The Blog

Customer Feedback Chat #2

15th Apr 2009

On Tuesday we had the 2nd of our monthly customer feedback chats.  You can read the transcript below.  Be sure to join us next month!

posted by The Taskmaster

Customer Feedback Forum Chat #2

13th Apr 2009

We are always looking for ways to improve our service, and our greatest asset in this quest is you, the customer.  I would like to personally invite you to the second of our series of ViaTalk customer feedback forum chats, this Tuesday, April 14th, at 4:00 PM EST.

In these monthly chats, we give you the customer direct contact with our upper management and development team to help mold the service into exactly what you are looking for in a communications provider. All chats are archived for later viewing right here on the VT_Inside blog at http://www.vtinside.com

To join in this chat, or more information on this and other upcoming events, please log into your ViaTalk control panel and click on 'Customer Feedback' on the main navigation bar. I look forward to working with you to mold our services to better fit your needs.

posted by The Taskmaster

Viatalk is on Twitter

2nd Apr 2009

Everyone currently using Twitter look out!  Viatalk now has its own Twitter feed.  We plan on using it in many different ways.

We will tweet about events that go on around the office like the current Hostrocket vs. Viatalk Fit Club Contest.

We will tweet about new features or promotions that are up and coming for customers of Viatalk.

We will be having contests that are exclusively Twitter based.  Like the one we just started.  Enter before April 9th and you could win a free month of Viatalk Phone Service.

Check it out at Viatalk Twitter Contest

posted by The Marketeer

ViaTalk Customer Feedback Forum

3rd Mar 2009

We had the first of our ViaTalk customer feedback forum discussions today.  Read the chat transcript below, and remember to join us next month!

posted by The Taskmaster

New - ViaTalk Customer Feedback Forum

26th Feb 2009

We are always looking for ways to improve our service, and our greatest asset in this quest is you, the customer. Many of the wide array of features that we provide have been inspired by suggestions and comments from our customers. To better harness these ideas we have created the ViaTalk Customer Feedback Forum.We will be holding monthly chats, giving you the customer direct contact with our upper management and development team to help mold the service into exactly what you are looking for in a communications provider. All chats will be archived for later viewing right here on the VT_Inside blog.

For more information on upcoming events, please log into your ViaTalk control panel, and click on Customer Feedback on the main navigation bar. We look forward to working with you to mold our services to better fit your needs.

posted by The Taskmaster

No More Blank Voicemails.

21st Jan 2009

In response to multiple suggestions sent to the DeadParrot Suggestion Box, Viatalk has developed Voicemail Hang-up Detection. This will prevent any voicemails that are empty because of a hang-up from being sent to your voicemail in the first place. Now you don't need to waste time to access your voicemail to delete blank messages. When you access your voicemail, you can be assured every single voicemail you see is an actual message.

posted by The Marketeer

Star Codes

12th Jan 2009

Viatalk is getting back to its roots.  We are pushing the envelope in terms of feature set and developing new and exciting additions to the already robust feature set we currently offer.   We are in the process of rolling out three new star codes for our phone service.

1. Star 393 (FWD) - Use your phone to activate and deactivate call forwarding without logging in to the control panel.  Just hit *393 and enter the number to which you want to forward the calls.

2. Star 363 (DND)- Use your phone to activate and deactivate Do Not Disturb without logging in to the control panel.  This feature acts independently of the scheduled DND times in your control panel, you hit *363 and you are on DND.

3. Star 255 (BLK) - If someone calls you that you want to add to your block list, hit *255 and it will prompt you to make sure you would like to block them.  Then it simply adds them to your call block list.  No more needing to know the number and adding it manually later.  Use the star code and block them right at the moment you are thinking about it.

posted by The Marketeer

Happy Thanksgiving!

26th Nov 2008

Happy Thanksgiving to all

posted by The Marketeer

Trick or Treat!

20th Nov 2008

Halloween here at ViaTalk can produce quite a few pictorial oddities. Here are the highlights of the costumes that were sported in our offices during the daylight of All Hallows' Eve.

posted by The Marketeer

Tickets

12th Nov 2008

Greetings,

The first edition of change brought about by responses to the Dead Parrot Suggestion email has arrived. The ticket submission page has been updated in accordance with a study conducted upon past tickets and trends. Josh, our resident developer, has created a more efficient form for customers to use when submitting tickets to the technical support team. By gathering more information up front about your problem, we can cut down on the number of responses (by both users and support representatives) necessary to come to a solution. This means less time between problem and solution.

I would explain the new process for submitting tickets on this blog, but the form is so well designed it is self-explanatory. So, instead, just let us know what you think. In the meantime, stay on the lookout for the next update.

Cheers,
Craig

posted by The Marketeer

The Only Certainty is Government Taxation

28th Oct 2008

Taxes are a way of life. It is unfortunate, but it is the price we pay for living in a society. Nor is it fair that some people pay more taxes based on their locality. In the past year, governments have started taxing VoIP companies more aggressively as VoIP grows in popularity. These taxes can get very confusing, especially when they come from the Federal government, individual State governments, and even local governments.

If you haven't checked out the VTWiki yet, take a look. There is plenty of information there. You can share your own experiences with troubleshooting and help other ViaTalk customers with their service. The latest update is a comprehensive list of taxes that you may encounter through using VoIP. Each tax listed has a description of the general purpose of the individual tax. Most of these taxes are charged based on the location where you use your phone service. If you have a question why you are being charged a "Municipal Right of Way Tax," please contact your local Assessor's office and ask what it is being collected for.

Here's the link: http://www.vtwiki.org/wiki/index.php/Taxes.

Cheers,
Craig

posted by The Marketeer

Remembrance

11th Sep 2008

We will never forget. For all who were there that day and all who were personally affected.

posted by The Marketeer

Flag You, Management!

10th Sep 2008

Have you ever been on the phone with a company and thought, “I wish a manager would just take care of this”? I have too, but it's a little tougher to get the manager on the phone than when you complain in person. Well, ViaTalk just made it even easier than that. When you have a problem, give our support line a call. If the problem is too hot to handle for even our amazing tech support, (seriously, we gave them all blue ribbons yesterday) you can just press *. This will flag your call for manager review. As these calls are received, our management team will take time out of their busy schedules and handle your problem personally.


We do accept single-malt scotch, personalized pen sets, and lottery tickets (preferably winning) in appreciation.


Cheers,
Craig

posted by The Marketeer

A New Face in the Crowd

9th Sep 2008

Hello Everybody, as you have no doubt guessed, I am the new guy here at Hostrocket. I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself, even though I've been told by some that I need no introduction. I am the Marketeer; you can call me Craig. I specialize in getting you to see us. So get ready to see Hostrocket and ViaTalk in some new and interesting places.

