When the Internet is used for communications by voice, facsimile, or video conferencing the process is called Internet telephony. Known as voice over the Internet VoI or voice over IP, VoIP, in this system, sound is converted into digital packets that are then transmitted over the internet to the receiver where it is once again converted into sound or text.
All one needs is a multimedia computer, a high speed Internet connection, a sound card, speakers, and a microphone. Since it reduces telecommunication costs significantly, many individuals and businesses are adopting this system. The charges of internet telephony are not dependant on the distance but just a flat fixed rate for use of bandwidth. The only thing is that both you and the person you are calling will need to have the same or compatible software.
First introduced in 1995 the PC-to-PC telephony is set to grow from US$ 1.96 billion in 2003 to US$9.08 billion in 2007. Industry experts predict that over half the phone traffic in the world will be based on IP protocol.
To use the VoIP system, all you need is a regular phone, an adapter, broadband Internet service, and a subscription to a VoIP service. All your offices on a LAN or WAN can benefit from a common phone system with extension dialing, seamless call transfers, voice mail, caller ID, conference calls, music-on-hold, free phone calls, as well as ability to transfer data.
Even while making or receiving calls, you can surf the web or use other web based applications. You will also be able to retain your existing PSTN phone number if the provider you use has this facility. A VoIP provider is a telecommunications company that will handle the technical aspects of the calls and provide the interconnection between VoIP and PSTN networks. Internal calls are transmitted as data on your company network while external calls are transmitted through the network to a gateway which in turn connects to a public telephone network.
The advantages of Internet telephony are numerous the first being cost effectiveness. With a high speed internet connection phone calls can be made all over the world for almost free. By signing up with a VoIP provider you can get unlimited calls within the country at very low costs. The system is portable and you can take the headset or internet phone along with you when traveling. When plugged in to an internet connection anywhere in the world you can both make and receive calls at no extra costs. Wonderful features like call waiting, call forwarding, voice mail, caller ID, and three �way calling are all included with the Internet telephone connection at no extra cost.
The system is flexible and you will be able to send documents as well as pictures over the system while you are talking on the phone. The problems you are likely to encounter are: inability to call emergency services, loss of service during power outages, problems with clarity of sound, and scrambling of data. These are however being addressed on a war footing and problems small or big should be ironed out quickly.
VoIP is all set to be the industry standard for telephone communication in the future and is all set to change communications forever.
About the Author :Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for http://www.1866Voip.com , the premier website to find help on Voip including topics on online voip, voip phone, voip service providers, voip solutions, business voip, internet telephony voip and more. He also freelances for the premier Ringtones site http://www.1888Ringtones.com
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Future Of Online Video Advertising
Copyright 2006 Jim Edwards
Without a doubt, online video increasingly influences the way we expect to digest content on the Internet.
As high-speed access becomes the norm in households that actually spend money online, video will pervade even more of every user's experience.
Besides the enriched content online video provides for viewers, it has also sparked yet another online "gold rush" for online businesses.
The dash for cash this time centers on who can figure out how to put effective advertising into the video mix.
But, unearthing these online riches entails balancing the advertising content so businesses can make money while at the same time not alienating viewers who, up until now, have not been forced to endure institutional advertising in their online video clips.
With some sites getting over a million visitors a day, the prize of figuring out how to get those visitors to buy something has proven too tempting for online advertisers to ignore.
In fact, some even speculate that video advertising technology in the not too distant future will allow contextual ads to appear in video based on actual dialogue in the videos.
Though this sounds exciting, my experience with creating online video tells me that, for most big companies, online advertising won't work with any measurable effectiveness.
For example, one of the most popular videos online right now shows kids with a Pepsi or Coke bottle dropping Mentos candies into a two-liter container.
The ensuing chemical reaction makes for an explosive show. On the surface, you might think one of the soda manufacturers or the candy maker would want their ads to appear within the video, but would they?
I don't think Coke wants to encourage people to make bombs out of their product.
However, an ad for a book about pranks or mischievous projects with common household items might sell like bottled water in the desert.
Another obstacle faced by advertisers who want to ride along in other people's videos involves the fact that TV advertising doesn't work online for a very basic reason: the Internet is NOT TV!
When someone watches TV, they are typically in a very physically passive mode.
They sit back in their chair, feet up, drink in one hand, remote control in the other and a bag of chips in their ever-expanding lap.
