ShiftLA.com

It's been rumored, and now it's here: Google's implemented direct computer-to-phone calling from within its Gmail service. It's a small change, but it makes Google Voice more powerful, and challenges the existing phone industry.

Google just revealed the news on its official blog, with the disarming and charmingly low-key line "we thought 'wouldn't it be nice if you could call people directly on their phones?'," referring to the fact that while its existing Google Voice and Video chat service is very powerful, it requires both users to be at their PCs and connected to Gmail.

So, starting today "you can call any phone right from Gmail." Well, not any phone, as the service is only now rolling out in the U.S., but check out the video below to learn more:

 

Google notes it's "been testing this feature internally and have found it to be useful in a lot of situations, ranging from making a quick call to a restaurant, to placing a call when you’re in an area with bad reception." And its even giving you a little gift: For the rest of 2010, calls to the U.S. and Canada will be free. Calls overseas are also at a special "low" rate Google's been busy negotiating. It's pretty simple to use, with an obvious "call phones" icon inside Gmail--your Google Voice number is your caller ID, and you can also receive incoming calls to the number directly inside Gmail.

While it's still wrapped up in Google's bland and now very aged-looking UI, making it not as "user friendly" as other VoIP services like Granny's favorite Skype, it's another big slap to the existing landline phone industry.

To keep up with this news, follow me, Kit Eaton, on Twitter.

Digital 101 Seminar

Tuesday, Aug 10, 2010 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM PDT

Register Now! Registration deadline is Wednesday, Aug 4, 2010 5:00 PM

Register by Wednesday   Aug 4, 2010 5:00 PM  PDT

Yahoo!

2400 Broadway
Santa Monica CA 90404 USA
Google Maps | Hotels Near | Yahoo! Maps | Weather Forecast

 

Event Description

Course Description

Digital 101 is a new seminar offered by thinkLA, specifically for the marketing industry. This seminar is a high level overview of the digital media landscape. The course is designed for traditional advertisers and marketers new to digital.

 

Course Outline

• State of Media and Trends
• Online Media and Marketing Extensions
• Why Online
• Online Universe and Behaviors
• Important Terms and Terminology
• Media Property Types

The course concludes with recommendations for online resources, including references for trade material and where to locate additional information on digital terminology.

The class is taught by Marian Thomas, Horizontal Packaging & Sales Strategy at YAHOO!

Event Schedule
6:30 PM - 7:00 PM      Registration/Dinner/Networking
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM      Seminar/Q&A
9:00 PM                      Networking/Depart

 

Registration

Register Online Now!

Available to members ONLY until July 26, 2010.

Non-members will be able to register on July 26th at 10:00 AM PDT.

Not a member? Join Now and save for as little as $100!

Pricing

Registration closes on 8/4/10 at 5:00 PM PDT.
(Event may sell out prior to registration deadline)

 

Member: $15
Non-Member: $25

 

*Light dinner and refreshments will be provided at 6:30 PM.

 

Cancellation & Return Check Policy
To cancel an event registration and to receive a full refund you must contact our office 3 business days (by 5:00pm) prior to the event date. No refunds will be issued after this time period. Please contact Kari at the thinkLA office at kari@thinkla.org to cancel or for any registration questions. The last day to cancel and receive a full refund for this event is Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 at 5:00 PM PDT. A $15 Return Check Fee will be assessed on any dishonored checks.

 

How to meet Web site development objectives cost-effectively: Forrester

By Giselle Tsirulnik

July 9, 2010

Julie Ask, vice president and principle analyst at Forrester Research

The mobile Web is becoming increasingly important as more consumers are using smartphones since miniature, on-the-go computers and brands need to be ready with mobile-optimized sites.

Daily mobile Internet usage among United States adult mobile phone users grew from 7 percent at the end of 2008 to 10 percent in mid-2009 and to 15 percent in mid-2010, according to a report by Forrester Research titled, “How to Build a Mobile Web Site.” The report stresses that mobile data is not just about applications.

“The browser-based mobile Web experience is more important than ever, with dramatic growth in the usage of the mobile Internet — especially from smartphones — in the past 24 months,” said Julie Ask , vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, in the report. “In 2009, consumer brands built iPhone applications: they are now asking what’s next.

 

“The answer for many is to improve the quality of their mobile Web site,” she said.
 
According to the report, brands that are looking to build a mobile Web site have five types of services available to them. The choice is based mostly on budgets and the type of experience they are looking to deliver.

The first option is fully managed services. This is basically outsourcing mobile Web development, hosting and maintenance. Usablenet, Digby and 2ergo are examples of companies that provide fully manages services.

Licensed technology platforms – or mobile enablement services – involves licensing a technology platform for device detection, content hosting and optimization. Cellit Mobile Marketing, iLoop Mobile and Netbiscuits provide a licensed technology platform.

Existing solutions providers, such as ecommerce platforms, are another option for brands.