I am weird. Now that I'm here, this blog is going to be very interesting. So check back with us a little more than you have been. I plan on keeping everyone updated on things that are going on here at Hostrocket, upcoming events, and everything you need to know about Hosting, VoIP, and anything that might possibly be considered connected to them. (even if that connection is simply that it starts with the same letter of the alphabet)

My goal is not just to inform, but to entertain as well. I've been told that I'm many things, but boring is not one of them.

Cheers,
Craig

posted by The Marketeer

Yay For Babies

6th Aug 2008

Avery Kate Solomon was born this afternoon.  9lb 6oz of baby girl goodness. Both her and Brandi are resting comfortably.

posted by The Taskmaster

Remembering

16th Jul 2008

On July 14th a valued member of team, Joe Wishnoff passed away at the age of 29 after battling a disease called idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). IPF is a chronic disease that causes scarring and deterioration of the lung tissue. IPF usually occurs in people aged 50-70 so it was very rare for someone in their mid-20s to be diagnosed. The cause of this disease is unknown and there are no known treatments or cure.

Joe had worked with us for approaching two years on various marketing efforts for both HostRocket and ViaTalk, and contributed greatly to each project he took on in the process. Joe was a hard worker and had a vast thirst for life. He was enthusiastic and energetic right till the end, always looking forward and not letting his illness get in the way of what he wanted to do with his life.

He will be greatly missed by all that knew him.

If you would like to help find a cure for IPF, please consider making a donation in his memory to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, http://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org/

posted by The Taskmaster

The results are in...

27th Jun 2008

The final weigh in results for the 2nd Annual HR/VT Fitclub are in [ drum roll please ]

HOSTROCKET WINS WITH AN AVERAGE TEAM WEIGHT LOSS PERCENTAGE OF 6.38!!

It was a close competition, with ViaTalk losing 6.24% and many many lbs were lost by both teams. In all the two teams together lost almost 400 lbs!!

In other news:

Our resident rockstar Joey C in ViaTalk shipping needs your help again!!
His band Half Past My Sin is competing to win the chance to play this years annual 103.1 FM Big Day Out Festival at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY!! If you have a moment please stop by and place your vote here.

Thanks!

_Michael

posted by The Media King

HostRocket Affiliate Payout Increase

29th May 2008

HostRocket is excited to announce our new payout level of $150 per sale for Shared Web Hosting sales. Thats $150/Sale for selling a $5/mo. product! The best in the business!

Selling only 1 account a day can make you over $4,600 a month! I'm looking forward to working with you to increase your sales to further better our mutually beneficial relationship.

For more information on this program, please visit:

http://www.hostrocket.com/affiliates.html

If you have any questions regarding this, please contact our affiliate manager Jessica McCann directly at jessica.mccann@hostrocket.com!

-Brendan

posted by The Taskmaster

HR/VT Fitclub week 2

7th May 2008

The results from Week 1 are in! [drum roll please]

ViaTalk: Total weight loss of 2.30%
HostRocket: Total weight loss of 2.36%

It's still a very close race at this point but [in my opinion] the first week is the easiest. We'll see who stands slimmest in the end and I will keep you updated as the competition goes on!

GO VIATALK!

_Michael

posted by The Media King

GO TEAM 20!

23rd Apr 2008

A lot has happened since my last post, including a WIN for the Team 20 Rocketeers at the Boston Regionals and a great showing at the First National Competition at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA.

Our Rocketeers made it all the way into the Semi-finals [ranked 4th] in the Newton division before being eliminated by a very small margin. The competition was fierce, and the whole event was a lot of fun.

Congratulations to the whole team for a great season, all of us at HR/VT look forward to next year's game.

In other ViaTalk news: We've gathered some great feedback from those of you who have participated in our Customer Outreach Initiative so far, and we look forward to speaking to more and more of you in the coming weeks.

Also, starting Monday - The annual VT/HR Fitclub will officially begin. The staff will be maintaining a healthy diet, and participating in daily physical exercise with a goal of trimming down just in time for summer. At the end of this eight week competition, we will be comparing the average percentage of weight lost per office and the winner will be treated to a banquet to celebrate! So please, hold off on sending us any candy gift baskets - And if you really can't resist, make sure you address them to Hostrocket!!

_Michael

posted by The Media King

New CP, Regional Champs and a Birthday Celebration!

26th Mar 2008

An update on a few things-VT:

1. The process of moving our client accounts over to our brand new Account Management Control Panel has been quite a success so far and the migration is nearing completion.
We're very excited about our new CP, but if for any reason you aren't completely satisfied with it, we're collecting suggestions for improvement by email at thedifference@viatalk.com

2. A few weeks back, our very own Shenendehowa Team 20 won the Finger Lakes First Robotics Regional Competition [our first win in over 10 years!!] in Rochester, NY. I didn't make it out to the regional, but Brendan, John, Tanya, and Eric were there for the action.
Today - The team departs for the Boston Regionals at Boston University Boston, MA. The whole HR/VT is cheering for another win. Good luck Rocketeers!

And finally... [drum roll]

TODAY IS BRADER'S BIRTHDAY! Happy Birthday Brendan!


_Michael

posted by The Media King

An Important Message From ViaTalk

30th Jan 2008

To Our Valued Customer,

In an effort to better connect with the most important aspect of our business, you the customer, we are launching a full scale customer outreach campaign to help us further improve the ViaTalk experience.

In conjunction with in-house customer interaction policy changes, we will be conducting customer experience surveys on a broad and on going basis. In addition, you may receive a call the day following any customer service inquiry in order to give you a chance to give your opinion of the customer service experience, as well as voicing any other questions, comments, or concerns that you may have.

Managers from our billing, customer service, sales, and network administration departments will be making themselves available via multiple online outlets on a daily and ongoing basis to give you the opportunity to provide feedback to them easily and directly.

This initiative will be an on-going and evolving process, and we invite you to provide any feedback or suggestions you may have to help us along the way.

Thank you in advance for your future participation in this program, we look forward to exceeding your expectations and setting a new standard for what a phone company ought to be.

