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Call Someone – Without Having To Talk To Them
Posted by
timothy
on Tue Jul 22, 2008 11:30 AM
from the whole-new-way-to-get-ignored dept.
from the whole-new-way-to-get-ignored dept.
waderoush writes "After a long beta period, Boston-based MobileSphere launched a 'straight-to-voicemail' service yesterday called Slydial. If you call 267-SLY-DIAL and listen to a short ad, you can then be connected to the voicemail inbox of any US mobile phone subscriber, without causing their phone to ring. Sounds kinda useful — but incredibly, MobileSphere is pitching the service as a way to avoid actually communicating with all those difficult, boring people in your life. In reply to suggestions that Slydial erodes and cheapens genuine human interaction, a MobileSphere exec says the company is just combating technology with technology, by helping people take control of whether and when to talk with their friends, family, and coworkers."
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Pound? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Pound? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Pound? (Score:5, Informative)
This feature would probably be most useful if you know the person can't be disturbed (ie. they're in a meeting). You could just slydial them and leave a nice descriptive message.
Parent
meetings? silence your phone (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, if they are in a meeting - or elsewhere where a ringing phone is frowned upon - have them silence the thing.
But I'm sure the marketing people will love this. Now they can 'call' you while circumventing a ton of provisions, including telling them to stop calling you right in the very phone call. .. not to mention kids and pranksters.
I'd check my contract on the services rendered by my provider to see if this can be blocked.
Parent
Re:meetings? silence your phone (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah. Call them during the meeting to remind them.
Parent
Re:Pound? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Pound? (Score:4, Insightful)
Usefull? If I can not be disturbed and in a meeting, I either turn off the phone, so it goes directly to voicemail or do not pick it up, beacsue it is in silent mode and you will be tranferd to voicemail.
Perhaps I know best when I do no want or can not be disturbed and not the preson calling me.
And most of the times when I see I missed a call, I just call back instead of listening to my voicemail.
Also when I get a voicemail, I get a message, disturbing me during my precious meeting that you did not want to disturb.
Parent
Re:Pound? (Score:5, Informative)
Their phone would ring too. This service is supposed to avoid that.
I just tested out SlyDial against my cell phone and the phone did ring once. The caller ID also revealed the number as the one I used to call SlyDial. Not so sly after all.
Parent
Re:No pound needed. (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm sure they call the provider's "check your voicemail remotely" number.
For example, with Sprint, you can dial the area-code, and exchange followed by 6245 (mail), and then proceed to enter a mailbox number to check (with password) or send (without password) a message to.
Other providers have a similar number.
So instead telling people this, these guys are having you listen to an advertisement and dialing the number for you.
Parent
Re:Pound? (Score:5, Funny)
Sure you can hit # to get right ion to voice mail, but you have to be fast otherwise you might have to talk to an actual person and we can't have that now, can we?
If I don't want to talk to someone, I call them and let it ring and let them pick up. Then I just start screaming "I'm gonna cut off your head and shit down your neck!" over and over until they hang up, and then I never have to worry about talking to them again. Sometimes I have to talk to the police, but hey, who ever said you could reach never-talking-to-anyone nirvana without a price?
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, yes, but... you have no way to be sure that the receipient's cell phone doesn't ring (the phone company long ago made sure that the caller and callee's rings don't sync up so that the number of rings couldn't be used to encode messages, e.g. one ring for a boy, two for a girl), and there are reasons for that other than not wanting to talk to someone--say you know that the recipient won't want to be disturbed, but will want to get the message as soon as the meeting/surgery/fire drill/etc. is over.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Verizon (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, this can already be done on Verizon Wireless to Verizon Wireless calls, and maybe AT&T as well.
Dial your OWN voicemail, then once you get to the main menu, hit option 2 to send a message. It then asks you for the 10 digit mailbox number (which is the subscriber's phone number with area code), it says their recorded name, and allows you to leave a voicemail.
I've used this to try to determine who called me if they don't leave a message - the system will play their recorded clip of them reading their name.
Parent
Re:Verizon (Score:5, Funny)
I've used this to try to determine who called me if they don't leave a message - the system will play their recorded clip of them reading their name.
Ooo...very nice tip. Thanks for the heads up.
On a side (but related) note, I really hate when someone calls me back when I dial a wrong number. Conversation goes something like this.
Me: [calls wrong number]
Me: Oh crap! [hang up]
My Phone: [ring, ring]
Me: Hello?
Random Person: Who is this?
Me: Ummm...who is this?
RP: You just called my phone a second ago. Who are you?
Me: I did? No...I don't think so. I was looking at pr0n a minute ago. I definitely wasn't calling your phone.
