New Google Voice – Telecoms beware

Executives in the major telcos will be feeling heat as Google unveiled their latest communications move this week – welcome Google Voice.

Google Voice is “an application that helps you better manage your voice communications.” Says the Google product managers.

The new application improves the way you use your phone. You can get transcripts of your voicemail (see the video below) and archive and search all of the SMS text messages you send and receive. You can also use the service to make low-priced international calls and easily access Goog-411 directory assistance.

The Google Voice service is built on the Grand Central platform that Google acquired a couple of years ago.

GrandCentral offers many great features, including a single number to ring your home, work, and mobile phones, a central voicemail inbox that you could access on the web, and the ability to screen calls by listening in live as callers leave a voicemail.

It’s the sort of offering that will really shake up the telecommunications industry. Google has been befriending many of the telcos in an effort to break into the mobile space, but this latest move might have many of them rethinking the relationship.

Google Voice will eventually integrate with Google apps meaning users will have a seedless journey across all Google services – providing a powerful tool for consumers and business owners alike.

Beware of Domain name dispute emails from Asia

Domain Name spam – domain name con artists

I have had a few emails recently from companies claiming to be contacting us because someone else wants to buy up Kenkai domain names. They claim that they are a registration company and they are doing you the courtesy of contacting you prior to selling domain names that use your brand name. Of course, what they then suggest is that you buy the domain names from them first to protect your brand name. It’s not such a bad idea to protect your brand name, but not at exorbitant prices!

These domain name spammers and con artists pray on people that don’t know any better. People that don’t realise that if you are based in the UK and you own the .co.uk and .com versions of a domain name, it doesn’t really matter if someone then comes in and buys the .ltd.com version of the domain name, it’s never going to rank higher in the engines over a well optimised .com or .co.uk website with superior longevity.

If you do want to buy such domain names to protect your brand name, go to somewhere like 123-Reg, who you can buy a .co.uk for £2.79 per year and a .com, .org, .info or .biz for £8.99 per year and don’t pay the domain name con-men £35 or £45 for the same domain name. If you want to check to see if your domain name is available you can check it out here: domain name registration.
Westtechnology.asia

The most recent such email I received, was from an Asia company calling themselves, westtechnology.asia, from a member of their staff called Angle Yu using the email address, angle.yu@westech.hk.cn.

They claim that a company called Volats International have asked them to buy Kenkai.asia, kenkai.com.hk, kenkai.com.tw, kenkai.hk, kenkai.net.cn, kenkai.org.cn,
kenkai.tw, as well as the ”Internat Trademark” kenkai. These pointless domain names cost $200 plus each!

Volats International may well want to buy these domain names and Westtechnology.asia may well not be a bunch of conning, spam-bastards, sending unsolicited emails out with the intention of ripping off unsuspecting site owners. In fact, I’m sure both Volats and West Technology are genuine, honest companies and the fact that they use spam to solicit their business and that it has been a month and none of these domain names are yet owned by Volats International, is purely a coincidence.

Whether Westtechnology.asia are genuine or not and whether Volats International exists or doesn’t, I won’t be buying these worthless domain names in a hurry and I would suggest that unless you are targeting a Tiawanese market, for example, don’t buy them from these people either.

If you have an example of similar emails, I would love to hear from you.

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