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October 15, 2007

The Pulver Theorem on Social Communications:

(As presented by Jeff Pulver at VON Israel 2007)

"VoIP Is Communications.

Communications is Social.

Therefore, VoIP is the basis for Social Communications."


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Posted by jeff on October 15, 2007 12:17 AM | Permalink

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Comments

seriously, you sent us an email about this?

Posted by: Scribe at October 20, 2007 05:23 PM

"VoIP Is Communications.

Communications is Social.

Therefore, VoIP is a basis for Social Communications!"

Posted by: Fred at October 20, 2007 01:42 AM

Voice is relatively new feature in the world of Web socializing. Usually it appears in "separate channels" like Podcasts, Skype, etc, and in integrated traditional ones such as Videos.
Social Networks in the Internet are dominated by texts, photos and all sort of signals and cool applications, but Audio is still a rare phenomena. This, I would say, may sound strange as VOICE had always been one of the most significant means of social communications - a main factor in building Civilization.

In that meaning I find Jeff remarks absolutely convincing.

Posted by: ami ben bassat at October 19, 2007 06:10 AM

Hell Jeff,
Always enjoy reading your comments, when will you come to Australia and speak to we Voip-ers in a public forum?

Beth

Posted by: Beth at October 18, 2007 08:22 PM

I've always found the VoA (Voice over Air) is the best mechanism for social communications.

I also experimented with VuW (Voice under Water) but found it glubglubglubblub

Posted by: Dean at October 18, 2007 06:59 PM

Jeff,
The thought is nice but at first we need to have people socialising over the net!! Currently, it is killing socialisation! May be when TOIP/VOIP are integrated with "meeting " sites!!
We have now to think what it means socializing over the net : this is a hevean for new applications

Posted by: Georges MOKHBAT at October 18, 2007 04:06 PM

Neanderthal Cave Painting is Communications
Communications is Social
Therefore, Neanderthal Cave Painting is the basis for Social Communications.

Come to NCPON (Neanderthal Cave Painting on the Net) - conference and seminar series coming this spring! The revolution is here :)

Posted by: NCPON Director at October 18, 2007 03:17 PM

This reminds me of one of the few things I retained from college. It was a 3 week, summer philosophy course and an example of a good syllogism that I recall was:

Everyone has needs
you don't meet mine
so I am splittin'

It seems to me the criticism with Jeff's syllogism is the major premise that VoIP is communications. Is VoIP communications or does it facilitate communications? Clearly it is a form of telecommunications, but I am not so certain about the communications part.

Anyway, I found the post to be interesting, as well as a fun way to bring attention to VON. Wish I could be there at this one.

Posted by: Ken Pyle at October 18, 2007 02:25 PM

VoIP is a transport method.
Voice is the communications being transported.
Therefore, your theorem makes no sense :)

How about something more realistic?

IP communications is a way of faciliating communications across distances.

Communications is social.

Therefore, IP communications (like VoIP) is a way of facilitating Social Communications across distances.

Posted by: jtiner at October 18, 2007 02:11 PM

s ahs to be one of the cheapest, self serving fluff blog entries I have seen.

Jeff, you just made my motivation to read anything you send me go down three notches.

Anything in the world can be equated to Social Communications including the sound of a beating drum or the aroma from the person taking a crap in the stall next to you.

Post something real, will ya?

Posted by: Chris at October 18, 2007 02:02 PM

"Sex Is Communications.

Communications is Social.

Therefore, Sex is the basis for Social Communications."

Posted by: Hmmm... at October 18, 2007 12:57 PM

That's pretty lame Jeff and certainly not scientific or mathematical but it's cute at least.

I think the real evolution that is happening online right now is the merging of business and social "networking" {to me networking is a 'whole-set' of which VoIP is a 'sub-set'}. If you want to advertise to a lot of entrepreneurial type people check this out:

http://www.gibline.com/jmcauley/home.html

I am sorry I can't make it to VON it is just too far and not at a convenient time for me and many others I am sure. Why not broadcast it in a VoIP based web conference room? You can get one here:

http://www.hotconference.net/members/eCollab

Shrinking the global village.

