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Stuart Henshall
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Shall I connect you to Microsoft? -- Jajah's Spam Gift

February 9, 2006 02:50 PM

Topics: Competitors

Shall I connect you to Microsoft? Perhaps I can connect Bush and ????? Welcome to Jajah reborn. As a valued reader said to me.. Here we have an online test-box that let's all the idiots and people who have nothing better to do... fill in phone numbers of people that might just spark a conversation. .... Perhaps soon they will add a listen along service and we can hear the confusion.

jajahclicktocall.pngI will try and be serious for a moment before.. extending the "Shall I connect you and listen in metaphor." Jajah has returned reinvented (see this story) as as a click to call app.Clearly the "free" offer is a problem. I'd never worked out last year where the money was behind them. However in this iteration they seem to have a contact address that suggests they are at least partially backed by Sequoia Capital. The marketing remains offbeat. In fact you wonder what joke will emerge next.

Using Jajah in this form. Enter any numbers you want. Well within reason. US numbers appear to work for three minutes of free calls. (It locks in the from number with the first call.)Then click the call button. Your number is connected, you are asked to hold while they connect / bridge the call to the other party. So Jajah is just a simple SIP exchange. You should think twice about "trust" before engaging in this type of service. It is a brokered call. In this iteration it doesn't seem to pass your caller ID to the other person either. Robin Good has a more detailed review which covers the signon process.

The spam potential for free has set me off with negative vibes. It is a proof of concept. There is nothing really slick in this. Ajax it and add your directory and everything and you have your whole phone on web. Secure and lock in your registered number and well.. less room for fraud. In fact why not just work with the Skylook guys and simple integrate it into Outlook. Ring your deskphone and your contact. Is that not one click calling. In the end this doesn't work because such calls should be peer to peer. There is no reason to have "Jajah" or anyone like them as "man in the middle". In certain situations there is but that is another story. Yep you could combine this with IM systems etc. This type of approach will just encourage users to have encryption at the edge.

Pragmatically. Fix the security issues. It could be real convenient in Internet Cafe's that won't let you secure Skype. You can dial your prepaid GSM SIM or a local number and bridge that global call.

Separately it makes it real easy to see how cookies remember your number. Thus there is a form of site presence potential that emerges here. Hi Stuart... you are back. May I connect you to? At least they are barking up the right sort of tree.

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Comments

Posted by: Charles Wong at February 10, 2006 12:01 AM

I agree JaJah is a "proof of concept", but it is also a potential problem for Skype.

Posted by: John S. Richards at February 10, 2006 9:18 AM

Stuart, I think your article is not well written. Where is an evidence of Spam? The tone used will put readers off and demotes the validity of Skypejournal. Readers can make up their own minds when presented pros & cons in a neutral manner about a subject. It would be much better if the first paragraph introduced the subject/product so readers know why to continue reading. Robin Good's article provides a good background on the product. Nothing wrong with giving a product a poor review, but it does feel like you are jumping the gun.

Posted by: Stuart [TypeKey Profile Page] at February 10, 2006 10:11 AM

John, As far as I can see anyone can put in two numbers and push "call" to connect those two people. The number you want to pester (my number) is seemingly locked with the first call, however I presume clearing the cookie enables one to try again. Connecting new people.

Your sign on procedure to access your minutes potentially elmininates this abuse. However, anyone that puts up an open "call broker" is potentially providing a spamming mechanism. It is one thing for two parties who desire to connect to protect their identities. However, unless I sign up I don't know that I want the blind date.

Additional issues will emerge when these types of systems become common place. My tone may have been too flippant. I'm sure it was for the developers. The comment was a direct quote even though not presented that way. It got my attention. I was already to publish and tamer version with privacy concerns when I got the feedback. People are very worried about their privacy, abuse of these systems etc.

So I don't want to see hundreds of these things popping up because they are the next great idea. You, if you are part of Jajah are very close here to something of exceptional value. I'm not going to spell it out.

I still don't understand F.Watamba (was that the name) and the associations. I've tested Jajah from the beginning. It appears to have good technology behind it. I was pleased to see something different.

I beleive there is value in TOM "top of mind" feedback. Sometimes we all bounce off the walls. It was supposed to have a touch of fun. This time I obviously didn't manage it.

In my second to last paragraph I mention Internet Cafes, Charles Wong in his post above clearly gets this and asks for it from Skype.

In summary, If I didn't think this was a worthy competitive idea I would have never mentioned it. I think every Skyper should know about it. Maybe like Charles they will then know what to ask for.



Posted by: solomon at February 10, 2006 12:29 PM

This product might have its cons but definitely not a bad idea at all. For people with dial-up connection it provide a platform to enjoy the cost saving of voip despite their slow connection, they can just activate the call using their slow connection and continue with their normal phone. The potential for spam is there but this could be addressed somehow in the future moreover unlike e-mail the calls are not free.

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