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Call Someone – Without Having To Talk To Them

Posted by timothy on 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."

7 of 413 comments (clear)

  1. Text text text text text... by argent · · Score: 4, 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.

  2. you say that by Anonymous Coward · · 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 :-)

  3. You can then be connected to the voicemail inbox.. by Bri3D · · 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.

  4. Re:Voice Messaging by dubl-u · · Score: 3, 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.

  5. Re:You can then be connected to the voicemail inbo by dubl-u · · Score: 4, 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?

  6. Different preference by Nightspirit · · Score: 3, 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.

  7. Re:No pound needed. by ivan256 · · Score: 4, 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.