Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Skype running hot, turbo-charged on Metcalfe's Law -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elmer Flugum who wrote (78)	8/30/2005 3:09:14 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Respond to of 170

<From the individual user's point of view, there are also questions about whether this new form of instant access could become as oppressively intrusive as e-mail often seems> That's a faulty worry. We have, for decades, had free local telephone calls with everyone in the telephone directory and our personal telephone directories by the phone and several telephone numbers in our heads from frequent use. But we don't spend all day hassling each other and being hassled because we can speak for no charge. Nor do people on instant messenger services spend all day hassling and being hassled. Same with skyping each other. What we do is retain civil social behaviour where we all carry within our minds a situational awareness with each person so we have a reasonably good idea of when and how we should contact somebody to establish communication. Maybe it's just for a chat to catch up, or to exchange some information, seek co-operation on something, arrange a meeting or whatever it is. Nearly all of us respect each other's need for communication balance in our lives. The spammers and telephone advertizers tend to go over the top, but the high job turnover and cost of those occupations tends to limit their intrusiveness. Being anti-social is not a good way to run a life in the human community. Neither is email intrusive. People know to respect other people and don't go blasting off emails to all and sundry. If they do, the old social clobbering machine swings into gear and they learn to be more circumspect. Of course some situations involve huge amounts of email [such as being Prime Minister of a country with millions of serfs wanting to be free and sending emails complaining about this that and the other]. Those situations take management. People who don't like the heat should stay out of the kitchen. Skype is great. Good riddance to the olde style kleptocratic telecom monopolies and their government backers. Imagine the tax cut by telecom companies going down the gurgler. Governments won't like that. They'll probably try to stop skype somehow, which would become a political liability in democratic societies, so the politicians will have trouble keeping their hands in the till. Mqurice