Comments on: Jingle Networks Has Now Raised Over $60 million

By: Jingle Networks Proves Their Free Business Model Works · ordaso.com

Jingle Networks Proves Their Free Business Model Works · ordaso.com — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:53:36 +0000

[...] is a company we’ve been tracking since 2006 when call volume really began to ramp and the funding started rolling in. In October 2006 I [...]

By: 1-800-Free-411 Has 6% Market Share of U.S. Mobile 411 Market

1-800-Free-411 Has 6% Market Share of U.S. Mobile 411 Market — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:06:20 +0000

[...] company has raised a boatload of cash - over $60 million to date - and AT&T recently started competing with [...]

By: Jingle Networks Proves Their Free Business Model Works

Jingle Networks Proves Their Free Business Model Works — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:04:00 +0000

[...] is a company we’ve been tracking since 2006 when call volume really began to ramp and the funding started rolling in. In October 2006 I [...]

By: Jingle Awarded Patent For Advertising-Supported 411 Calls : Forecast-Blog

Jingle Awarded Patent For Advertising-Supported 411 Calls : Forecast-Blog — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 10:09:39 +0000

[...] it will be a significant hurdle for their competitors. The company has raised significant capital (over $60 million), but that is nothing compared to the resources of Google and AT&T. If those companies are [...]

By: Just a random blog !

Just a random blog ! — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:35:34 +0000

By: RazorSharp iPods & Raw Gadgets » Blog Archive » 1-800-Free-411 Has 6% Market Share of U.S. 411 Market

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 20:24:19 +0000

[...] company has raised a boatload of cash - over $60 million to date - and AT&T recently started competing with [...]

By: TechCrunch en français » Comment vraiment réussir sur le marché des renseignements téléphoniques

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 05:08:23 +0000

[...] La société, dont nous avions dressé le portrait en Octobre 2005, avait levé plus de 60 millions de dollars, et a pris plus de 3% du marché des renseignements téléphoniques aux Etats-Unis [...]

By: Techcrunch » Blog Archive » Jingle’s Free 411 Service Hits 100 Million calls

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:32:07 +0000

[...] The company, which we profiled in October 2005, has raised over $60 million in capital to date, has taken over 3% of the U.S. 411 market. [...]

By: CHAMP

CHAMP — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 00:39:47 +0000

I believe that the next evolution will be loyalcom. Yellowmouth is a company that provides cashback rebates and tracks word of mouth referrals via D.A. if you want to speak to the founder and invest call 706-951-2671.

By: FIRE Finance

FIRE Finance — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 18:12:50 +0000

Frugal Tip - Free 411 Service!…

Often when we have no access to the internet and we need to look up a business we dial 411 on our cell phones. Most carriers continue to charge an average of $1.25 for each 411 call. But now we can call 411 FREE! Thanks to a couple of services by dif…..

By: NCNC

NCNC — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:03:45 +0000

Actually, the best SMS 411 service is Yahoo! Most comprehensive results with an embedded wap link to more detailed info (map, ratings, reviews, etc). text 92466 (Yahoo) to check it out.

By: Dreceptive

Dreceptive — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 04:24:21 +0000

My last call to free 411 took less than a minute. I generally have 1-200 extra minutes every month. For a user like me, I position it as a free call. I don’t have a sms plan, so it’s going to cost me 20c no matter when I use 411sms, day or night. Free 411 will be free no matter when I use it as long as I’m under my minutes. I won’t pay 20c for them as long as I have free minutes every month. Until I have a SMS plan, which will add a minimum of $10 bucks to my bill every month, I’ll use free411. Until T-mobile wants to give me free txt messaging on nights, weekends, business hours, blue moons, , I’ll use free411, or until the volume of my txt messaging warrants getting a sms plan. All that said, even 20c is a great deal compared to a buck seventy.

By: M Alvanez

M Alvanez — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 03:33:28 +0000

411sms does not charge for their service. Like Google SMS, Yahoo SMS - 411sms although freely provided, you could get charged your regular text messaging rates from your provider. For most people with unlimited or a large number of text messages, these services are not a problem. However, like Dreceptive most people may be price sensitive, in which case calling free411 is only free if you call during nights and weekend (assuming this is free for you). Although free411 is a 800 number, its not free if you call from your phone. The cellphone carriers charge you for the call or count it against your minutes. In which case you charge 40-60cents/minute by your carrier. Dreceptive will not only still be paying for 411 but also paying to listen to an ad.

I appreciate Dreceptive concerns as is the concerns for most people. What’s the cheapest way to get information on your cellphone. If you have free minutes (like nights and weekend) using free411 works fine if you search only during nights and weekend. If you have unlimited or high number of text messages, texting your search to US411[87411] give you free access any time of the day or week.

