Tropo vs Twilio Youtube Debate Transcribed

(My take on this is neutral. I was asked to transcribe the debate to text. The video was created by a third party in response to an article on Hacker News that compared the two platforms.)

Tropo fan: Did you see the post on Hacker News about Tropo vs Twilio?

Twilio fan: Yes, I did

Tropo fan: What do you think about it?

Twilio fan: I think that Twilio is better.

Tropo fan: It seems that Tropo has more features.

Twilio fan: Twilio gave me a netbook.

Tropo fan: Tropo has international phone numbers. Does Twilio?

Twilio fan: No, but I got so wasted at Twilio's Christmas party I threw up in Dave McClure's hat.

Tropo fan: You threw up in his hat?

Twilio fan: Yes, he didn't mind. He has 499 others.

Tropo fan: That sounds like a lot of hats. Does Dave McClure know anything about telephony?

Twilio fan: No. He's a super angel. He doesn't know anything about telephony, but he curses a lot, and that is cool.

Tropo fan: Is that what makes him a super angel? All of the cursing?

Twilio fan: Yes. He also plays ultimate frisbee, and he owns lots of hats.

Tropo fan: Yes, you mentioned the hats already. Tropo supports speech recognition. Does Twilio?

Twilio fan: No. ____ the noise.

Tropo fan: What did you say?

Twilio fan: That's what Dave McClure says to say anytime we don't like something. ____ the noise. He is a super angel.

Tropo fan: Didn't Dave McClure say open source is for losers?

Twilio fan: ____ the noise. Super angel.

Tropo fan: Tropo is open source. Is Twilio?

Twilio fan: No. ____ the noise. Super angel.

Tropo fan: But isn't Twilio built on top of Asterisk and a hodgepodge of other open source software?

Twilio fan: Yes, but Twilio isn't open source. Open is for losers.

Tropo fan: But it sounds like Twilio just glued together a bunch of open source software and now is charging developers to use it.

Twilio fan: ____ the noise. Twilio gave me a netbook.

Tropo fan: Yes. You said that already. Tropo is completely free for developers. Is Twilio free?

Twilio fan: No. You have to give them your credit card in order to get a phone number, but they sent me a t-shirt, so I didn't mind.

Tropo fan: It's beginning to sound like you only like Twilio because they give you prizes and free drinks.

Twilio fan: ____ the noise. I have to go now. There is huge party at the Twilio headquarters, and I don't want to miss it. They just raised 12 million dollars, and I heard they are spending all 12 million on booze, iPads, and unicorn hats.

Tropo fan: Wow, twelve million dollars can buy a lot of booze, iPads, and unicorns hats. I hope you have fun at your party.



... Connect with me on Linkedin at http://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannebowen, Facebook, Youtube, TMC at http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/, iTunes channel or Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/suzannebowen, or at global events face to face to develop business and innovation.

Golden Numbers or Virtual Phone Numbers

Mobilink, Warid Telecom, Zong, and Ufone, well-known mobile phone service providers in Pakistan, are now offering Golden, Platinum and Diamond Phone Numbers. What are they? What do they do for the cell phone service customers and for the Pakistan mobile phone service providers? Who can buy them? Where can they make those numbers ring? First, they are not virtual phone numbers and cannot be used over direct inward dialing on SIP services.

They are phone numbers that are easy to remember such as 0300 2 777777, such as when noted on billboards as we drive down the highway. Potential and current customers are more likely to call the numbers because of the repetition of digits and patterns of digits that are memorable. This means, the mobile phone service provider is very likely to keep the customer who owns the special phone number, unless porting is easy in Pakistan from one provider to another. It also means the receiver of the call, whether that receiver is an organization or individual, is very likely to get more phone calls from those who are important to them ... friends, customers, vendors, and such. Only those in Pakistan can buy the phone numbers. The phone numbers will ring only to the cell phone that the service provider is providing service on ... Mobilink, Warid Telecom, Zong, Ufone, and others.

Will people outside of Pakistan call these special phone numbers to reach the owner? Very unlikely! What might be a better way to get people outside of Pakistan to call businesses and individuals in Pakistan? Virtual phone numbers that are local to the caller!

What are the arguments against Pakistan (or any country) mobile phone service providers making available for sale international phone numbers to their customers? One, the customers may use them for fraud. Everything on Earth can be used for fraud. Does that mean we should stop using everything? Two, this may make Pakistan mobile phone service providers lose revenue. What? Show me how.

When the Pakistan mobile phone service providers start offering USA, UK, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and other international phone number to their customers, new revenue is generated increasing ARPU and customer retention.

When cell phone service customers in Pakistan buy international phone numbers from their provider, they will have phone numbers that are local to the people who are important to them. Who are important people to you and me that are in other countries? They could be current or potential family, friends, customers, vendors, organizations and so on.

Example: would a global warming research scientist B at NASA GISS be more likely to call another research scientist A at the Institute of Environmental Studies Past Events - University of Karachi on Professor A's Karachi special phone number or her Huntsville, Alabama phone number? Professor B knows that Professor A works the University of Karachi, but wouldn't he be more likely to call the USA phone number?

