GigaOM Pro

It's time to move away from calling numbers and toward calling people; Google is well positioned to seize the opportunity.

The rise of the Internet is behind amazing transformations in the way we communicate. We can tweet our thoughts in 140 characters, enjoy video conversations and broadcast live video. Yet the venerable telephone is still hanging around. The phone has transformed and changed with the times, which is one of the reasons that it's still around. What started out as a wired tool has morphed into a wireless one and instead of transmitting simple audio, we use the phone for accessing nearly infinite bits of data in every way currently imaginable. But one thing hasn't changed: phone numbers. In today's mobile world, we need a method that moves us away from calling numbers and toward calling people.