-The ViaTalk Team

posted by The Taskmaster

VT Customer Wiki - VTWiki.Org

26th Nov 2007

We have setup (for customer use) a wiki site for all things ViaTalk related, and should as it grows provide lots of valuable information regarding the service in general, as well as tweaks, tips, and tricks for using and optimizing service performance. The site is online now, at http://www.vtwiki.org

posted by The Taskmaster

A Preview Of Things To Come

18th Oct 2007

Several enhancements to the ViaTalk user experience are on the horizon, and one of them is a completely revamped customer control panel and billing system. This new control panel will contain all of the great features of the current one, along with several new features. Here are a few screen shots for your enjoyment as a sneak preview.

posted by The Taskmaster

New Feature For Current Customers

18th Oct 2007

All current ViaTalk customers now have the option of enabling a free second line on their VT adapter free of charge.  The two line configuration activates two separate extensions to your Viatalk home phone. Now you are able to receive calls on two separate lines simultaneously. Is another family member on the phone? Simply pick up line two and dial out. Now you can have two conversations all at the same time.  Users can take advantage of this by logging into their web based control panel and clicking on the 'Free Second Line' button.

posted by The Taskmaster

We're Hiring - Again

8th Oct 2007

As always, we are always looking for talented new people to add to the ViaTalk team to help make our product and its associated customer service better. If you or someone you know has a technical background in VoIP and would like to put that knowledge to work in a customer service setting, especially during off-hours, have them contact ViaTalk's customer service manager Michael Musgrave with a resume at mmusgrave@hostrocket.com

posted by The Taskmaster

New to HostRocket

4th Oct 2007

Hello all. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself as the new face at HostRocket. My name is Dave Rudnick, and since October of 2006, I had been working customer service and tech support for ViaTalk, HostRocket's broadband-based telephone service. Just recently, I was asked to take the position of Customer Support Manager for HostRocket. I've now found myself in a new office, managing a team of techs that eat, sleep, and breathe hosting, along with all the technological nuances that come along with it.

While here, I have found the support team to be informative, friendly, and courteous with all of our customers, via both ticket and telephone. At HostRocket, we strive for unbeatable prices (take a look at our current Rocket Freedom plan) and unparalleled customer support. HostRocket is a company that started small, and has grown to be a true go-to name in the hosting market. We didn't get to be an industry leader on advertising/prices alone. We rely on our customers as much as they rely on us. It's your experiences, spread by your word of mouth, and your reviews that give our company an edge. It's how we learn to completely accommodate our customers in an industry that is constantly evolving. We want to be the hosting company that you recommend to your friends, family, and colleagues. Please help us to stay on this way.

Remember, we can only stay on top when you let us know what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong. If you have any concerns, or suggestions of how we can improve the support services we currently offer, please feel free to email me at csmanager@hostrocket.com Thanks!

posted by Monkey Boy

We love the Fall!

4th Oct 2007

The Northeast in autumn is gorgeous... and it seems to be everyone's favorite time of the year! The weather as been perfect and the leaves are starting to change their colors. There's lots of buzz around the office about Halloween and who will have the best costume this year. Hopefully we'll have some interesting pics for all of you!

Some VT_Facts:

Did you know that VT has increased its staff by 100% since July?
A big "Thank You!" goes out to our new hires for quickly learning the ropes to continue our customer support!

Did you know that VT customers can find tech support through each other?
Our forums are a great place where VT customers can help other VT customers trouble shoot technical questions and provide feedback. Another big "Thank You!" goes out to our customers, old and new, for supporting ViaTalk and each other!

Did you know that you can be your own VoIP reseller?
VTWhite, ViaTalk's private label VoIP reseller program, allows you to jump into the expanding VoIP market and be your own boss. Visit www.vtwhite.com for more info.

Did you know that pumpkins are members of the vine crops family called curcurbits?
Now you do!

Enjoy the autumn.... and as always, thank you for choosing ViaTalk!

posted by Queen of Hearts

Congratulations HostRocket!

7th Sep 2007

ViaTalk's sister company, HostRocket.com, has just received a Shared Web Hosting Award from Web Host Directory!

Congratulations on a job well done!

For more information about HostRocket.com, visit www.hostrocket.com.

posted by Queen of Hearts

Rock the Vote

21st Aug 2007

*Whew!* What a summer it has been! As you may imagine, things have been pretty busy here at our office in Upstate New York. As many of you know, one of our competitors, SunRocket, recently went out of business without warning leaving hundreds of thousands of people without a critical part of their lives, phone service. This has resulted in tens of thousands of people coming to us looking for help getting back up and running as quickly as possible.

We've been adding staff left and right to help keep up with increased demand, and will continue to do so until we are back to the same great level of service you have come to expect from us. We cannot thank you enough for your patience and understanding while we work to accommodate as many ex-SunRocket customers as possible.

If you have any non-urgent questions or technical issues, be sure to submit a ticket and bypass the need to wait in the phone queue. Any immediate issues will require a call to 1-866-626-7150, where we'll be sure to get to you ASAP. Again thank you for your patience.

Before we go, the ViaTalk Team is asking for your support of one of our awesome employees. Joey Clark is the drummer for the band Bipolar, who was just featured on the CBS Early Show Monday morning! Check out their video and if you love them as much as we do, go to The Early Show website to give them your vote (you'll see a voting poll on the left panel of the screen)! Thanks ahead of time for supporting Joey and the band Bipolar!

posted by Queen of Hearts

ViaTalk Donates Services to Future Local Landmark

27th Jul 2007

Back in Upstate New York, ViaTalk will soon be donating One Year Unlimited Local and Long Distance Service at the Inaugural Grand Reception for the Aquarium of The Adirondacks. The night of celebration will take place on August 2nd at the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Water Park. The aquarium will feature species of the Adirondack Region in addition to aquatic exhibits from around the world!

posted by Krista

And the winner is...

27th Jul 2007

Congratulations to Brian Kelly of Richton Park, IL, for winning a Philips 50" Plasma HDTV with Digital Tuner from ViaTalk at HostingCon 2007!

Thanks to everyone who decided to swing by booth #420 in Chicago to learn about VTWhite!

posted by Krista

ViaTalk off to Chicago for Hostingcon 2007

24th Jul 2007

ViaTalk will be represented at the largest gathering of hosted services professionals in the world this week!

ViaTalk's VoIP Reseller Solution, VT White, will be featured at booth #420. Make sure to check it out, we're giving away a 50 inch PHILIPS Plasma HDTV!

If we don't see you at the booth, hopefully you'll take a cruise with ViaTalk on Lake Michigan tonight!

posted by Krista

Around The Office

18th Jul 2007

Things have been busy in the past few days to say the least, but we're doing everything we can to get systems and processes updated to handle the increased flow of customers as quickly as possible. Staffing increases, network upgrades, and additional equipment procurement will be finishing up within the next day or two, and thankfully the staff that was already in place has been very patient and willing to work long overtime hours to help out in the meantime. We've been forced to modify our existing sale a few times in the past few days to better monetize the flow of traffic to the site - not so much for cash flow reasons as for keeping the sales volume in this same solar system so that we can manage it.

Our primary goal is to make this move for ex-SR customers as easy and quick as we possibly can, while at the same time not causing issues for existing customer base. If all goes well and people are understanding of our situation as we have tried to be with theirs, then everything should work out positive for all parties in the long run.

posted by The Taskmaster

Industry News

16th Jul 2007

According to a breaking report posted by the New York Times on its website, private voice over internet protocol provider SunRocket, which is based in Vienna, Virginia, has decided to cease operations and is no longer accepting new customers. According to various prior news reports over the past few weeks, the company had made several substantial staff layoffs. It seemed to us that these earlier reports were all pointing to the inevitable.

