Nice little piece on HEAR:
<<Mountain View, Calif.-based HearMe is another kind of competitor in the Internet telephony market. The company doesn't own or lease wires or networks, but instead focuses on the software and related technology that makes it possible for groups to chat--literally--with each other through the Web.
The company started out focused on the online gaming community. But a side feature that allowed Web players to speak to each other live took hold and the company changed directions to tap that market.
Now, about 600 million minutes a month flow through HearMe-enabled sites run by partners ranging from MTV Online and Sony Online Entertainment to Theglobe.com, TalkCity and CBS MarketWatch.
Less than half of the traffic stems from HearMe's own still-active gaming groups, down from 90% of the traffic two years ago.
The company's new strategy was strengthened with its recent acquisition of AudioTalk Networks, an IP telephony technology firm with experience in PC-to-phone and phone-to-PC conference calling, voicemail and voice-enabled messaging.
Now HearMe sees its technology as a key component for businesses that want to create interactive communities, hold live Web events of business conferences or add live voice capabilities to their Internet sites.
Individuals have already embraced HearMe's approach, as evidenced by the company site's rich variety of chatting communities--from family conference calls and live karaoke to multi-player games and plain old chat rooms.
When HearMe added a video component to sister site Mplayer.com, users jumped on it, according to Paul Matteucci, HearMe's chief executive. "Roughly 70% to 80% of the voice-user minutes shifted over to [the] See&HearMe [area]," he said. "The video is only seven frames a minute, but people just flock to it. . . . A lot of people go there just to see other people."
Last year, HearMe nearly doubled its sales to $15.5 million, but losses also doubled to $25 million. The company raised $74 million in its public offering more than a year ago and saw its stock jump to $37.50 in December before falling to $6.56 Friday.
But analysts have been impressed with HearMe's ability to draw users with compelling voice applications. Now they are anxious to see the company step up its move to business applications--and the higher-profit arena of licensing its technology.
Matteucci agrees wholeheartedly. "I think the real juice comes from us selling the technology to do all these things. . . . We've got an 85% gross margin with licensing.">>
latimes.com
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