Posted by: Jake McAuley at October 18, 2007 11:10 AM

I love the philosophical hair splitting. The fact is that VoIP has opened the communication’s door for millions of people in the developing world for the first time in history. For the uneducated, most human beings in the planet had no mean to reach those outside their immediate (read a day’s walk) geographical locale. VoIP has given them a “voice” that can be heard in the other side of the planet. Now, that is simply revolutionary.

Posted by: Malcolm at October 18, 2007 10:34 AM

Ridiculous. VoIP is a means by which we communicate. It is not communication itself. And what is "social" communications?

Posted by: George at October 18, 2007 10:16 AM

>VoIP Is Communications.
>
>Communications is Social.
>
>Therefore, VoIP is the basis for Social Communications.
>

Jeff,

That has to be one of the most brilliant insights I have ever heard, not to mention the syllogistic elegance of it. I'm really glad I followed the link in your email.

I wasn't planning to go to VON but now I will. You are a true visionary and you rock my world!

Fred

Posted by: Fred Smith at October 18, 2007 10:06 AM

Jeff,

For the naysayers in the world, let's try to educate them. VoIP is really about 2 things - Voice and IP.

Voice is our most fundamental and most powerful means for communications. It is about real-time, synchronous, and personal. It has great value -- that is why we still pay for it.

IP is a gateway to any new form of communication imaginable. Whether posting on a friends Facebook Wall, instant messaging, E-mail, or justin.tv'ing, the future of communications will never be the same again.

Being social is about identifying with others who have similar likes, behaviors, hobbies, etc. VoIP lets us be social in the way we want to be social, to whomever, wherever, whenever (even more so with 3G wireless communications).

So let's think big like Jeff, and not so small. Great things will come of it.

Best,


Alex

Posted by: Alex Wolfson at October 18, 2007 09:58 AM

Considering the amount of spam most of us get every day, perhaps Jeff would like to consider whether in future he is best to send messages promising much and delivering little, or whether honesty would have been better and a simple email promoting his conference. At least we would have known to delete this, rather than anticipate something of interest. Might be a job going selling fake Rolex or prescription medication.....

Posted by: Rob at October 18, 2007 09:39 AM

...THE basis ...

???

So are you saying there was no basis for communication for the 1st zillion years humans have been on this earth - and communicated?

VoIP is a great tool - but not THE basis for communication.

Posted by: Rob Clark at October 18, 2007 09:30 AM

That's it? I was expecting something meatier if you took the time to notify me by mail about your revelation.

All cats are felines.
All cats are mammals.
Therefore, all mammals are felines?

Uhm, nope, they aren't. Check your Syllogism.

Essentially, communications are not always social. In fact, the far greater amount of communication occuring daily (yes, also in communication products) are private. Not meant to be shared, rated, tagged, etc.

VoIP is one means of communication and it *can* be an element of Social Communication. However, frankly, text still outshines VoIP's usefulness for social communication by a wide margin for ease of distribution, ease of access by everyone and ease of presentation.

If anything, Video (with voice) is taking the spotlight right now. But it is not looking like it will replace text any time soon.


Posted by: Axel at October 18, 2007 09:26 AM

IPv4 has connected just 1.1 Billion people so far and will run out of address space by 2010.

Move your message to IPv6 and you can safely state it so.

Cheers
Latif

Posted by: Latif Ladid at October 18, 2007 09:20 AM

I VOIP, THEREFORE I AM...

Posted by: KAREEM EL-HENEIDI at October 18, 2007 09:16 AM

Jeff,

Agree. VoIP was created for a better form of communicating and also a unique way of Interacting.

I've been following you for some time and am just getting the juevos to start a blog, to which I comment on your theorem. http://phivetacos.blogspot.com/

Looking forward to sharing your views.

5Tacos

Posted by: 5Tacos at October 16, 2007 02:04 PM

Only true if you broaden your definition of VOIP. If voice is a blog post, a video, an SMS, a phone call, then yes, VOIP is the basis of social communications. If VOIP in the traditional sense of packet-switched telephony data is what you mean, then VOIP is only a small subset of human communications.

Posted by: Christopher S. Penn at October 15, 2007 01:31 PM