Will Most International Calls Be On Skype Someday?

Will Most International Calls Be On Skype Someday?
Court: Bloggers Are Same as Media Under 1st Amendment
Phone Etiquette: A Refresher Course in Courtesy
How to Make Your Business “Highly Recommended”

Posted: 19 Jan 2014 04:30 PM PST

Skype ConferenceEdit

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 — 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 — if not most — 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

The post Will Most International Calls Be On Skype Someday? appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Court: Bloggers Are Same as Media Under 1st Amendment

Posted: 19 Jan 2014 12:30 PM PST

Bloggers first amendment rights decided at Federal Court

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 “matters 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 post, 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 — 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 charged with defamation in similar circumstances. But the jury hadn’t been told to decide negligence by the judge, and so the judgment was invalid.
The appeals court agreed — 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.

Bloggers First Amendment Rights Confirmed

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.” In other words, 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 had 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 — in a new trial — 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

The post Court: Bloggers Are Same as Media Under 1st Amendment appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Phone Etiquette: A Refresher Course in Courtesy

Posted: 19 Jan 2014 09:00 AM PST

phone etiquette

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.

Phone Etiquette Refresher

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 "goodb—"? 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 well—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

The post Phone Etiquette: A Refresher Course in Courtesy appeared first on Small Business Trends.

How to Make Your Business “Highly Recommended”

Posted: 19 Jan 2014 06:00 AM PST

business highly recommended Are recommendations replacing research?

I saw an interesting Facebook conversation today. A friend of mine is a well-known video producer who has worked on some big brand commercials. This morning, he asked his Facebook friends to recommend movies with extended flashback sequences – probably for a project he is working on.

As I read through the extensive list of recommendations, I was blown away by how much research time he saved and how he was able to engage his friends and community around a project he was working on. In the end, everyone will win. He will save time and some of his friends will get to say that their recommendation made the final video.

Are You Part of the 92%?

Paul Rand (@paulmrand), CEO of Zocalo Group, a digital, social media and word of mouth marketing agency, has recently written a book exploring the power of recommendations as the key influencers in a purchase decision. It's called “Highly Recommended: Harnessing the Power of Word of Mouth and Social Media to Build Your Brand and Your Business.” I recently received a review copy and wanted to share my thoughts about it with you.

According to a Nielsen research study, 92% of all consumers feel that a word of mouth recommendation is the primary reason that they buy a product or service.

We've known the power of referrals and recommendations for decades, but this new book sheds a new light on how to leverage the power of recommendations for your business.

Being Recommendable – In Three Parts

Rand says that being recommended is the "Holy Grail" of marketing and he is right. And Highly Recommended takes this to a higher level.

He says to get recommended you have to BE recommendable.

This is an important distinction in today's marketplace — and one that has taken many businesses a long time to embrace. Not to get all "Big Brother" about it, but you, your company and your employees are on display 24/7 in a world of always-on social media. And that means that you, too have to BE your very best so that your customers will refer you.

Once you get the importance of BEING recommendable into your head, you are ready to explore the three key parts of this book.

PART 1: Word of Mouth Recommendations: Marketing's Holy Grail

In this section, Rand explores the ins and outs of what today's recommendations look like. He features what a "Holy Grail" recommendation looks like via stories about Stew Leonard's "the most amazing, fun, delicious, and incredible grocery store in the whole world!" He also dissects why Angie's List is so successful.

Once you're done reading through this section, you'll be chomping at the bit to get some of those recommendations for your own business.

PART 2: The Roadmap to Recommendations

This section takes advantage of your new found enthusiasm for getting and growing your list of recommendations by helping you map out exactly where you are and where you want to be.

This is the meatiest section of the book. It will require energy and work on your part (if you're serious). You'll learn how to create and articulate your shareable story. The book also covers how to identify the people whose recommendations will most influence your brand. Finally, you discover how to put that knowledge to work in your content and marketing plan.

PART 3: Beyond Marketing: Operationalizing Recommendations

Like any good guide, Rand now takes you into the implementation stage of your quest for this "Holy Grail" of recommendations.

First on the list is delivering the customer service that will get you recommended. From there’s it’s about attracting those ideal customers and creating the kinds of products and services that will get them raving about you.

Should You Recommend Highly Recommended?

What can I tell you? After reading this book, I was a little hesitant about sharing it with you. WHY? Because then YOU would know the secret!

You might feel the same way. This is one of those books that is so useful, so powerful and potentially transforming to your business, you'll either want to share it with everyone or you'll want to hoard it and keep the goodies for yourself.

I opted to share it with you because ultimately, the world needs more recommendable businesses and I want to help you make your business highly recommended.

The post How to Make Your Business “Highly Recommended” appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Small Business Trends

Monday, January 20, 2014