As a leading private internet phone service provider, we at ViaTalk want to let our customers know that our company is stronger than ever. In fact we are more than capable of handling the expected volume of subscribers expected to switch from SunRocket to ViaTalk. At this time, we are offering a contract buyout to them and subscribers to other VoIP companies. We are also offering a coupon for free ground shipping of ViaTalk's phone system to assist customers looking to switch because of this announcement.

It is unfortunate that SunRocket decided to close its doors in the manner that it did. Fortunately for our customers, they know they can count on ViaTalk's staying power because of the incredible experience and success that we have had not only in the VoIP market, but over the past 8 years in the ultra-competitive web hosting industry. We are committed to the well being of our employees, including growing the workforce that we have built in our local call center.

posted by The Taskmaster

Free Shipping Coupon

16th Jul 2007

We're expecting an uptick in sales over the next few days as a result of whats been going on over at SunRocket. To help out those affected, we've made available a coupon good for free ground shipping, which is good even in combination with our current 2 for 1 promotion. The coupon code is SHIPFREE. Tell your SunRocket friends about us if you're happy with the service, from the look of things it appears they're going to need other options in the near future.

UPDATE: this coupon has reached is max usages and is no longer valid.

posted by The Taskmaster

SunRocket or SunSet?

13th Jul 2007

I've been following some rumors about SunRocket having financial troubles on various message boards for the past few days. It looks like things may finally be reaching a climax as there are rumors all over the net about tons of layoffs and them not accepting new orers for days - today being perhaps D-Day in Virginia. Discussion is continuing over at DSLReports about this. If I hear anything from any of my industry sources i'll keep things updated here.

Update: As of a few minutes ago, service had gone out for all SR customers that I have contact with. Not sure if thats a coincidence or what.

Update: It appears as all SR lines are back up and working fine again. Seems like the outage was just a coincidence. I'll keep updates coming as I hear them. Keep in mind this is all just rumors from 'insiders' at this point.

Update: Service appears to be remaining stable for now. Other than some rumors floating around the net, it appears things are running as normal.

Update: SR customer service has been taken offline.  Calls now are routed to a recording stating that they are no longer taking customer service calls.

posted by The Taskmaster

It's a Boy!

6th Jul 2007

Baby Reyes (6lbs 11 oz) was born at 3:16am this morning!

What a great way to kick off the weekend, congrats!

posted by Krista

Yankee Doodle

3rd Jul 2007

Happy 4th of July (a little early) from ViaTalk! Enjoy the parades, barbeques, picnics and even the in-laws while we take care of business for you tomorrow. So sit back, relax and enjoy some fireworks while the ViaTalk team ensures that you receive quality phone service. We'll be here.

posted by Krista

ViaTalk Cruising to HostingCon 2007

29th Jun 2007

ViaTalk will head to Chicago on July 23rd for the largest gathering of hosted services professionals in the world.

Stop by booth # 420 and check out ViaTalk's VoIP Reseller Solution, VT White. If you're into water sports, take a ride on Lake Michigan with ViaTalk aboard HostingCon's Business Networking Cruise.

Make sure to check it out. ViaTalk's giveaway at HostingCon 2007 will not disappoint!

posted by Krista

Good News for Chit-Chatters

26th Jun 2007

This just in:

BOGO sale!

ViaTalk is now offering two unlimited phone lines for the price of one and a free year of service for all new annual VT_Unlimited customers!

Forget about busy signals and call waiting when you can receive calls on two separate lines simultaneously.

Get talking today and take advantage of this limited offer.

posted by Krista

Party Time EXCELLENT

20th Jun 2007

Last week, the HostRocket and ViaTalk folks teamed up to throw a surprise fiesta for our very own CTO and father-to-be, John Reyes (the guy sporting the sombrero). A piñata exploded with vegetable contents, but luckily, there were no major injuries to report. The following pictures were obtained from the paparazzi:
(from left to right... cake, look of surprise, piñata prep, vegetables, gift basket and pure jubilation)

posted by Krista

Behind the Scenes: The People

19th Jun 2007

Paul Stengel

Workin' Hard for the Money: Since April 2004
Job Title: System administrator
Reason to love work: Operating the 2nd line of defense.
Pastimes: Watching the Red Sox beat the Yankees, real estate, defeating computer games, golf (but not the carts)
On his Ipod: Eminem, Ludacris, Maroon 5
Favorite Crayola Crayon Color: Tumbleweed
Breakfast of Champions: 2 eggs over easy with corn beef hash and rye toast
Films that get 2 thumbs up: Saving Private Ryan and The Departed
Celebrity Icons: CHUCK NORRIS
Office lunch to die for: Nothing But Noodles

Unique facts: Stengel recently found a moment to become a licensed real estate agent. He hasn't sold any celebrity mansions yet, but there's no telling what Stengel is capable of. At the end of the real estate course, Stengel was allotted 3 hours to complete a 75 question licensing exam. He completed the test in just 16 minutes scoring a whopping 91%.

Also...unknown to many, Stengel's roots actually lie with the Yankees despite his love for the Red Sox. Stengel is in fact, a distant cousin of former New York Yankees pitching coach and legend, Casey Stengel.

posted by Krista

Father's Day: Necktie mania.

18th Jun 2007

Hallmark Cards, Inc. 2006 revenue: $4.1 billion.

It's hard to believe, but Father's Day was NOT started by greeting card companies. Though they may be reaping the benefits of the third Sunday of June each year, the origin of Father's Day is a non-for-profit endeavor.

Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, came up with the idea in 1909. Her father, a widowed Civil War Veteran, raised six children on his own when his wife died during childbirth. In 1966, President Johnson proclaimed Father's Day a national holiday.

The history of Father's Day gift-giving is a little blurry, but somehow, the Necktie has evolved as a holiday staple.

At ViaTalk, one father (and necktie hater) surpassed the cliché, receiving a tool chest and a new set of screwdrivers! hooray

posted by Krista

Behind the Scenes: The People

14th Jun 2007

Sabrina Alimi:


Workin' Hard for the Money: Since October 2006
Job Title: Marketing
Reason to love work: being able to learn everyday about new online marketing strategies
Pastimes: playing lacrosse, frolicking on the beach, web surfing, dominating air hockey, occasional golf, watching the Yankees beat the Red Sox
On her Ipod: Dashboard Confessional, Maroon 5, Goo Goo Dolls
Favorite Crayola Crayon Color: Razzmatazz Red
Breakfast of Champions: Homemade egg and cheese sandwich on a bagel
Film that gets 2 thumbs up: Finding Nemo
Celebrity Icons: Hideki Matsui of the Yankees
Office lunch to die for: Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

Unique fact: Contrary to popular belief, Alimi was not named after Melissa Joan Hart's portrayal of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Though she may have some magic up her sleeve, Alimi was actually named after Sabrina Duncan from the original Charlie's Angels (the brains of the operation).

posted by Krista

New Features!