As insignificant as the digits in a phone number may seem, the DID (direct inward dialing ... phone number)is very powerful. Mobile phone service operators are not taking advantage of what people and organizations really need to connect, grow and succeed ... making available international phone numbers. No one loses. Everyone gains the potential to discover new revenue, opportunities and success.

We can apply this discussion to any country's mobile phone service providers? Want your cell phone company to offer you international phone numbers? Ask yours to sign up at http://www.didx.net and find out more.


... Follow me on Twitter, TMC at http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/, my iTunes podcasts on VoIP and other technologies, or at global events face to face to develop business and innovation.

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Cry a Little, Laugh a Lot and Keep it UP

When people make negative reference to where you live, where you were born, your gender, lifestyle, culture, religion and other such social and personal characteristics in business, it just makes you and me realize what?

My first thought is ... for example, okay, so I am a white woman, the daughter of a protestant preacher and Vietnam War veteran, the wife of a USA government civil servant employee who works under the Department of Defense ... and I must say, it is true. On one hand, my husband tells me that I have to set my expectations for myself and my company higher than if I were a man. That's not a mystery to me.

My business partner who started Super Technologies, Inc. with me and many of the people in my company are from India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, but they are also some of the brightest, wisest, hard-working people I have ever met in my life.

I have traveled a lot in my life as a teacher, writer, entrepreneur, and business-owner with the goal to help my customers, number 1, and I do know that people do business differently in each area of the world.

But when I read something like this, after the countless 10-16 hour days that I and everyone in my company work and care for our customers, I admit for few moments that I want to cry.

But I can't. Tomorrow will be a new day.

Read the whole thread at http://lists.digium.com/pipermail/asterisk-biz/2010-November/thread.html#start with search phrase: DIDX Query ... to find the following comments about www.didx.net.

> The debasement, cultural Third Worldisation, and used car salesmanship
> of the VoIP origination business presently being ascribed to DIDX in
> this thread is a real story, consisting of real thoughts by real
> people that is a useful data point from an empirical perspective.
> Everyone is, of course, free to make their own judgments and
> purchasing decisions.  However, there is clearly sufficient consensus
> around this angle on it that it's not just a figment of one
> disgruntled individual's imagination.

You can imagine after 11 years of working with a global team to help thousands of voip companies have success with easier, more flexible choice of DID and DDI ... to read such a summary...

Find me networking for business and lifetime friendships at http://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannebowen.

Meet Up with Like Minds in Innovative Mobile Everything at GoMobile

Sign up with code word " didx " or " techistan " to get red carpet treatment! GoMobile.



More DIDX and Techistan sponsored and recommended events at http://www.techistan.com/2009/10/15/techistan-recommends-global-events/ around the world. November seems to be the month of the best conferences in Asia and Middle East!

.. other blogs from our Super Technologies' team at http://blogs.didx.net/ and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/, our online magazine at http://www.techistan.com/, our iTunes channel, and DIDX podcasts. Find out how to bring new customers to your telephone company with local phone numbers from 70 countries. We are excited to be a part of helping 1000s around the world start a business, have success and connect with others via our Super Technologies' services such as DIDX, Techistan, Virtual Phoneline, CFMS or HVOIP white label business and more.

Sharing CFMS with a Few Dozen Entrepreneurs

I haven't been blogging nor running much on SuperTec blogs nor my TMCNET blog in the last week because of a four letter acronym CFMS.

We (Super Technologies, Inc.) are in the middle of helping a few dozen new businesses start up with Call Forward Management System. It's quite hectic and enjoyable. DIDX members are often some of the most fascinating entrepreneurs. They are not necessarily from within the IP communications industry. They are often outside of it and see the potential of layering local international phone numbers for what feels like 50 million different reasons. Virtualphoneline is a general example.

I spoke with Jim Van Meggelen yesterday because I needed some inspiration and I want to set up a podcast interview with him soon, and while talking, we agreed that these are the movers and shakers, these entrepreneurs who serve a special market niche in ways that you and I never thought of before.

They choose the CFMS business we offer because it comes with what they have been trying to do manually (which wastes a lot of valuable time) for a few months or even years: sign up, sales, billing, ticketing communications system, fraud prevention tools; reports for call details, sales, past due; ring to options such as Google Talk, MSN instant messenger, PSTN, SIP, IAX2, FWD, Truphone, and the list goes on.

In about 61 minutes, I start the first of 12 CFMS tours, and I can't wait to hear these ladies and gentlemen's business plans which will include using CFMS.

(As an aside, like as if this blog is a diary, I have gained 15 pounds in the past 12 months of travel, sitting at a computer, a reduction of running from 2007 ... 50 miles per week to 2-6 miles per week. It's amazing. I need to get back into running for my physical and emotional health.)

... browse some of our team's other blogs at http://blogs.didx.net and http://blog.tmcnet.com/monetizing-ip-communications/. You're welcome to comment, contribute, and collaborate any time.