Conversely, when someone watches video online, they usually sit upright, leaning forward, mouse firmly in hand, and ready to click away on to the next thing at the first sign of boredom.
In short, people physically and mentally won't stand for a traditional TV advertising approach when it comes to online video.
So what will work in online video advertising?
Simply this: advertisers must create their own videos to go with the ads they want to run.
They can't just plop 15-30 seconds of advertising material into someone else's video and expect to turn a profit very often.
Video advertisers must understand that the line between video ads and video content is a blurred one that can't be separated by "And now, a word from our sponsor."
The videos themselves, not the ads, must build a desire within the viewer to find out more about a product or service.
This especially holds true for smaller companies and individuals who, unlike Coke and Pepsi, don't have millions of dollars to throw at online video to "build a brand."
The real winners in online video will understand that the marketing message and the delivery method are one in the same.
Taking the "easy road" of inserting TV ads into videos won't generate a profit for the vast majority who try to make it work.
------
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-creator of an amazing course that will teach you step-by-step and click-by-click how to get your own money-making videos posted online... "Finally! A Quick and Easy Way For YOU To Painlessly Create, Post and PROFIT From Your Own Money-Making Online Videos... Without Being a Computer Geek or Paying Outrageous Fees To A Webmaster!" => http://www.WebsiteVideoSecrets.com
Without a doubt, online video increasingly influences the way we expect to digest content on the Internet.
As high-speed access becomes the norm in households that actually spend money online, video will pervade even more of every user's experience.
Besides the enriched content online video provides for viewers, it has also sparked yet another online "gold rush" for online businesses.
The dash for cash this time centers on who can figure out how to put effective advertising into the video mix.
But, unearthing these online riches entails balancing the advertising content so businesses can make money while at the same time not alienating viewers who, up until now, have not been forced to endure institutional advertising in their online video clips.
With some sites getting over a million visitors a day, the prize of figuring out how to get those visitors to buy something has proven too tempting for online advertisers to ignore.
In fact, some even speculate that video advertising technology in the not too distant future will allow contextual ads to appear in video based on actual dialogue in the videos.
Though this sounds exciting, my experience with creating online video tells me that, for most big companies, online advertising won't work with any measurable effectiveness.
For example, one of the most popular videos online right now shows kids with a Pepsi or Coke bottle dropping Mentos candies into a two-liter container.
The ensuing chemical reaction makes for an explosive show. On the surface, you might think one of the soda manufacturers or the candy maker would want their ads to appear within the video, but would they?
I don't think Coke wants to encourage people to make bombs out of their product.
However, an ad for a book about pranks or mischievous projects with common household items might sell like bottled water in the desert.
Another obstacle faced by advertisers who want to ride along in other people's videos involves the fact that TV advertising doesn't work online for a very basic reason: the Internet is NOT TV!
When someone watches TV, they are typically in a very physically passive mode.
They sit back in their chair, feet up, drink in one hand, remote control in the other and a bag of chips in their ever-expanding lap.
Conversely, when someone watches video online, they usually sit upright, leaning forward, mouse firmly in hand, and ready to click away on to the next thing at the first sign of boredom.
In short, people physically and mentally won't stand for a traditional TV advertising approach when it comes to online video.
So what will work in online video advertising?
Simply this: advertisers must create their own videos to go with the ads they want to run.
They can't just plop 15-30 seconds of advertising material into someone else's video and expect to turn a profit very often.
Video advertisers must understand that the line between video ads and video content is a blurred one that can't be separated by "And now, a word from our sponsor."
The videos themselves, not the ads, must build a desire within the viewer to find out more about a product or service.
This especially holds true for smaller companies and individuals who, unlike Coke and Pepsi, don't have millions of dollars to throw at online video to "build a brand."
The real winners in online video will understand that the marketing message and the delivery method are one in the same.
Taking the "easy road" of inserting TV ads into videos won't generate a profit for the vast majority who try to make it work.
------
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-creator of an amazing course that will teach you step-by-step and click-by-click how to get your own money-making videos posted online... "Finally! A Quick and Easy Way For YOU To Painlessly Create, Post and PROFIT From Your Own Money-Making Online Videos... Without Being a Computer Geek or Paying Outrageous Fees To A Webmaster!" => http://www.WebsiteVideoSecrets.com
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