13th Jun 2007

The ViaTalk folks have been plugging away in their workshop night and day to come up with some convenient new features!

Here's what's new:

-You can now disable voicemail through the Control Panel
-You can also disable the voicemail password prompt when checking voicemail from the VT phone (if you are dialing in remotely, however, you still need to enter the password)

Keep in touch by checking out our forum and post your ideas on which features to come out with next!

posted by Krista

Behind the Scenes: The People

12th Jun 2007

Braxton Mairs:

Workin' Hard for the Money: Since 2006
Job Title: Tech Support
Reason to love work: the challenge that goes along with solving problems for customers
Pastimes: long boarding, Frisbee of the ultimate manner, pogo, going to church, parkour (freestyle running to overcome obstacles on the route with a variety of gymnastic and acrobatic moves)
On his Ipod: Rage Against the Machine, Peter Bjorn and John, Goldfinger, Modest Mouse
Favorite Crayola Crayon Color: Neon Carrot
Breakfast of Champions: Fruity Pebbles
Film that gets 2 thumbs up: Dumb and Dumber
Celebrity Icons: Lincoln and Einstein
Office lunch to die for: Vegetarian Chili

Unique fact: Mairs adopted his sister's pink and green pogo stick in elementary school, and has never looked back. Mairs is not jumping for distance or height, only tricks and style. When he's not working, Mairs is busy mastering the ULBS (Under the Leg Bar Spin).

posted by Krista

ViaTalk Ranks "Interesting"

11th Jun 2007

ViaTalk is listed in the 25 Most Interesting VoIP Startups at voipnews.com.

Here's the gossip:

"Flat-rate phone service so cheap that you pay for it by the year instead of by the month - that's ViaTalk's angle, and it seems to be catching on."

The way things are booming now make it hard to believe that ViaTalk started up sharing the same little cozy nook with sister company HostRocket.com- interesting.

posted by Krista

Behind the Scenes: The People

8th Jun 2007

Everything you've always wanted to know about the people on the other end of the phone.

Joe Schoonbeck

Workin' Hard for the Money: Since July 2004
Job Title: Customer Service / Tech Support
Reason to love work: gaining experience in system administration...and foosball
Pastimes: baseball, riding his brand new motorcycle, designing and engineering
On his Ipod: TOOL, A Perfect Circle, Brand New, Death Cab For Cutie, The Starting Line
Favorite Crayola Crayon Color: Sunset Orange
Breakfast of Champions: Grand Slam from Denny's
Films that get 2 thumbs up: The Blues Brothers and Running With Scissors
Celebrity Icons: David Hasselhoff
Office lunch to die for: Justin Mazzi's Chili

Unique fact: Schoonbeck's life ambition is to win the Bag O'Crap from woot.com. In case you didn't know, woot.com stirs up a frenzy each time they allow any average Joe to trade a "few perfectly good U.S. dollars for crappy items of dubious value" that are laying around woot's warehouse. So far for Schoonbeck, this is only a dream.

posted by Krista

Nintendinitis Strikes Again

7th Jun 2007

Now I've heard everything.

Dr. Julio Bonis, member of Barcelona's Research Group in Biomedical Informatics, recently diagnosed a nagging, painful ailment. A disorder so common in fact, that he himself suffered from the malady.

Bonis, an avid Nintendo Wii competitor, experienced painful injuries from repetitive movements after a rousing game of Wii Sports Tennis (a simulated tennis match).

After extensive Wii research, Bonis concluded that he was not alone with his nagging symptoms. He dubbed the condition Wiiitis (pronounced "wee-eye-tis).

At this point, Bonis recommends ibuprofen for one week, as well as "complete abstinence from playing Wii video games."

P.S. Wiiitis strikes here at ViaTalk. An undisclosed member of our staff has suffered from back and wrist pain after engaging in Wii games. The remedy: heating pads, ice packs, wrist splints, and the heart of a lion.

posted by Krista

Put Your Thinking Caps On

6th Jun 2007

The infamous forum contest was a big success and posts were plentiful. But where have all the posts gone?

Get answers, give feedback and get going on the ViaTalk Customer to Customer Support Forums.
We may be in need of a few new contest ideas, and who doesn't love winning free stuff?

Go ahead. Rant, rave and post.

posted by Krista

Don't Stop Till You Get Enough

5th Jun 2007

Want to make a deal?

For a limited time, current customers can add time to their existing plans for $150 per year and can add as many years as they want to pay for.

A few days ago, one customer added FIVE years to his plan.

Looks like too much of a good thing, is a good thing.

posted by Krista

Pigs In a Blanket Make National News

4th Jun 2007

It must be a slow news day.

Joey 'Jaws' Chestnut, 22, was featured on the NBC Today Show for smashing the world hot dog eating record.  Jaws eliminated 59 ½ hot dogs AND buns in just 12 minutes.

His reward? Hot dogs for a year.  Go figure.

Our lunch today: make your own tacos

posted by Krista

Good Times Never Seemed So Good

31st May 2007

NEWSFLASH: In the next three years, the young VoIP market will experience an incredible growth spurt. The residential VoIP market is on its way to becoming a $4.1 billion business in 2010.

ViaTalk affiliates are already ahead of the game. As the residential consumer base grows, so will money in your pocket if you refer customers through the ViaTalk affiliate program.

This just in: spam scam exposed!

According to the Associated Press, one of the most prolific spammers on the globe was arrested Wednesday in the U.S. He was indicted and charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. Authorities said Internet users should expect a significant decrease in junk emails overfilling their inboxes. BUSTED!

It's 2pm. Do you know where your identity is?

posted by Krista

Keep Your Eyes Peeled

30th May 2007

If you find yourself sitting there squinting and wondering why your computer screen looks so blurry, you are not alone.

Late last week, Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. announced that it was voluntarily recalling its Complete MoisturePlus Multipurpose Contact Solution from the market. The contaminated solution has been linked to Acanthamoeba keratitis, a serious eye infection that can result in permanent vision loss or blindness. Government officials are urging consumers to throw out bottles of solution ASAP. Better safe than blind.

P.S. computer screens do not permanently damage vision- so keep reading!

posted by Krista

Forum Contest Winners Announced

29th May 2007

The forum contest ended on May 17th and the winner of the 42 Inch Sony Plasma TV is connervt!  Congratulations are also in order for our three first prize winners who will receive one year of ROCKETfreedom hosting credit or one year of VT unlimited phone service credit.  Our first prize winners are dracofelis, kimberly, and sbradshaw!  As second prize winners, agrajag, fareal, and klh will receive six months of ROCKETfreedom hosting credit or six months of VT_unlimited phone service credit.  Congratulations to our winners and thank you to all who posted!