RP: [silence]
Me: [hangs up]
Parent
Re:Verizon (Score:4, Insightful)
Next time it happens, how about saying along the lines of: Yeah, sorry, I dialed a wrong number and I didn't know what to say. Awkward, you know?
The person will be shocked by your honesty.
Parent
I get it.. (Score:5, Funny)
Send SMS to xyz: "Hey, chk ur email"
Then send the vmail to xyz: "Have your checked your SMS?"
Not exactly correct. (Score:5, Insightful)
Yep.
Yep.
Nope. More like: ...."
"uhh hh hhh uh dood? I uh hh huh h mmmmmmm wanted to callyouabouttheparty and uh uh uh uh the party is
Repeat for about 10 minutes.
I HATE voice-mail because almost no one knows how to leave a message CORRECTLY.
Correct method:
"Hi! This is *name* at *call back number* and I wanted to talk to you about *subject*. Once again, this is *name* at *call back number* calling about *subject*. Bye!"
Incorrect method 1:
"Hi! This is *name*. Call me."
Unless you are the girlfriend/boyfriend. Then it is allowable.
Incorrect method 2:
"Hi! About the thing that blah blah blah blah blah *ten minutes pass* blah blah blah bl" Cut off by message limit timer.
I prefer email and text because it takes MORE effort to type in excess material than voice-mail does.
Parent
Text text text text text... (Score:5, Interesting)
Voice mail is worse than talking to those boring people. I hate voice mail.
If I want to communicate with someone without calling them, I'll take text any day.
Voice Messaging (Score:5, Insightful)
Voice messaging is a lot easier and less dangerous than text messaging, and we do that all the time. I see nothing wrong with this, and in fact was just talking about this idea with some friends a few months ago. What with the iPhone's visual voice mail, I think this is good for the times when you want to quickly leave a person a message without wanting to disturb them, instead of sending them a text message. Now more phones need an easy interface for picking which voice messages you want to listen to.
Re:Voice Messaging (Score:4, Interesting)
I think this is good for the times when you want to quickly leave a person a message without wanting to disturb them.
That's exactly what I want. No disturbance, no conversation, just leaving them a quick note. Just like I can do with email. It dumbfounds me that we call it "voice mail" when the behavior is pure 1970s answering machine, and nothing like postal mail or electronic mail.
Parent
It is nothing new at all, very old in fact (Score:3, Informative)
Most corporate voicemail packages have allowed exactly this, internal to the organization of course, for many years. It's not a new idea, and it does have its uses.
Re:It is nothing new at all, very old in fact (Score:4, Informative)
Not just corporate voicemail packages either.
With my old cell phone (AT&T), you could dial the voicemail number, escape from your voicemail (#+Something) and leave a message for any other AT&T customer.
You could also set up groups and leave the same voicemail for several people at once. I think you had to pay extra for that feature, but I never tried using it.
Parent
Re:Voice Messaging (Score:4, Funny)
Voice messaging is a lot easier and less dangerous than text messaging
Yeah, last time I sent a text message my thumb cramped up, so I couldn't grab the steering wheel in time to avoid a head-on collision with the lady driving the wrong way on a one-way street because she was blathering away on her phone.
Parent
you say that (Score:5, Interesting)
. In reply to suggestions that Slydial erodes and cheapens genuine human interaction,
You say that as if it's a bad thing :-)
I hate voice mail (Score:4, Funny)
It costs me money every time I retrieve it. Just dial my phone, and I'll call back from a landline. You remember landlines, don't you? Or are they all gone now?
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Remembering landlines? (Score:3, Interesting)
Those are those old phones that charge you extra money every time you call someone outside your immediate geographical area, right?
And charge you an extra monthly fee to even have voicemail?
And that you can only use when in your own home?
Yeah, I think I remember my grandfather talking about them.
You can then be connected to the voicemail inbox.. (Score:5, Interesting)
And therefore guaranteed to never receive a response!
I don't think I -ever- check my voicemail unless I've accidentally missed a call I know is important, and almost nobody I know checks theirs on their personal cell either.
Text messaging has replaced leaving voicemail for reminders and invitations, as it's much easier and more convenient.
I think this is a service far past its time. Maybe it would have been useful in the 90s.
Work is different, but this isn't exactly targeted at businesspeople.
Re:You can then be connected to the voicemail inbo (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't think I -ever- check my voicemail unless I've accidentally missed a call I know is important, and almost nobody I know checks theirs on their personal cell either.
Seriously? Whenever I see the little voicemail icon lit up, I check it. You really just ignore the messages until they get auto-deleted unless you think there's something especially good in there?
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Funny, I'm just the opposite. Voicemail means one of my clients has a problem that can't wait. Either that or it's a real estate agent who equates "emergency" with "need something trivial". All I get via SMS are ads or notifications from my cell provider, which I routinely ignore. As for reminders...that's what having a PDA phone is for, right (or does your wife need to keep tabs on you?).