By: Dreceptive

Dreceptive — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 00:28:04 +0000

The problem with the 411sms.com service is you get charged for both an outgoing and inbound sms. With free411 http://www.free411.com, I’m not charged as long as I don’t go over my minutes. Given that the whole issue is me being p)(*#$ off by being charged outrageous fees for 411 calls, the free 411 is just that, free. Yeah, 20 cents ain’t much, but it’s the principle of the matter.

By: M Alvanez

M Alvanez — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 08:35:48 +0000

I believe the key to succeeding like Alec mentioned is having a service that provides highly relevant results. People are very fickle when it comes to searching, once they have had 2 or 3 non-relevant result, we develope a distrust for the service. In this case, the services that provide the most relevant results are google-sms and 411sms (both have advanced search engines as opposed to a simple database/directory search). An article in news.com addressed some other issues:

http://news.com.com/5208-12-0......p;start=-1

In my experience, 411sms http://www.411sms.com provides slightly more relevant results than google and is more reliable.

The real question is are free411 users part of the 411 market share (ie were they converted or are they new users that discovered free411 rather than the regular 411).

In response to Jorge, you missed a very important detail about “normal people”. Normal people text (a lot). US cellphone users have sent more that 10 billion text messages this year alone. So accessing information by text messaging is not as geekish as you think. Once someone who knows how to text tries it, they’ll love it.

For example, text coffee (you don’t have to put a zipcode) or costumes
to US411 (87411) - i.e. 411sms’s access shortcode. I am not sure what their business model is but I know that they are self funded and seem to be doing well.

Its just great to have all these options as a consumer.

By: Alec Andronikov (Founder, inFreeDA - 1800-411-METRO)

Alec Andronikov (Founder, inFreeDA - 1800-411-METRO) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 02:34:15 +0000

You would be surprised at the real economics of the free 411 business. Think intrinsically about the nature of the business: diverting a customer looking for a business from getting what he/she wants to something that is about 20-40% relevant; rarely ever even close to 90% relevancy. At the end of the day, the conversion rates is what makes this business very challenging to monetize.

By: BlueCheese2

BlueCheese2 — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 22:34:08 +0000

Well if you ask me if a company has people backing them with 60 mill, then it is obvious who is going to have the better service 1-800-FREE-411. I think FREE411 is going to wash the floor with the rest of competition. I think this FREE411 is a company to watch, cause it is only going to get better and better for us consumers who are tired of paying for DA calls.

By: Dial 411 for $60 million « Yoick - Hightechwire

Dial 411 for $60 million « Yoick - Hightechwire — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 07:39:05 +0000

[...] For more details see Michael Arrington’s coverage and podcast. [...]

By: bunni

bunni — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 07:34:32 +0000

You misspelled 1-800-MATTRES, leave off the last S for Savings.

By: pwb

pwb — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 06:31:12 +0000

It may be a good model but by taking that kind of money it will be forced to do things that will leave the market open to competitors.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 05:50:16 +0000

1-800-411-SAVE is doing the exact same thing, but apparently they don’t need $60 MM to do it. What are the differences between these two? 411 Save has lower costs? Better targeting? Fewer giant exec salaries to pay?

By: TalkCrunch » Blog Archive » Interview With Jingle CEO and Venture Capitalist

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 05:17:00 +0000

[...] Michael Arrington interviews Jingle Networks CEO George Garrick and investor Josh Kopelman about today’s big financing news as well as the history and future of their free, ad supported 411 service called 1-800-Free-411. Key facts from the discussion: Jingle currently has costs of around $0.25 per call, and revenue of $0.20, although Garrick feels that potential revenue per call will approach $0.50 as the market matures. Garrick and Kopelman also discuss upcoming potential competition from Google and other search players, and how Jingle will compete in that market. The service, which is growing rapidly, now claims 3% of the total U.S. 411 calls, a roughly $8 billion market. [...]

By: Jorge

Jorge — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 04:50:28 +0000

Have you geeks considered that YOU’RE NOT the MARKET for this service?

Normal people don’t care about Google (yes, it’s true!), or browsing on their phones to look stuff up.

They want directoary assistance, and if they can save a buck, they will, since all those 411 calls can really add up.

By: David Mackey

David Mackey — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 02:23:28 +0000

This is a great idea. Fifteen second advertising spots in exchange for free info. I’ve added this site to my bookmarks.

By: BowRiverBrown

BowRiverBrown — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 00:54:28 +0000

Actually, Michael Kayton is correct for the now, but very soon we’ll be seeing “category search” capability. The big carriers are already introducing this notion. So instead of having to know exactly what business you are asking for (ex, John’s Pizza), consumers will call 411 (or 1-800-FREE411) and be able to ask for “a pizza shop near the Empire State building.” Category search like this exist in Canada and account for a significant percentage of DA requests. Introducing category search should help Jingle’s ability to monetize calls b/c advertisers will line up to be the first company to be listed when someone searches for a business in their category. Bidding will likely be the mechanism, similar to a google search when somene types “digital camera” a bunch of advertisers want to be the #1 spot. Ad connection rates will soar with the introduction of category search and Jingle will benefit from that.