Web ads try to convert clicks into phone calls

Grok Headline matches for Web ads try to convert clicks into phone calls

Apple III: one-click to buy = good; 20
clicks and 2 phone calls to return = bad

Apple III: one-click to buy = good; 20
clicks and 2 phone calls to return = bad 01/07/2004 02:42 PM
But alas, the story is not a completely happy one. For in addition to the iMac, I needed a router. At first bought a Belkin router from the Apple site. (By now, I had changed the one-click preferences to ship to my parents, so I was able to buy the Belkin router with one click.) But then seeing that I could get a Belkin wireless router elsewhere (of course, not on the site selling Airports), I tried to cancel the order from Apple. Yet when I went to return the Belkin router, life was not so simple. There was no link in the confirming email, and it took a good routing around on the Apple site till I found a web form to request the canceling of an order (it was too late to call, I discovered after calling). So literally 20 minutes after I placed the order, on Christmas Day, I sent a request to cancel it. Today, five days later, I received an email informing me that it was too late to cancel the order -- which I had discovered, since my Dad called to say the router had arrived. Twenty minutes on hold later, I received a RMA to return the router -- of course, we pay shipping. I wonder just what the thinking of the Apple Exec who set up this one-click-to-buy, a million-clicks-to-fail-to-cancel system was: "We'll make it really hard for them to cancel an order, and maybe they'll get so frustrated, they just won't cancel it!" Yes, that is brilliant. Oh well, here's to the Crazy Ones.

Turning Clicks Into Calls

Turning Clicks Into Calls 06/08/2004 04:11 AM
Apparently, the next ads for search engines will encourage consumers to call instead of click to buy from advertisers in order to get ads from businesses that may not have websites but definitely do phone orders. Without clicks, though, the search engines have to find ways to be able to track the calls, so special toll-free numbers may have to be used, or other ingenious ways must be devised, in order to make sure the ads are effective. (the second coming of fax, perhaps?) Too bad for dial-up users who don't have a second line, but cell phones might be able to help out the broadband-challenged to place a call instead of a click. And one would imagine this could really take off if VoIP gets more popular.

Cat's Clicks: Don't Miss Important Calls

Cat's Clicks: Don't Miss Important Calls 08/21/2004 10:08 PM
G4 Tech TV Aug 22 2004 2:13AM GMT

Will FindWhat.com's Calls Trump Clicks?

Will FindWhat.com's Calls Trump Clicks? 12/22/2004 01:10 AM
New pay-per-call paid-search engine model has potential for luring new ad business.

Iowa phone company tries to block
incoming cell phone calls

Iowa phone company tries to block
incoming cell phone calls 08/16/2004 05:48 PM
Iowa phone company plans to block cell phone call in a dispute with wireless carriers. The Iowa Utilities Board has prevented the plan for now.

Cell Phone Users Interrupt Sex for Phone
Calls

Cell Phone Users Interrupt Sex for Phone
Calls 04/11/2005 08:07 PM
user survey reported

consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/cell_sex.html
track this site | 3 links

Local Dallas, TX Auto Dealer Receives
800 Phone Calls in One Day After
Featuring Vanity 800 Phone Number in
Radio and Television Jingles

Local Dallas, TX Auto Dealer Receives
800 Phone Calls in One Day After
Featuring Vanity 800 Phone Number in
Radio and Television Jingles 06/05/2005 11:17 PM
Empire Suzuki opened in the Dallas market in November 2004. In February 2005, Empire Suzuki launched their ad campaign featuring a vanity toll-free phone number, 1-800-NEW-RIDE in a jingle – written by Tom Georgalis, owner of Empire Suzuki. Within six weeks the dealership received over 5,500 calls, with an all time high of over 800 calls in a single day. Speak with Tom Georgalis, owner of Empire Suzuki, about his recent business success in Dallas. [PRWEB Jun 2, 2005]

U.S. To Regulate Web Phone Calls?

