By Robert Stanke of RobertStanke.com
Two quick thoughts… First, the system of communication by phone as we know it today is going to be changing drastically over the next 10 years. Actually, make that five years. Secondly, why does it seem that everything Google touches has a bit of awesomeness to it? What do these two thoughts have in common? The introduction of Google Voice!
Look familiar? That is because Google Voice uses the same look-and-feel as Gmail.
Now I have to apologize to all of those great Refocusing Technology readers out there who do not have a Google Voice account yet because it is not public. I have heard reports that it is due out soon, so I hope you consider a source for you to use to decide whether or not you want to give it a try. On the other hand, for those of us who were lucky enough to get our hands on one of the limited passes for Grand Central, it is nice to see that Google is finally implementing their acquisition!
To sum it up, Google Voice is a free service from Google that allows you to have one phone number act as your central line for communication. When you give the number out, and others call it, you can program Google Voice to take different actions. For example, you can categorize all your contacts and have some go right to voicemail. Or maybe you want to have the call ring to various other numbers, like your home phone, cell phone, and work phone (so basically you are accessible everywhere). Or maybe you don’t want to take a call and send it to voicemail… then you can actually listen in real-time to the person leaving the voicemail, in the event you might want to pop-in and take the call. You can place calls or send out SMS messages right from the Google Voice portal, and speaking of SMS, you can also have messages transcribed to text and emailed to you. These are just a few of the awesome features in Google Voice!
These are just a few of the settings available within Google Voice
As far as the interface goes, it looks exactly like Gmail, for those of you who use that system for email. It is very easy to use, and even brings in your contact list from Gmail as well. So the integration with Google tools is there. I would caution you that if you have saved voicemails in your Grand Central account to act on them before converting to Google Voice, because I lost all of mine during the conversion, even though Google told me I wouldn’t.
Google Voice is coming real soon in regards to being open to the public. Late last week, reports were floating around that Google had requested one million phone numbers, so the blogosphere went crazy wondering when it would be. I recommend keeping your eyes open for it, because I think it is worth it to check out (it is free after all), and history tells us it will be highly sought after – so get in line early so you can grab a number you want!
You can stay posted on Google Voice news, and much more interactive news at my website: http://robertstanke.com. While you are there, sign up for my free e-newsletter to get interactive marketing, technology, and business tips and tricks, discounts on products and services, as well as get connected to industry leaders!
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