Is Voicemail Dead?

Voicemail is dead. This provocative pronouncement was posted at TechCrunch. I don’t know if it’s an occupational hazard of working remotely online all the time, but I have always preferred email over the phone. It’s non-disruptive to workflow and way more time-efficient. Apparently, TechCrunch agrees:

Typical voicemail messages today include things like “Please don’t leave me a voicemail, I rarely listen to them. Please just email me at xxxx@xxxx.com” Many people don’t bother setting up their voicemail accounts at all. Then there’s my favorite method, the one I use personally - let the message box get full and then don’t empty it. Caller ID still tells me who called, and I can simply call them back.

How many times have you called someone back and said “I saw that you called but didn’t listen to the voicemail yet, Is it anything urgent?”

Frustration mounts when a simple request or bit of information turns into a three-day phone tag fest - when a simple email would do just fine. 

So how to make the best of voice mail? TechCrunch suggests using a message transcription service- Vonage offers this option for 25 cents per message - and it’s WORTH IT.  Check out TechCrunch’s post.. what do you think?

Think Before You Voicemail  (TechCrunch)

 

TweetBeep: A “Google Alert” Tool for Serious Twitterholics

A new gadget for the Twitterholic in your life (me). With TweetBeep, you can create email alerts when domains and phrases of your choosing are “tweeted”. Slick features include user filtering and can report on domains even if they are in a shortened URL, such as TinyURL or Snurl.

Thanks to Mari Smith for the tip!

Follow me on Twitter.

Digsby Unifies IM And Social Media Messaging

If you struggle with juggling different IM networks and social media and all their applications running on your computer at the same time… do yourself a favor and check out Digsby. Digsby is a single application that delivers all the major IM networks: Google Talk, AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ & Jabber - along with an email notifier AND Twitter, Facebook and MySpace alerts - all in a single interface. Digsby also announced today that it now supports Facebook chat in addition to notifications.

In addition, Digsby offers customizable widgets you can add to your blog or website that allows your visitors to IM you from your website. You can see it in action on this blog —>

Read the C|Net Review of Digsby here.

What if everyone who could telecommute actually did?

I’m always ranting about how the price of gas would drop like a stone tomorrow if all those who could do their work at home actually did. Here in the Philly ‘burbs, the main arteries leading to the city and to the office parks of King of Prussia are CLOGGED daily with information workers of one stripe or another, who, truth be told, really don’t need to be in the office all the time. Now, there is a study that tries to quantify the possible result:

They asked the simple question: what would be the impact if everyone who could work from home actually did? The answer they came up with for the USA: a savings of 625 million barrels of oil a year, as well as $43 billion less spent on gasoline and elimination of a couple of weeks of wasted commuting time per person.

The study (done by telework advocacy website Undress4Success) focuses on the immense environmental benefits of such a scenario, but there are compelling economic woes that can be alleviated as well. With skyrocketing oil prices linked to everything from worldwide food inflation to bankrupt airlines to shuttered pizza shops, anything that can drive down the cost of energy would help reverse the damage. For every infoworker who can skip the daily commute, life is made a bit easier (less traffic) and more affordable (cheaper gas) for those who can’t telecommute: nurses, farmers, police officers, chefs, hairstylists and truckers (and our truckers really need a break)!

The less obvious benefits: happier and more productive workers, fewer car accidents, cheaper auto insurance, independence from foreign oil - and perhaps most gratifying of all - handing Big Oil a well-deserved cash “haircut”.

Thanks to the wonderful Web Worker Daily for the validation I was looking for!

Be sure to read the original article about the study, at Undress4Success.