Make sure to continue posting at the forum to keep communication flowing with your HostRocket team and other customers.  Tell us what’s on your mind.  Also, keep your eyes peeled for future contests and giveaways.  You never know how easy it is to win!

posted by The Taskmaster

Copying is still the sincerest form of flattery.

10th May 2007

Lets play a game. Who can spot the most graphical and textual elements on this website that were stolen from ViaTalk! Post your answers here! Coincidentally, it is exactly this far between our office and theirs.  Pretty cool if you ask me.

posted by The Taskmaster

Vote For The Good Guys

30th Apr 2007

A VT guy (Joey's) band is on a list of possible acts for a fairly big show in the area. Please go here and vote for 'Bipolar' as the opening act!

http://www.channel1031.com/pages/openingact.html

Thanks!

posted by The Taskmaster

ViaTalk going to ISPCON!

24th Apr 2007

May 23-25 ViaTalk will be at booth 611 at the Spring 2007 Internet Service Provider Conference (ISPCON) in Orlando, Florida! ISPCON is where you go to find out what is hot in internet services and Via Talk White Private Label VOIP is definitely hot! If you are going to the conference stop by to say Hi and find out about VT white. If you do not want to go to the whole conference and are going to be in the area you can buy an exhibits and events pass and then come check us out. See you at booth 611!

posted by The Teenage Witch

WARM WEATHER!

24th Apr 2007

Yesterday we broke the record high for the day! (The record was 83 degrees in 2001) Yesterday it was a beautiful sunny 85 degrees out! The average high for April 23^rd here in Clifton Park is 61 degrees and the average low is 38. The heat was a nice break from the snow and freezing rain we have been getting. The weather is supposed to stay nice the rest of the week, but no more 80 degree days.

Hope you are all getting some nice weather too. Watch out for the thunderstorms and tornados expecting to hit the Midwest today!

posted by The Teenage Witch

ViaTalk Forum Contest

17th Apr 2007

We are working to make our forums a more valuable tool for our customers, and to do that we need your help. We need you to be active on them on a regular basis! To help pickup the traffic volume on the forums we are running a contest and giving away a 42'' Sony Plasma TV.

Every member that posts 75 posts between now (April 17th, 2007) and May 17th, 2007 will receive one entry which will be placed into a random drawing. After the initial 75 posts, each additional 25 posts will earn an additional entry. Participate in the discussions found around our forums as much as you’d like because there is no maximum number of entries.

Shortly after the contests end, the random drawing will be conducted and prizes will be awarded as follows:

Grand Prize – ( 1 ) Sony PlasmaPro 42-Inch Black Plasma Display

First Prize - ( 3 ) 1 Year ROCKETfreedom Hosting Credit or 1 Year VT_Unlimited Phone Service Credit

Second Prize - ( 3 ) Six Months ROCKETfreedom Hosting Credit or Six Month Year VT_Unlimited Phone Service Credit

Visit the forums and start posting today! http://forums.viatalk.com

Visit here for contest details! http://www.viatalk.com/plasmatv.htm

This contest is open to all existing and future forum members with the exception of company staff. Members need not necessarily be HostRocket or ViaTalk customers. HostRocket.Com, Inc. will be the sole and final arbitrator of any and all disputes regarding this contest.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact promotions@hostrocket.com.

Otherwise, good luck and happy posting!

Note: Spamming of the forums with meaningless posts will result in disqualification.

posted by The Taskmaster

First Week Of iPod Winners Announced

17th Apr 2007

These are the first round of winners for the HR/VT iPod giveaway.

4/10- Jill Hall - ViaTalk

4/11- Alexander Bangtson - ViaTalk

4/12-James Street - HostRocket

4/13- Eric Johnson - HostRocket

4/14-4/16- Brady Helm - ViaTalk

4/17-Joshua Schwartz - ViaTalk

These prizes will be shipped by the end of the month.  Congrats!

posted by The Taskmaster

Robots

13th Apr 2007

We (myself and a bunch of guys on the vt / hr staff) are down in Atlanta this weekend.  We are doing this.

posted by The Taskmaster

YouTube Video

3rd Apr 2007

One of the guys at VT has no a *lot* of free time apparently. Check out his youtube video about ViaTalk. If people show some interest we may do some sort of contest with VT youtube videos.

-Brendan

posted by The Taskmaster

Rising The Ranks

19th Mar 2007

Our march to the top of the search engines continues thanks to our continued SEO efforts.  We are now #2 on google for Internet Phone Service, just ahead of a little company known as vonage.  #1 is next. We are already #1 on MSN.

posted by The Taskmaster

VT Reseller System - Sneak Preview

12th Mar 2007

The VT_White reseller system is rapidly approaching completion. I'm posting a few screenshots to give everyone a sneak peek at the work thats being done.

This is a sample included front page of the reseller system. It is completely configurable by our resellers.



This is the main page of our resellers backend, where they can configure their reseller settings and view stats, etc.



This is a one of the end user control panel pages. It is again brand-able, and can be made to match the design of our resellers site.



This is another inside CP page.



Overall the product is coming along great. We have received plenty of positive feedback regarding it, and are implementing changes daily. The reseller product will function on the same tested and proven network that our current ViaTalk product operates on, ensuring the same great level of service that our current users have come to expect.

posted by The Taskmaster

Still Movin On Up

14th Feb 2007

ViaTalk is still rapidly climbing the search engine rankings.  Check out #3 on a google search for 'internet phone service'. Or check out #1 on msn for the same thing.

posted by The Taskmaster

Blizzard!

13th Feb 2007

According to this here map, we're going to be getting 24+ inches of snow in the next day and a half or so.  We'll be planning things such that it shouldn't be causing too many issues for our tech support dept.  If the power is on a few people may need to work from home.  If it goes out, then sleeping bags at the office it is.

posted by The Taskmaster

Chat with the ViaTalk CEO

8th Feb 2007

I will be available to discuss anything and everything VoIP with just about anyone who cares to stop by, on the ViaTalk customer forums at http://forums.viatalk.com this afternoon from 4-5PM, EST. Swing by, and have your questions ready.

-Brendan

posted by The Taskmaster

Movin' on up

5th Feb 2007

ViaTalk has been steadily climbing the Google results page over the past few weeks, as our search engine optimization efforts have been paying off nicely.  Check out #6 out of 250 million for the search internet phone service.

MSN isn't looking bad either, having us at #2 for the same search.

posted by The Taskmaster

VoIP Reseller System & Network Upgrades

29th Jan 2007

Our VoIP reseller solution, which will allow both individuals as well as existing tech companies such as ISP's, web hosts, etc. to market VoIP services to their customers is undergoing testing as we speak.