Agencies are great for end-to-end mobile Web site development. They work on the creation, design, development and maintenance of a site. 5th Finger, AKQA, The Hyperfactory and Razorfish are examples of agencies.

Lastly, in-house builds can use all or just some of the approaches listed in the report. The company builds its own site in this case.

According to Ms. Ask, companies need a mobile strategy before they can begin to choose an approach to mobile Web design.

Forrester’s  POST  - which stands for People, Objectives, Strategy and Technology – process is outlined in the report. The process aims to help companies develop a mobile strategy methodically.

As part of the POST method, companies must come to a set of aligned strategic decisions on reach, offering, investment and value chain.

Forrester recommends that decisions flow from the company business strategy as opposed to vendors’’ offerings.

“Working through the mobile POST process forces brands to answer strategic questions before making technology decisions and thinking about vendors,” Ms. Ask said in the report. “his will be an iterative process, as requirements are right-sized to budgets.

“Once in place, consumer brands can select one of five approaches to building or improving their mobile Web presence,” she said.

Final take:
Mobile Marketer senior editor Giselle Tsirulnik talks about what is key for a mobile Web site’s success.

 

Senior Editor Giselle Tsirulnik covers advertising, messaging, legal/privacy and database/CRM. Reach her at giselle@mobilemarketer.com.

Like this article? Sign up for a free subscription to Mobile Marketer's must-read newsletters on mobile marketing. Click here!

By SCOTT AUSTIN

Start-ups hungry for cash are often expected to pay a fee to pitch to angel investors. But some free services are cropping up to counter the so-called pay-to-pitch model.

Earlier this year, Internet entrepreneur and blogger Jason Calacanis started Open Angel Forum, which holds free pitch events in various cities where entrepreneurs selected from a pool of applicants can pitch to about 20 to 30 angel investors. At Open Angel's first event in Boulder, Co., in February, three of six companies found new investors.

 

Another free service, AngelList, started in February by angels Naval Ravikant and Babak Nivi, vets dozens of deals before highlighting the best ones in emails each week sent free to a group of 200 investors.

Messrs. Ravikant and Nivi—who also run Venture Hacks, a for-profit site that provides advice to start-ups—say they have received pitches from more than 1,000 start-ups, mostly consumer Internet companies. Of the 48 companies featured so far on AngelList, about half have received funding, they say.

Marco Zappacosta, founder of Thumbtack Inc., a site that lets people book services like tutors and dog walkers, won three commitments from angels after pitching his company in March at an Open Angel Forum event in San Francisco. He then turned to AngelList and received three more commitments to close a funding round at $1.2 million in June. The service, he says, "is good at getting worthy start-ups into the inbox of investors."

The free services come in the wake of recent criticism of the pay-to-pitch model, which some angel investors have argued is justified because they offer advice and should be paid for their time. Mr. Calacanis, an outspoken figure in the tech industry, last fall publicly admonished angel investment groups for charging bootstrapped entrepreneurs hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to pitch to them.

More on Angels

• What's an Angel Investor?
• How to Win Angel Funding
• Tips for Finding Angel Investors

Last month, Chris Hurley shut down his Revolutionary Angels service that proposed to charge entrepreneurs $4,995 for advisory services and entry into a business-plan competition that would award $250,000 to the winner. After soliciting submissions in October, Revolutionary Angels received only 20 entries, far short of its goal of 60 participants.

In retrospect, "$5,000 is a lot of money for early-stage entrepreneurs," said Mr. Hurley.

But the new free services aren't entirely altruistic. Both AngelList and Open Angel give their founders inside access to companies in which they might be interested in investing, and Messrs. Ravikant and Nivi can use AngelList to indirectly market Venture Hacks' start-up guides.

"We're just trying to open up the way entrepreneurs and angels connect," said Mr. Ravikant, a serial entrepreneur who has founded companies such as Epinions Inc.

Not all entrepreneurs have won investments. Jen Lilienstein, one of six entrepreneurs selected to pitch last month at an Open Angel forum in Los Angeles, hasn't raised any cash for her start-up, Kidzmet.com, which helps parents enroll their kids in extracurricular activities.

But Ms. Lilienstein says the event was helpful because angels stuck around for hours to proffer advice. Ms. Lilienstein says she is now in "a dating phase" with investors and continuing conversations.

Some pay-to-pitch services have changed their business models amid the criticism. In September, FundingUniverse LLC stopped charging a $125 fee for entrepreneurs to pitch at its events, attended by angels and loan providers like banks. The winners of its events receive a few thousand dollars in in-kind services, and sometimes, investments.

FundingUniverse does, however, sell products through its website, such as a $99 online "diagnostic tool" that analyzes a business's funding prospects. "We think the services we do charge for are perfectly acceptable," says Alexander Lawrence, a partner at the company.

Write to Scott Austin at scott.austin@dowjones.com