apple FaceTime did not launch as a killer app, but it may end up as one, providing a halo effect; http://eicker.at/FaceTime
Gerrit Eicker
Facebook Should Buy Skype
Bernström: Voice is the new black. How should [Facebook] enter the space? Buy Skype; http://j.mp/bMUD44
-
Gerrit Eicker
SB: “Voice is the new black. Seems like after all the hype of apps, the world still wants to connect in real-time and in many cases is willing to pay for such value. In the battle of voice, Skype, Google, Apple, telecom operators and independent outfits are gearing up for battle. The trillion-dollar land grab is officially on. – Apple launched FaceTime video chat. Google Talk is turning into the new pay phone. Oh, and Skype has filed for an IPO as well as announcing plans to enter the enterprise space. – But besides the indie stalwarts, who’s the dark horse in the room? – Facebook. – What should it do? How should it enter the space? The answer is clear. Buy Skype. – Four reasons why Facebook should acquire Skype.“
Gerrit Eicker
Facebook+Skype?
ATD: Facebook and Skype are poised to announce a wide-ranging partnership, including SMS, voice chat; http://j.mp/d5lHhn
-
Gerrit Eicker
ATD: “You didn’t think Facebook would integrate with Google Voice, did you? – Actually, according to sources close to the situation, Facebook and Skype are poised to announce a significant and wide-ranging partnership that will include integration of SMS, voice chat and Facebook Connect. – The move by the pair – which have tested small contact importer integrations before – is a natural one for the social networking giant, which is aiming to be the central communications and messaging platform for its users, across a range of media. – Facebook’s goal, according to sources: To mesh communications and community more tightly together and add more tools to allow users to do so. … The pair called it ‘strategic unified communications and collaboration partnership,’ and is centered on business and personal videoconferencing.“
Gerrit Eicker 08:39 on 22. August 2011 Permalink |
Skype: “I’m delighted to announce we’re acquiring GroupMe, a provider of mobile group messaging services that helps users stay in touch and make decisions. – This acquisition is another step towards our vision to provide a global multi-modal and multi-platform communications experience. It complements our existing leadership in voice and video communications by providing best in class mobile text-based communications and innovative features around group messaging that enable users to connect, share locations and photos and make plans with their closest ties.”
GroupMe: “Today, we have entered into an agreement to be acquired by Skype. Over the last few months, we had been in talks with Skype that started with discussions about potential commercial partnerships. As we got to know the core Skype team better, though, and as our conversations evolved, it quickly became evident that our visions were perfectly aligned. Both companies are focused on changing the way the world communicates, and helping people stay in touch with the people they really know. With a shared vision – an ambitious one – we decided our efforts to own real-time communications and the real life network could be best executed as one company.”
VB: “Both Facebook and Google recently released their own offerings targeted at group messaging with Facebook Messenger and Google+’s Huddle. Skype’s decision to buy GroupMe shows it wants to make sure it also has its group communication bases covered. It should pair well with the services it already offers, including video calling, global calling, instant messaging, and text messaging services. – Skype is still in the process of being acquired by Microsoft. The big M said in May that it would buy Skype for $8.5 billion and as soon as the deal is completed, we will likely see Skype integrated into Xbox 360, Kinect, Windows Phone and Office 365. GroupMe’s application and technology would also help Microsoft flesh out its mobile offerings as it continues to expand Windows Phone 7’s presence and capabilities.”
pC: “Far from being a messaging service aimed only at enterprises (like Yammer, for example), GroupMe has been making some strides into the consumer market by linking up with brands and events to increase its profile and relevance there as well: earlier this year it announced that the music event Lollapalooza and the TV show Dexter would both be using GroupMe’s APIs in their apps for their respective audiences to add more social features and to connect with each other via those platforms.”
GigaOM: “Skype so far has been reliant on its instant messaging and voice (and video) call offerings to engage its hundreds of millions of users. However, the mobile phone changes that behavior – shifting the focus to more instantaneous services such a GroupMe in addition to a combination of other communication mediums – SMS, mobile phone, Beluga, Twitter and Facebook Messages in addition to email. – Skype, which has been one of the earliest beneficiaries of the iPhone boom, has seen lightweight group messaging clients like GroupMe gaining in popularity and it is right to be worried. … The fact remains that the sands of time were against GroupMe. The oncoming competition from Facebook Messenger, Google’s Huddle and most importantly Apple’s iMessage were going to fundamentally increase the pressure on GroupMe, which in turn decided that it was better to find comfort in the arms of a much larger company. … From a long-term perspective, Skype as an entity is going to have an identity crisis. It cannot figure out whether it wants to be a friend to the consumers or whether it wants to be a corporation- focused collaboration company.“