Our goals with this program have been to keep things as simple and inexpensive as possible for our resellers, providing them with a dynamic, customizable platform to develop long term recurring revenue without the headaches associated with providing the actual service. We'll be releasing feature sets, screen shots, etc. over the upcoming week or so. We're very happy with how it is turning out, and and fairly confident that it will be hugely successful once implemented.

We've also been expanding our network capacity in anticipation of the launch of our reseller platform. The upgraded network is configured such that it can handle approx. 100k users, and be scaled to provide as many as a million users with the same tested, reliable, and redundant service that ViaTalk users currently enjoy, on only a few days notice.

We'll be looking for a few people to give us a 3rd party perspective on our reseller interface in the near future, so check back here often for updates!

posted by The Taskmaster

BrainCast

4th Jan 2007

BrainCast now has an affiliate program!  Make $1 a pop for referring people to a free service.  Seems easy enough to me : )  Check it out at http://www.braincastaffiliates.com

posted by The Taskmaster

VT White Soft Launch

28th Dec 2006

We are doing a 'pre launch' of sorts for all of the VT White features except for the private label voip services stuff. If you run your own sip servers, pbx, etc., give it a try. You can signup for as little as $5, and you get an extra $5 in credit free upon signup to try things out. http://www.vtwhite.com

posted by The Taskmaster

Robots In The News

28th Dec 2006

There is an article about HR/VT's involvement with our local robotics team in the paper today.  Check it out.

posted by The Taskmaster

The Forum Is Dead! Long Live The Forum!

28th Dec 2006

The HostRocket / ViaTalk forums have been taken off of life support, and are once again alive and kicking. Visit them often, as you'll be learning about cool new features, prizes, giveaways, and contests here before anywhere else! Check them out here.

posted by The Taskmaster

Affiliate Payout Increases!

27th Dec 2006

We have increased the potential affiliate payouts for both HostRocket and ViaTalk today.  HostRocket now goes as high as $115/sale., and ViaTalk is up to $60/sale.  Start turning your traffic into $$ by referring your sites visitors to the same great services that you already enjoy using on a daily basis.  We're so great you're going to tell them anyways, so you might as well get paid for it ;)

posted by The Taskmaster

Beware Of The Hidden Cup

26th Dec 2006

There is a hidden coupon inside the cup on the front page of the VT site - to see what its good for, just click on it.  Feel free to tell your friends and family.

posted by The Taskmaster

22nd Dec 2006

Adam S. of Elsmere, Kentucky (A town a little south of Cincinnati) is the lucky winner of the company’s recent PS3 giveaway. Luckily for Adam, Jacqueline, one of santas little helpers has packaged up and shipped out his new PS3 just in time for the holidays! For more information on the contest (and pictures of Jacqueline) visit http://ps3.viatalk.com

posted by The Taskmaster

What?

18th Dec 2006

Its out there, and you haven't found it.  Keep looking.

posted by The Taskmaster

Robots Will Rule The World

12th Dec 2006

HostRocket/ViaTalk is again working this year with the Shenendehowa H.S. robotics team (Team 20) in their annual quest for glory at the U.S. FIRST robotics competition. As with past years, we will be helping out the team both financially ($80k in the last 4 years), as well as contributing programming and engineering manpower to the task. For those interested, the press release can be read here.

posted by The Taskmaster

Scoop Up A Free Sony PS3

30th Nov 2006

ViaTalk is running a contest for a brand new 60GB Sony PlayStation 3 system, along with some extra games, controllers etc. from now until Dec 5th! Every referral to ViaTalk during this time through our PS3 referral center is good for 1 entry into the drawing. This contest is open to everyone, and no purchase is required to take part, so tell your friends!

To signup for this contest, visit http://ps3.viatalk.com

posted by The Taskmaster

BrainCast Growing Rapidly

8th Nov 2006

After just a few days of being live, BrainCast already has thousands of users signed up and taking advantage of the service. If you've yet to check it out, you should. Thats not my opinion, thats just the way things are ; )

posted by The Taskmaster

BrainCast Beta - Free Internet & Phone Based Memo Recording

7th Nov 2006

I can't tell you how many times I have been out somewhere and have had an idea that just faded away because I didnt take the time to leave myself a reminder (how often do you have a pen handy?). Now we have BrainCast. When I think of something I need to get done, I take my cellphone out of my pocket, hit a few buttons, and presto! Now I can remember everything.

Please Help Us Out & Digg it!

posted by The Axe Murderer

A New Home!

30th Oct 2006

ViaTalk now has an official 'home' on the web for our customers to talk about and discuss ViaTalk service. Stop by when you get a chance and say hello.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/viatalk

posted by The Taskmaster

Halloween Costume Contest

25th Oct 2006

To celebrate the Halloween season, HostRocket and Viatalk will be holding a Halloween Costume Contest. The entire staff will be participating and our wonderful customers will be the judges! Pictures of the costumes will be posted on VT_Inside and you can decide which costume deserves the title of "Best Halloween Costume of 2006."

posted by The Catcher

A Delicious Dead Heat

9th Oct 2006

Lunch gets brought to our office every day. In order to stifle inter-office squabbling over what to get each day, a voting system was devised by 'The Axe Murderer' to ensure that the foodstuffs deemed worthy by the masses is in fact what gets delivered to us. Cheese Steaks, Chili w/Corn Bread, and Pulled Pork finished in a 3 way tie, each pulling in 12% of the vote, followed closely by Zesty Beef & Cheese Enchiladas. Make your own taco day finished a distant 5th. Corn Chowder, Pigs in a Blanket, Potato Chip Chicken, Sausage & Peppers, and Taco Cassarole tied for last place with but a single vote each. Several dishes were in the middle of the pack. More updates to follow, including next weeks voting.

posted by The Taskmaster

Two days at RPI

6th Oct 2006

Thought I'd post a good snap shot from our booth at the NSBE/SHPE 28th Annual Career Fair at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY on September 29th and 30th. It was an excellent opportunity for us to speak with [and recruit from] the next group of RPI graduates. It was a great time and we appreciate the invite from RPI and the NSBE/SHPE. We will be back next year.

posted by The Media King

More Features On The Horizon

4th Oct 2006

We have a batch of new features (and upgrades to current features) coming down the pipe soon.  Several of these are ones that have been heavily requested for some time.  This will also include the return of some features that have been sorely missed by our user community.

posted by The Taskmaster

More and more reliability

3rd Oct 2006

Hey everyone,

We've put another live server on the map today. A second South Central server is up and running. This will give our users even more reliability and is yet another step we've taken to expand our network and it's strength.

Enjoy!

posted by The Media King

Take 3 Minutes And Watch This

2nd Oct 2006

Take 3 minutes out of your day and watch this video clip of Ted Kennedy talking about net neutrality. http://youtube.com/watch?v=6UlCXXZTTh8

posted by The Taskmaster

Focus: Quality Tech Support

28th Sep 2006

We've been placing a big emphasis internally over the last month or so on improving the customer experience when dealing with our technical support staff. Noone wants to call technical support to begin with, but when they have to the process should be as quick and painless as possible.

