WhineNotNow # 2

WiseMail.

#Whine

Voice mail as a feature seems saturated and usually ends up conveying redundant information especially in cases where caller and the called party already know each other. Since the longest time now, the only control we exercise over it is when we set it up with our name and number with few cliched lines (if we actually do, else it is automated!) which does no good to the person wanting to leave us a message when unreachable!

#WhineNotNow

Why not have voice mails which are aimed at conveying information according to the context of the phone call. This will enable the called party to leave a meaningful message since he has been provided with adequate knowledge to do so. In this time and age of customization why not the voice mails be more context driven and intelligent? Why not have voice mails deliver limited (considering security and privacy issues) yet customized and wise information which benefits both the parties.

WiseMails helps both the caller and the person who has called leverage the benefits of the voice mail feature. Hence if you are unreachable, callers get to hear a meaningful message and hence wouldn’t be forced to blabber “Call me once you get this!”. Based on your preferences (professional could choose to disclose lesser information than a student) WiseMails could be as easy as manually setting a status message or it could be intelligent and,

• Get access to your calendars and decide the duration of unavailability or may be,
• If connected to social networking sites then it could grab the same info based on your previous check in (for example you might have checked into a movie theater).

Consider simple yet constantly recurring situations and consider what the callers (most of whom know you) get to listen before leaving a message for you (with no knowledge of your current situation/context),

• You are about to take an underground sub to travel for about 2 hours with limited or no connectivity,

Voice Mail — “Hi , you have reached Mr. John and I am not able to take your call right away and you can leave me a message and your number”

WiseMail — “Hi, travelling in a low connectivity area. Reachable after 2 hours”

• You are playing a sport, cricket, golf or soccer and can’t get to your phone for the next 3–4 hours,

Voice Mail — “Hi , you have reached Mr. John and I am not able to take your call right away and you can leave me a message and your number”

WiseMail — “Hi, Reach me after 3 hours. Currently not with the phone”

• You have to get to an impromptu meeting and again, you have your phone but there is no way you can use the ‘swipe to decline call with a text’ option and you could not enable the do-not-disturb feature before your meeting!

Voice Mail — “Hi , you have reached Mr. John and I am not able to take your call right away and you can leave me a message and your number”

WiseMail — “Hi, Urgent meeting. Busy for atleast an hour”

In all of the above seemingly trivial situations we face everyday, our voice mails are the ONLY mode of communication or information exchange. And shockingly, they hardly convey anything at all or rather they are capable of conveying much more than what they do!

So, don’t you think the kind of messages you would leave after listening to WiseMails would be meaningful and hence would be of help to both of you involved in the conversation?