Zoom Killed Phone Numbers - They Just Don't Know it Yet

In the last year, everyone from schoolkids to retirees has learned a new behavior: click on a link and join a live video call or meeting.

When everyone learns a new behavior, it opens up opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs. Behavior change is hard - but once a new behavior is in place, building new tech around it is easy.

What we're seeing now is a set of three key behaviors that will make phone numbers obsolete:

1. Click a Zoom link to join a video call or online meeting
2. Click a Calendar link to schedule a video meeting for later
3. Don't pick up the phone unless you know who's calling

Here's where I see the opportunity: give people a link where they can video call you anytime, bypassing the robocalls and telemarketers using phone numbers. If you're not available, let them schedule a time for later.

In other words - the new behaviors we learned during the COVID lockdown are going to kill phone numbers. Companies like Verizon and AT&T will exist primarily as internet providers to your home and mobile device - not phone companies.

Do you think in 20 years we will still be giving out phone numbers as our contact info? Will we ask people to download some messaging App and send us a friend request? Or will we give out a simple link that anyone can use?

Let me know what you think in the comments below.