Our average hold times a month ago were in the 20+ minute range, including peak and off hours. That number has been reduced to below 8 minutes as a result of our recent staffing changes & revised employee training. Our goal is to always have this number between 5-10 minutes.

posted by The Taskmaster

Uncle Sam

14th Sep 2006

Thanks to good ole' uncle sam, nomadic 911 is a 'feature' of VoIP that is here to stay. Coincidentally, it is a feature that not everyone has decided to offer, and they have done so with little to no repercussion to date, but that is a discussion for a different time and place. Regardless, the cost of offering nomadic 911 services on a grand scale is rather large. It may not seem it on a per line basis but when you start repeating that process tens of thousands of times the figure starts to grow rather quickly. ViaTalk is soon going to be charging a 911 related service fee to help cover the cost of providing this government mandated service.

We do not enjoy doing so, as we strive to provide a combination of the low cost / reliable service with the best support available. The drawback of operating at the low price level that we do is that there is not a lot of room for us to absorb costs such as these, and thus we are required to pass some of that cost on to our customers.

Hopefully our customer base will be understanding and realize that this fee is necessary in order for us to maintain the quality of service and support they have come to expect from us while still being able to set the pace in the industry for the introduction of new and innovative features down the road.

posted by The Taskmaster

Chi-Town & The Durrty South

6th Sep 2006

Two new datacenters are now online and available for testing for all ViaTalk users.  These are listed in the control panel as Chicago, IL, and Richmond, VA.  Anyone is free to switch to these at their leisure, and although they are listed as beta they should function exactly the same as the rest of our boxes.  Next Up: Seattle.

posted by The Taskmaster

Come Join The VT Team

28th Aug 2006

Come work for a young, fast growing, high tech company right in your own backyard!

HostRocket.com provides Shared And Dedicated Web Hosting Services & ViaTalk.com provides low cost, high quality Voice Over IP (VoIP) phone service to over 2,200 markets in the U.S., and is looking for dedicated, hard working Customer Service Specialists who are looking to work part or full time in a fast paced, rapidly expanding company.

Job details will include answering sales and technical support questions via a web based ticket system & over the phone, as well as provisioning & troubleshooting customer hardware.

Being a fast learner with recent customer service experience is an absolute must have for this position.

We are hiring for the following shifts:

8am-4pm
4pm-12am
12am-8am

Interested parties should submit their resume to: vtjobs (at) hostrocket (dot) com

posted by The Taskmaster

Coming To A City Near You

28th Aug 2006

The rollout of our new network infrastructure is pretty much complete. While it did not go *quite* as smoothly as it should have, overall things went well and the end result is going to be the same. The service should be rock solid moving forward. The next step in the plan is to expand the reach of our network by adding additional POP's in various cities throughout the US. While people all over can already order our service, the addition of these locations will further lower latency between the end user and our system and in turn improve call quality.

Next Up:

Chicago, IL
McLean, VA
Seattle, WA

posted by The Taskmaster

Redundant Redundancy

15th Aug 2006

The first stages of implementation and testing of the new network infrastructure/design for ViaTalk going forward is pretty much complete, and has gone off without a hitch for the most part. The new structure will feature automatic (or manual) failover of both outgoing and incoming call routing, along with device registration - translation: no downtime.  Customers will even have the option to choose what switch they want calls routed through on the fly via their control panel with no interaction with our tech support team.

You can literally dial your VT phone number and have the call routed into our network via one switch, change switches in your control panel, and dial your VT phone number again 10 seconds later and have the call routed through any other switch of your choosing.  The whole process will be automated should an equipment or network failure arise.
We are very excited with the results so far, and plan to have the entire network running off of this new setup in the upcoming week to ten days.

-Brendan

posted by The Taskmaster

VT_Free

11th Aug 2006

I just wanted to say - That I am amazed at the reaction we're getting to the VT_Free referral program. It was a reasonable expectation for this to be very popular, but those expectations are being exceeded quickly. To all of you ViaTalk referers out there: Thank you and keep up the great work.

If you haven't heard:

We're now offering 10% off of all recurring service charges for every person current clients refer to our service, up to 100%. Its a win-win situation, you save money helping your friends and family save money. Just click on the 'get free service' button in your control panel for more information.

_Michael

posted by The Media King

Company BBQ

7th Aug 2006

The 2nd Annual HR/VT BBQ took place this past weekend & everyone survived it, most escaping without anything worse than minor cuts and bruises. Here are some pics fit for your viewing pleasure.









Movie 1

We'd post some more but it would probably be a bad idea to do so. Company parties are fun - if you're looking to join the team send an email to vtjobs@hostrocket.com

posted by The Taskmaster

Super Double Secret Project In Development

27th Jul 2006

http://www.vtwhite.com/

be afraid.

posted by The Taskmaster

VT Satisfies Night Owls Cravings For Free Phone Service

25th Jul 2006

ViaTalk Satisfies Night Owls Cravings For Free Internet Phone Service

Created especially for the midnight snacker, ViaTalk’s new late night menu offers a feast of savings including twelve months of free unlimited VoIP phone service.

Clifton Park, NY (PRWEB via PR Web Direct) July 25, 2006 – After over a year of providing high quality internet phone service in over 2,200 markets throughout the US, ViaTalk is proud to introduce its new late night menu, available for a limited time between the hours of 1am and 2am EST, at http://www.viatalk.com.

The new ‘late night’ menu features a three course combination of unlimited phone service, new advanced features, and one year of free calling throughout the US & Canada. ViaTalk has in recent months expanded their feature set by adding services such as custom call blocking, call reminder service, and call broadcasting to their growing list of options included with all accounts.

“Everyone with a high speed internet connection is waiting for the right time to jump on the VoIP bandwagon, and we at ViaTalk believe that time is one o’clock in the morning.” Stated ViaTalk CEO Brendan Brader.

This menu will be available for a limited time, beginning Wednesday morning at 1am EST. Details surrounding the terms of the free year of service are available at http://www.viatalk.com.

About ViaTalk, LLC:

ViaTalk, LLC is a privately owned, debt-free company headquartered in Upstate New York that offers VoIP telephone services in over 2,200 metro markets spanning all 50 states. The service uses the broadband internet connections of consumers and businesses to deliver high-quality, full-featured telephone service. VT_Unlimited, the company's flagship plan offers residential users unlimited local and long distance calling for under $16 monthly with select prepay terms.

posted by The Taskmaster

HostingCon 2006 Pics

24th Jul 2006

ViaTalk & HostRocket we're represented at HostingCon 2006 this year promoting our agent program & our upcoming whitelabel solution. Here are a few pics from the convention (and after hours).

The Hotel -