U.S. To Regulate Web Phone Calls? 12/02/2003 09:51 AM
CBS News Dec 2 2003 9:03AM ET

FCC to look at how to regulate Net phone
calls

FCC to look at how to regulate Net phone
calls 11/07/2003 10:00 AM
SiliconValley.com Nov 7 2003 9:25AM ET

Add Video to Phone Calls Without a PC

Add Video to Phone Calls Without a PC 01/03/2005 09:45 PM
Arab News Jan 4 2005 1:26AM GMT

FCC: Web phone calls must allow wiretaps

FCC: Web phone calls must allow wiretaps 08/04/2004 03:22 PM
MSNBC Aug 4 2004 6:41PM GMT

Skype goes server-less for Net phone
calls

Skype goes server-less for Net phone
calls 07/26/2004 09:37 PM
SkypeOut lets Net phone users place calls to traditional phone networks for about two cents a minute.

Q&A: How do Internet phone calls work

Q&A: How do Internet phone calls work 12/12/2003 06:50 AM
USA Today Dec 12 2003 6:19AM ET

FCC Will Not Regulate Internet Phone
Calls

FCC Will Not Regulate Internet Phone
Calls 02/13/2004 12:43 AM
NewsMax.com Feb 13 2004 4:45AM GMT

FCC to write rules for Net phone calls

FCC to write rules for Net phone calls 02/13/2004 02:03 AM
Boston Globe Feb 13 2004 6:48AM GMT

Device Allows Internet Calls from Any
Phone

Device Allows Internet Calls from Any
Phone 04/16/2005 09:38 PM

Untangling Internet Phone Calls

Untangling Internet Phone Calls 04/30/2004 07:37 AM
ABCNEWS.com Apr 30 2004 12:13PM GMT

Coming soon... phone calls over the
Internet

Coming soon... phone calls over the
Internet 09/25/2004 11:53 AM
IOL: Independent Online Sep 25 2004 2:27PM GMT

Will FCC Regulate Internet Phone Calls?

Will FCC Regulate Internet Phone Calls? 12/02/2003 01:50 AM

Three phone calls that form a loop...

Three phone calls that form a loop... 06/22/2005 02:24 AM

So I'm standing in the bar after Cal's awesome event yesterday and my phone tells me that I have a voice mail. I find somewhere relatively quiet and try and listen to it - it's the people from Traceline ringing me up. They've left one of those utterly aggravating messages that sounds kind of urgent and alarming and downbeat but don't tell you anything so you're left to suspect the worse. Something like, "{Sigh} Mr Coates, I'm ringing from Traceline. {Sigh / Sympathetic noise} I'm ringing regarding your attempt to find your father. {Serious face inferred, maybe eyebrow action of some kind, perhaps a solitary tear} If you could ring me back I'll go into lurid details about how your absent father that you've not seen since you were four has been ground up by some kind of articulated sausagemeat machine after slipping on a patch of lard literally ten seconds after hearing you were looking for him." The whole last section is what's going on in my head, anyway. Then they leave a phone number in the UK at an insane staccato rhythm and hang up. Five attempts to get the number written down later, it decides to delete itself.

This kind of throws me for a loop. Is he dead? Are they ringing up to tell me that he's dead? Why else would they be so apparently evasive and sympathetic on the phone. I think about the time difference - they're now asleep and won't be awake until I'm asleep. I go out for Mexican food and try and put it out of my mind. They make Guacamole at the table. I have a Margarita-fueled microfight with a guy from Technorati about Microformats.

We wind the reel on and suddenly it's 4am PST and I'm asleep on Leslie's sofa and my mobile rings - it's the lady from Traceline. She's not at all apocalyptic now - evidently she had been a bit tired in the earlier phone call. Poor love. I become increasingly clear that Traceline should fire people who get moody when they've not had enough biscuits rather than let them take it out on the people to whom they're delivering news about lost/dead relatives. But that's another story. In the meantime, she has news and it's ... irritating. They've found someone who matches the sparse data that I was able to provide them with - they don't know his middle name, but he has the initial 'J' - and they're keen to get more information so that they can better assess if this is the right guy or not. Specifically they want to know his mother's maiden name. Unfortunately, I have no more information at all that I can provide. They agree to send me some details of the person they've found. I put down the phone. It's 4.05am.

