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Google, Skype and the Future of IM
Matt Veenstra sent in a nice little piece of rumor mongering about how Google's new Talk/Jabber/IM thing is just a stepping stone, but it's really just a foreshadowing of
their future buyout of Skype. Worth some thought anyway.
Honestly, is a story based at least marginally on fact too much to ask? A entire article without one scrap of evidence to back it up...in fact, in under thirty seconds I was able to find two articles that would seem to contradict this assertion.
How exactly did this make it onto Slashdot?
Google, Skype and the Future of IM
Oh, I see...
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But I guess history shows that the Skype creators could sell their creation to set out for something else. That's what they did with Kazaa anyway.
Clever signature text goes here.
They already have VoIP built into their client and a huge marketing machine, including millions of viral marketing droids, working in their favor.
Given how they've dissembled and denied all the rumours about instant messaging, it's good to see that Google's "corporate morality" is such that "tell no lies" doesn't fall within the aegis of "do no evil".
Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
I thought Google Talk already came with a voice feature? I see it right there in the options.
Is Skype technically better?
It would be great. Every time you click on an ad you get a free minute of long distance. Sounds like a good idea for the home user who wants to talk to his family in India. I can only imagine the number of clicks happening.
I doubt thats how it would work, it would probably require you to DO something after you clicked on the advertisement.
Your Mileage May Vary.
Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
As a side note, Im sure we would soon see google integrate everything where we search for a person/name, it brings up his address, phone number (both currently found by searching for number), icon to send email, IM or call directly, all a click away. Imagine that!
If Google were planning on buying out Skype, why would they release a version of Google Talk with their own implementation of voice chat? Doesn't make much sense to me. Furthermore, has Google ever bought a company worth that much before? Most of their aqcuisitions seem to be companies that have good software but aren't very popular, therefore, they Google gets quite a bargain by purchasing them for far less than they're worth. Skype doesn't fit that bill, imo.
Everybody seems to be concerned about it, as it's pretty much every other comment. You can turn the search archiving off and nobody makes you use Google Talk, Gmail, or any other service they have now or will have in the future, so, if you don't like it, don't use it. I ask you: What ever happened to free will?
Since we're jumping to conclusions about Google's corporate strategy today, I'll go ahead and give mine. It seems to me like Google wants to get into the field with their product and see where it goes.
Google Talk seems pretty barebones at the moment, but if we remember correctly, so was Gmail when it first came out. I've had it from day 3 or 4, and it wasn't really all that great at the time--the only thing to write home about was the amount of space you have.
Anyway, that seems to be Google's strategy with everything--launch a product in beta, then continuously improve it until everyone loves it. I could be wrong, but it seems like they would be competing with Skype and using their own in-house programs, rather than buying them out.
Just a thought...
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Well, a more accurate title for Slashdot would be "ads for money". That's all the site is really about these days - the stories are just posted to get readers to the site, who in turn will see the ads (or pay for the privilege of not having to).
Among other things, this influences what stories are posted and whether they make it to the front page - stuff that'll draw in more readers is more likely to get posted.
So, yeah... so much for "news for nerds". It was a nice idea, but these days, it's more about the stuff that matters - money.
quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
whatever happened to privacy
Do you think they're providing those services out of the kindness of their heart or because they are somehow indebted to you? You chose to give up some of your privacy by using their free email, free instant messaging, and free web searching, you cheap bastard.
You want privacy? Buy a stamp and send a letter.
Well until Google gives me a reason not to trust them, I will. They actively compete on their merits, not on monopoly or force. If you search for an address they still give you links for Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, and Mapquest. They have donated large sums of money to OSS and have paid for many developers to work on it over them summer. Now they are using their weight to standardize instant messaging the way e-mail is standardized. If you read Google Talk's site, you'll see that a big initiative is getting instant messaging into a state like e-mail is where you can IM anyone on any network from any IM client. Jabber has server2server capabilities and thus will greatly help this effort. If I ever sense that they are misusing my information, then I'll think about leaving them, but until then, they have my full support. They have literally made the internet a better place to be.
Regards,
Steve
Actually, the more I think about this... the more it makes sense.
Webb Interactive (WEBB.OB) owns somewhere south of 50% of Jabber, Inc.
It *does* seem sort of surprising that Google would bank so heavily on the Jabber platform with no equity stake. Granted, its an open standard, but the amount of development Jabber, Inc. has in terms of server and enterprise components far, far exceeds anything that Google has.
I'd put my 2 cents on Google buying (the very tiny Webb Interactive) before they buy Skype.
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You don't have to make them switch. If they are content with MSN and it's games, let them be. But there are lots and lots people who love Google. And they would love to use their IM-service. And when others start to switch, they will follow. And if the demand is there, Google/Jabber-folks just might add those games.
Yes, we need something like Jabber, and we need it to be universal. With Googles help, it might become that. Right now internet is riddled with incompatible, proprietary IM-protocols. We need an universal standard that is open. What if email was like IM is right now? you could only use email to certain people, using certain email-clients/addresses. If you wanted to send email to someone else, you have to switch clients/addresses to do so. No, that is madness. And that is what IM is today. We need something that works everywhere and is open. ICQ can't be it. AIM can't be it. MSN can't be it. Jabber could be it.
Now, if Google could just add video-conferencing....
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
I remember thinking the same thing about Microsoft when windows 3.0 was released. They were making all the right moves, people liked the direction they were taking and no one could stop them.
I don't trust large corporations to act ethically. A simple peak at history gives me the empirical data I need to make such decisions. But does that mean I don't solicit them? No. I just watch them with a keen eye and a bit of skepticism.
Google is larger that "two smart boys" as they like to portray themself. The corporation will continue with or without the founders and their ethics.
Mod me troll if you like but I'm sick of people going on and on about Google's privacy policies, every single Google topic will have hundreds of posts from people who are worried about what Google will do with their email, search queries, IM conversations, IP's etc. Yes they are collecting data and so much data I really don't care what they have about me, I'm hidden in obscurity by millions of other users and, more importantly Google don't care about my personnel credentials, they care about how many hundreds of thousands of people click their ads and why. Please stop bitching about it, they collect data, they like data, nobody is so big and important that they give a damn what your address is or that your wife emails you about the nooner you had last week at work.
Indeed, all they said was "it's a rumour". Well, it WAS a rumour, and a true one, at that.
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Well said.
Having spent a while this morning instlling it, and generally buggering about with it, I was left with the distinct impression that this is the thin end of another GoogleWedge (TM).
In summary:
but
- It has millions of ready made users with gmail accounts.
- It has a surprisingly respectful user interface that is a joy to use.
- It has potential to be extended from day one (unlike AIM or YIM where the owners have fought to keep the protocols closed and proprietary.
If I were to be really speculative I'd say that the most significant effect of todays beta launch is that it positions Google as a credible competitor to Skype, which may lower Skype's valuation, and thus make it a more attractive aquisition.boakes.org
google could save 4b on the purchase price of skype and buy digium to get asterisk instead - which interoperates with all the major voice protocols (sip, iax, h323, mgcp but not skype at present). Asterisk is approaching version 1.2 at a breakneck clip.