Shout Conference Focuses on Internet Voice

SAN MATEO (02/16/2000) - The idea that voice over the Internet can be used as a practical tool for enhancing business was a primary focus at the Shout 2000 educational conference earlier this month.

The show, intended to stir a discussion among business leaders, Internet developers, analysts, and members of the media about producing a variety of live interactions on the Web, featured talks on the possibilities of such interactions as well as tutorials on deploying voice applications on the Web.

Voice capability added to an e-commerce Web site can help increase the closure rate of sales, according to Jeremy Verba, president and COO at HearMe, a Mountain View, Calif.-based developer of real-time Internet communication tools and services.

"The instantaneous nature of voice communication is a very compelling case for business [use]," Verba said. "Leveraging voice is very useful for businesses that want to create more of a relationship with customers and other businesses."

Other ways in which businesses can benefit from voice include training, internal and external technical support, collaboration among users in multiple locations, and distance learning.

Voice over the Internet has been talked about at length for a number of years, but day-to-day use for businesses and consumers is still in its infancy.

Infrastructure hurdles, mainly the bandwidth needed to accommodate voice and video, have stood in the way of practical and widespread applications.

"The constraining item is bandwidth, not the infrastructure," Verba said. "As bandwidth costs come down, I think voice and other interactions will become ubiquitous."

The technology also is still being fine-tuned as to how it integrates into business processes, according to Rob Csongor, executive vice president at HearMe.

"The client management components on the back end are what is being worked on now," Csongor said. "Mainly, businesses are struggling with how to tie the browser activity to a service and manage all that user information."

But show producers and panelists are now focusing on getting the word out about the benefits of real-time Web communication for businesses and consumers and on generating excitement about these possibilities.

"Voice is the catalyst here. It is a concept that people can understand as a communication [tool] that is driving interactivity on the Internet," Verba said.

Panel discussions at the conference also raised points about how businesses can leverage the power of voice to achieve a level of intimacy and connection not afforded by a keyboard. Other discussion topics included generating revenue with interactive content, predictions for the future of communication over the Internet, and building live communities.

A business application of voice over the Internet includes using real-time voice to bolster customer service by addressing questions not satisfied by information on a company's Web site, according to conference leaders.

TV talk show host Jerry Springer was on hand for a keynote speech exploring how, as voice and other human methods of communicating become commonplace on the Web, so-called ordinary people will provide some of the most compelling content on the Internet.

During his address, Springer noted the Internet's "enormous capability to connect people" and called the Internet "the final frontier for giving a voice to every man."

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