New reactions - is this the right guy? What if it's not the right guy? Is this crap ever going to end? Why can't it be easy? Should I ring my mother and see if she knows his mother's maiden name after all? How the hell do I write a letter to someone who might be my father? This whole enterprise sucks - the whole point was that it would be the right guy and that if he was alive I could write to him and say what I needed to say and then even if he didn't reply at least I'd know he'd read it. At least I'd know he was alive. This whole vague bullshit - "Dear Mr Coates, I think you might be my birth father. Course you might not. Are you? Um. Love, your son? I think?" - what the crap is that about... That's no good at all.

4.15am, I decide to ring my mother. My little brother answers. I miss my little brother. I don't think he knows I'm doing any of this. No one in my family reads my weblog, anyway. My mother appears to be out, so I leave a sleepy message with him that doesn't mention any of the parental stuff.

And what I realise afterwards is that all in fact it did say was that it was 4am, I'm in the States, I sound a bit sad and I didn't leave a message. What I have done, in fact, is leave one of those utterly aggravating messages that sounds kind of urgent and alarming and downbeat but don't tell you anything so you're left to suspect the worse. I now imagine my mother getting home and sitting nervously by the phone trying to work out if I've been ground up by some kind of articulated sausage machine after slipping on a patch of lard. And of course she could ring me, but she won't...

FCC to Look Into Regulating Phone Calls
Over Internet

FCC to Look Into Regulating Phone Calls
Over Internet 12/05/2003 11:26 AM
CRM Assist Dec 5 2003 9:37AM ET

Net Phone Calls Must Be Able to Be
Tapped - FCC (Reuters)

Net Phone Calls Must Be Able to Be
Tapped - FCC (Reuters) 08/04/2004 11:17 AM
Reuters - Internet phone carriers such as Vonage should set up their systems so U.S. law enforcers can monitor suspicious calls, the Federal Communications Commission tentatively ruled on Wednesday.

FCC Considering Rules for Internet Phone
Calls

FCC Considering Rules for Internet Phone
Calls 11/07/2003 04:23 AM
Los Angeles Times Nov 7 2003 3:05AM ET

Qwest to forgo link-up fee for some Web
phone calls

Qwest to forgo link-up fee for some Web
phone calls 04/27/2004 06:03 AM
Seattle Times Apr 27 2004 9:45AM GMT

EC says online phone calls 'must be
regulated'

EC says online phone calls 'must be
regulated' 03/19/2005 02:27 AM
European Voice Mar 18 2005 5:26AM GMT

New E911 Service May Actually Delay
Phone Calls To 911

New E911 Service May Actually Delay
Phone Calls To 911 06/17/2004 05:16 AM
There's been an ongoing struggle to get the various wireless carriers to offer E911 functionality, so that police can quickly determine the location of a caller. However, a glitch in the way Verizon Wireless set up their E911 system means that some callers may experience a series of two second delays when calling 911 as the phone tries to pinpoint the callers location. As you might imagine, a two second delay on an emergency call can be quite a lot. The problem is unlikely to happen in most situations - only in cases where it's difficult for the GPS to get a read on the location. However, that probably isn't too comforting to the few people it will impact. Verizon is working to fix the problem. Sprint is quoted as saying they fixed this same problem last year, so it's obviously not a new issue. This seems like the type of issue you would try to solve as early as possible.

The New Miniature Computers (They Also
Make Phone Calls)

The New Miniature Computers (They Also
Make Phone Calls) 07/18/2004 08:04 PM
New York Times Jul 19 2004 0:15AM GMT

Is It Illegal To Listen In On Your Kids'
Phone Calls?

Is It Illegal To Listen In On Your Kids'
Phone Calls? 12/22/2004 01:16 AM
As various internet service providers and third party software firms are pushing software on parents that lets them eavesdrop on their kids' surfing habits, parents might want to be aware of a recent court ruling up in Washington state. The ruling didn't focus on the internet, but found that a mother who listened in on her daughter's phone call broke wiretap laws. The article, written for a Connecticut newspaper, then goes on to discuss whether or not the same ruling would apply in that state -- and it's a bit tricky. Part of the rationale for the ruling in Washington is that state wiretap laws require both parties to agree to be recorded. Connecticut (and most other states) only have a one person requirement -- but in the case where a parent is eavesdropping, the question then becomes whether or not they, as a legal guardian, have the right to give the consent to be wiretapped for their kid. Of course, this is just one of the many reasons why kids get mobile phones. However, with internet access, a similar question arises, but not many seem to have dealt with it. It's likely that similar cases will start to show up when people feel their privacy is violated by their parents spying on their online activities. Of course, some might point out that talking to your kids and trying to build a trusting relationship (not always easy, of course) might be a better way to keep them out of trouble than spying on them.

