Sell the benefits versus sell the technology

Time and time again we see technology companies use the tech terms to try to sell the technology.  One good example was ISDN; how many remember what that term means?  It failed as a higher-speed access technology for consumers, and partly because of the same mindset that allowed the telcos to call it ISDN.  Similarly, what is iDEN, GPRS, 1xRTT, and other catchy consumer phrases?  Most people do not know.  And they should not care. We are watching the same trend with VoIP - voice over internet protocol.  Phil Harvey makes mention of a mini-survey of VoIP users who did not even know the term VoIP.  Watch for AOL to figure out how to make this simple and appealing to customers with their recent announcement.  I note that in their press release AOL makes minimal use of the term VoIP. 5:24:01 PM    comment [0]