At last! (Score:5, Funny)
Finally! A way to call my mother so that she'll stop bitching about me never calling and at the same time avoiding making it last 50 minutes everytime. A win-win situation!
Yes, I do call my mother sometimes, it's just more convenient than yelling from the bottom of the basement for food.
Somewhat related... (Score:3, Interesting)
I stumbled upon this gem while looking for a quick way to enable/disable forwarding on my blackberry:
http://www.geckobeach.com/cellular/secrets/gsmcodes.php [geckobeach.com]
It's not necessarily antisocial, just practical (Score:5, Insightful)
It's another tool in the handbag of communication and ettiquette.
Visits being the highest priority and inconvenience.
Phonecalls being the next step down in priority and inconvenience.
Voicemail.
E-mail.
IM.
Use the appropriate tool for the level of urgency. Bothering everybody with a visit on your timetable is extremely disruptive to THEIR timetable, so it should only be done when it's called for.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Voicemail.
E-mail.
IM.
Most people I know put email as lower urgency then IM. IM is typically real-time, but not real-time enough to completely halt whatever you were doing. Email and VM is usually "respond when you get a chance"
Re:It's not necessarily antisocial, just practical (Score:4, Funny)
It's another tool in the handbag of communication and ettiquette.
Ma'am, most of us here are guys. We don't carry handbags. We do, however, carry toolboxes. I don't know any guys that carry handbags, but I do know women who use toolboxes. And I've never yet seen any tool in a lady's handbag, unless you consider lipstick, bubble gum, tampons, kleenexes, dildos, revolvers, condome, and the like "tools".
If at first you don't succeed, use a bigger tool.
Parent
Telemarketing will probably make use of this.. (Score:4, Insightful)
Rest of my Friends (Score:5, Funny)
Cool, now I don't have to talk to the remaining friends that I have.
Definitely plan to use this service (Score:4, Funny)
I definitely plan to use this service. That way, I can leave annoying voice messages on the phone of a certain individual who prefers to annoyingly text me instead of confronting me over the phone. Then, I won't have to talk to her -- I can just call and leave another voicemail explaining how she's wrong.
Haha!
-l
Great idea! (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm sure anyone in IT can relate to the concept of someone you'd rather not talk to, but have to leave a message for. I have several people like this that I need to work with. Having a conversation with them is like root canal therapy sometimes. Being able to leave them messages and not actually speak to them would definitely lower my daily stress levels.
Call me anti-social, but these people could drive anyone nuts.
I set up a legit version of this for myself (Score:3, Interesting)
Erodes and cheapens? Hardly. (Score:3, Insightful)
This service means you do not interact with people you don't want to interact with, and therefore increases the percentage of pleasant interactions you enjoy throughout the day.
That's not erosion, that's added value.
Erodes and cheapens? (Score:5, Insightful)
Slydial erodes and cheapens genuine human interaction . . .
No, what erodes and cheapens genuine human interaction is being so boring that your friends would rather talk to your voicemail than to you.
Different preference (Score:4, Interesting)
It seems most people don't like checking their voicemail, but I take it a step further. I don't answer the phone unless the person leaves a voicemail (with the exception of family). I figure if the issue isn't important enough to leave a message, it isn't important enough for me to answer the phone.
Re:What's the point? (Score:5, Insightful)
"Hey boss! Sorry I'm leaving ANOTHER message! Working from home today as usual. Are you out of town? I've called three times today but you must be in an area without coverage. I really need to talk with you about some implementation specifics before I can start coding." (goes back to sleep)
Parent
Re:What's the point? (Score:5, Funny)
Hey employee! Talk to bob about the implementation issues. And I'm gonna have to ask you to work at the weekend again.
Parent
Re:What's the point? (Score:5, Funny)
That reminds me of the Dilbert where he's at home in the early hours of the morning and he calls his boss (to make it look like he's working) and says something like "It's 3 am and I'm here in my underwear thinking of you" then he says "Crap" and pushes a button and says "Crap" again. Dogbert asks "Did you just send a dirty voicemail to your boss?" and Dilbert says "No, I think I pressed the group code" :-)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Funny, if someone calls me, and I miss it, and they don't leave a voicemail, I assume it wasn't important and don't call them back.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Why not? Often, the voicemail contains all of the info needed for you to determine what action needs to be taken, including whether or not a callback is even necessary.
When I call someone, I only leave voicemail if doing so would add useful information. Something like "I need your input on something by 4:00 today, but I'll be out between noon and 1. Give me a call when you get a chance." That lets them know that I require a callback, and what timeframe we're dea
Re:i despise talking on the phone (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
And without capitalisation, even emailing you is a disincentive to communication. Well played, sir.