Google click to call

This is the next step in Internet advertising. Among the text ads that come with your search results you might see a little telephone icon. If you click it and enter your phone number, Google will connect a representative from the advertiser to you via VOIP. (Your phone will ring, and voila, you can discuss how the refrigerator gets delivered or whether the plasma screen is glare resistant. Guess what part of the world the call center rep will be working from :-) This sort of thing is already out there using IM-type clients, but here the user only needs an ordinary phone. Google does not tell the advertiser your phone number, so your anonymity is protected. Very nice!

I'm very envious of the Google people because they actually have the opportunity to implement all of these nifty ideas.