According to Insight Research Corp. the market for what is known in the trade as Presence-based services will reach nearly $23bn. (This equates to about 400,000€ if the dollar keeps sliding at current rates.)

One example of a Presence-based service is Instant Messaging. This is a huge hit in Asia, where the most common message left on telephones and PCs is "I will be leaving the Nike factory at 2am, please don't forget to set my alarm for 5am so I am not late for my 6am shift."

When asked to comment on this IM phenomenon, Nike Skyped back to say that this new paradigm of Presence-based services has influenced their business practice no end. The new thinking is, that most unskilled people in Asia are happy to present themselves at a sweat shop in order to earn $3 a day. In order not to appear too soft, Nike require their presence (and sweat) at the factory for 19 out of every 24 hours. It may sound harsh, but we offer flexi-time and the carbon-based units working for us can choose which day per month not to grace us with their presence. Never let it be said that multi-nationals take advantage of low-wage economies.

Apparently Nike are spot on with their interpretation of the Presence-based theory and their questionable approach to labor. According to Robert Rosenberg, Insight Research!

Presence-based services are all about saving time and effort, so both consumers and businesses see value in these applications...

See, no mention of benefits for labor!

PTT

The list of presence-services is vast, and adoption is gaining plenty of momentum, especially since the dinosaur execs in telecommunications realised that their teen daughters' preferred mode of communication is applicable to businessmen too.

Push to talk (PTT) is another such presence-based such service taking off. Bottom line, with everyone so busy nowadays, you are either pushed for time to talk, or you need to be pushed to talk. Corporations are chomping at the bit to provide PTT in a business like, price-gouging manner. (A slice of $23bn / €400,000 is certainly something to get excited about if you are a multi-national corporate CEO looking for ways to fund your annual bonuses without pissing off shareholders.)

JIC U R ROFL @ POS lack of knowledge of abbreviations for IM, here is a quick guide to the level of grammatical correctness we can look forward to in the future.

Ed asks that anyone familiar with PTT to please explain how great it is.