A little social media competition

Social media has clearly come a long way from the hackers and phreakers of the 50s.  From having to fight for the right just to use a party line to cell phones that do all but clean your bedroom for you, the business of social media seems to foster competition in the field of communication.  This social media trend is responsible for the new Google product, "Call Phone."  Unlike Skype, "Call Phone" offers free calls to anyone, even those non-"Call Phone" users.

To be fair, Skype, which advertises "free calling", does have that capability.  The catch is that this "free" calling is limited to other Skype users.  The download is fast and free, but that still leaves those who have not downloaded Skype, like most professional offices and businesses, out of the "free calling" loop.  Google has essentially just revolutionized the "free calling" world - namely, in that it actually means all calls are free (for Gmail users or for those who have access to a Gmail account).  Calls to businesses, cell phones on any carrier, anyone...even those without Google's new "Call Phone" product.  "Call Phone" is currently only available for free in the US and Canada, but social media trends and developments show that worldwide connectivity (for free) is only a matter of time.


Though it does require the same software, "Call Phone" is different than Google's mainstay product "Google Voice", which takes written records of voice mails left in users' mailbox, albeit fairly inaccurately most of the time.  "Call Phone" also differs from Google's voice chat capability.  Both Google Voice and Voice Chat are available only to other Google Voice and Voice Chat users, and both products require both users to have computers.  "Call Phone" frees one person from that cumbersome computer and allows the user to call anyone for free, really.

This makes for much better business.  As the cost of living continues to creep upwards, and the unemployment rate holds steady, people are able to afford less and less.  Anything for free is more help than businesses know; being able to make a free phone call could mean the difference between a job - and thus, food on the table - and prolonging the resource-draining, stressful, dreary cycle of unemployment.

Besides the fierce competition for the few jobs that are out there, something else for businesses to note is that businesses that show signs of treating their employees well will attract better candidates (as if employers need more applicants).  Companies like Google who make the effort to care for "the little people" - that is, those who can't afford those fancy phones (if any phone at all) and have to resort to today's equivalent of hacking appreciate the gesture.  Google may not have had that in mind, but their latest new product that enables people to do something important for free is just one more attribute that makes Google a better business.

Bettering business means attracting quality employees.  Even though the economic climate is set in favor of employers (there are literally hundreds of applicants per job, no matter what the position), businesses that attract the most dedicated, intelligent and enthusiastic workers will improve much faster than their counterparts.  Social media efforts like free calling and usage allowance that indicate that businesses are interested in the people they want working for them will attract better applicants, which will, in turn, better businesses.

Photo credit: iClarified.com