Teen Gets Prime Minister's Phone Calls

Teen Gets Prime Minister's Phone Calls 07/30/2004 03:51 PM
Recycling of phone numbers is not a new thing. My home phone, for instance, used to be the phone number for the local social security office, apparently. I get a fairly frequent stream of calls (even if I've had the number for many years already) from people trying to reach social security. Nowadays, the problem tends to come from recycling of mobile phone numbers. There was the well-publicized story of Chris Rock's old mobile phone number going to some woman. In the UK, there are problems with people receiving expensive premium SMS services they never ordered, but which were set up by the previous owner of the same number. Now, in Norway, a 16-year-old girl is receiving phone calls meant for the country's Prime Minister, after he ditched his mobile number, and it was recycled to her. How often do you get to say "sorry, wrong number," to leaders around the world?

Nigerian Worried Phone Calls May Kill
Them

Nigerian Worried Phone Calls May Kill
Them 07/19/2004 02:51 PM
An urban legend is making its way around Nigeria that has many people afraid to answer their phones. Apparently, a large number of people actually believe that picking up phone calls from specific numbers will kill them immediately. A list of phone numbers is being circulated, and it must suck if you actually have one of those phone numbers. The mobile phone operators in the country have been trying to get the message out that this is untrue, but apparently it's not traveling too well (one imagines the message is not being passed along via phone calls).

PocketMac HoldIt! pauses Mac for phone
calls

PocketMac HoldIt! pauses Mac for phone
calls 02/05/2005 09:19 PM
Information Appliance Associates on Friday released PocketMac HoldIt!, a utility that senses an incoming phone call and stops or pauses iTunes, DVD Player or El Gato's eyeTV, or simply mutes the computer's sound, runs an AppleScript or displays a warning. It can also run some or all of those actions simultaneously when the phone rings. Users plug a phone line into their Mac's modem port and run the US$12.95 application to get started. Mac OS X v10.3 is required.

US mulls regulating internet phone calls

US mulls regulating internet phone calls 12/02/2003 01:47 AM
ninemsn Dec 1 2003 8:35PM ET

Minn. can't control Internet phone calls

Minn. can't control Internet phone calls 12/30/2004 08:42 AM
Pittsburghlive.com - Thu Dec 30, 08:46 am GMT

FCC eyes regulating Internet phone calls

FCC eyes regulating Internet phone calls 11/06/2003 08:32 PM
SiliconValley.com Nov 6 2003 7:34PM ET

FCC Eyes Regulating Internet Phone Calls

FCC Eyes Regulating Internet Phone Calls 11/06/2003 07:26 PM
SiliconValley.com Nov 6 2003 6:06PM ET

Notes and Tips: Apple Phone Calls

Notes and Tips: Apple Phone Calls 04/16/2004 10:28 AM
Readers discuss their experiences with Apple phone solicitation.

FCC to look at how to regulate phone
calls made over the Internet

FCC to look at how to regulate phone
calls made over the Internet 11/06/2003 07:26 PM
San Francisco Chronicle Nov 6 2003 6:27PM ET

Teachers' union calls for camera phone
ban

Teachers' union calls for camera phone
ban 12/24/2003 06:36 AM
vnunet.com Dec 24 2003 6:07AM ET

Photo: Firefly phone calls on kids

Photo: Firefly phone calls on kids 04/14/2005 09:37 AM
The Firefly phone is small and simple--with just five keys to make and accept all calls.
Grok Description matches for Web ads try to convert clicks into phone calls
GrokA matches for Web ads try to convert clicks into phone calls

Web ads try to convert clicks into phone calls

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