Waiting for the World to change

I just noticed this over at Instant Messaging Planet:

"Digsby Merges IM, Social Networking and E-mail
This past week dotSyntax announced Digsby, an IM client that allows users to log into an existing AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Google Talk or Jabber account and then merge everything into one buddy list. Duplicate contacts from different IM networks are merged, and Digsby also lets users send SMS messages from IM windows, change status, log conversations and more.

Users can also add their existing POP or Web-based mail accounts (such as Hotmail or Gmail) and receive notifications when new e-mail arrives. Users can add social network accounts, such as Facebook or MySpace and receive alerts for new friend requests, messages, group invites and other feeds. The application is currently in private beta and accepting beta tester applications at the Digsby Web site. "

I guess I'm struggling to come to grips with the underlying business model and who'all the client base will be over time. Don't get me wrong - I like Facebook, heck I even like LinkedIn, even with its Puritan mind set. But all these hyper-cross-pollinated IM services...?

On the other hand, networks that integrate rich semantically relevant results (FAST acquired by Microsoft) or networks that can be visualized (VisiblePath and Hoovers) seem like a move in the right strategic direction.

I wonder if any of this would work in the enterprise (inside joke!)?

Business Effectiveness of Video emails

On Tuesday I had an opportunity to meet with a client down in Visalia. As you may know Spring is in full swing here in California so I jumped at the chance. During the drive down I passed near the San Luis resevoir - it is just magnificent at this time!

But how can I most effectively communicate this to you? Clearly a well crafted narrative is one approach, perhaps with pictures, but better yet how about some video?!! I want to be able to reach out to you on every sensory channel. What it looked like, how it sounded, how the newly covered green hillsides smelled!

The same is true in Sales & Marketing communication. My goodness, how have we reached the point where I actually begin to appreciate the spam from a Kenyan banker because he included a picture of the chest of money he is attempting to get through customs! We send out tons of text-based blather and are elated if we get a 1% response.

One solution that is breaking new ground is here - video-embedded email. The raw technology to deliver this has been around for a while but it hasn't been offered as a well packaged service that I know of.

The guys at Point Marketing have done a nice job.