July 2009

Google Voice

Submitted by Matt on Mon, 07/20/2009 - 22:22

I just received an invite to Google Voice. I've been hoping this would happen, because I think it has the potential to revolutionize the way small businesses handle their calls.

What is Google Voice? The simplest way to find out is by hearing it from Google themselves. http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html

But I'll highlight a few things.

Basically, the service allows you to have a virtual call center, free of charge. You get one number, from any locale you want, and you can then forward anyone who calls that number to any phone that you want.

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Don't Reinvent the Wheel - Use Open Source

Submitted by Matt on Sun, 07/19/2009 - 19:46

Don't reinvent the wheel.  It's a cliche for a reason.  And it's true in most aspects of life, especially business.  Very rarely will you want to start from scratch - with anything.

When launching a product or starting a business, would you like to invent plastic again?  How about paper?  The pen?  Of course not.

And yet with web development, many desire to do just that.  They desire to throw away years of experience and dedicated development in favor of untested, custom code.

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