By Amanda Domurad
The only thing that is more annoying than not being able to reach someone on their cell phone is not reaching them and then being unwillingly led to the dreaded automated voicemail. It is cold, uncaring, and one might say, blatantly impersonal. It is clear as crystal that the voice on the other end of the line does not care if you know where the person who’s being called is or when he or she will return; and it doesn’t have to care, because it is just a recording. It is a recording that tells millions of people on a daily basis, “The person you are calling is unavailable,” without a care in the world. How rude!
Finally, there is something that is going to change the feel of drab, boring, couldn’t-careless voicemail to whatever one wants it to be, and it’s called YouMail. YouMail.com is a free web-based application that gives people the power to customize their voicemail greetings, which are assignable to each and every one of one’s friends, family members, schoolmates and colleagues. With YouMail, people have the ability to express themselves much more freely by assigning a unique voicemail greeting to each and every person in their phonebook, if they wish. Instead of the usual, boring automated greeting, YouMail enables people to leave a professional greeting for workrelated contacts, a flirty greeting for the boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever else is desired.
Bill Schlueter from Launch Pad Public Relations says that the brain behind YouMail is a man by the name of Ken Brickley. “This guy thought of something that the big guys should have thought of,” Schlueter said.
By “big guys” Schlueter means corporations like Verizon, Cingular, Sprint and other huge businesses. He predicts that YouMail has the capability to become so popular among the younger generations that it will be bought out by those “big guys” who want to have something new and exciting to offer. While YouMail is considered a Beta site, which basically means an experimental venture, Schlueter also says, “It [YouMail] was picked up very quickly by Gizmoto and Newsweek, when at that point there were only 1,000 users.” That is pretty impressive, for a Web site that was only an experiment, at first.
YouMail’s full launch will be in April, when they will introduce features such as “grouping” — a feature that allows users to, for example, group all of their family members under one “hello family” greeting. Other functions to look forward to from YouMail include a oneclick global override for one general “out of office” or “on vacation” greeting to all callers. The great thing about this new technology, which is comparable, but slightly more advanced than the regular customizable ring-tone feature that most cell phones offer, is that it allows entrepreneurs to wear many different hats (or just appear to be) by changing their voicemail greetings according to who is getting in contact with them for what. YouMail is also easy to manage from any computer, by accessing Youmail.com, and the site is very convenient. “What about those unwanted callers who can’t take a hint,” you ask? YouMail also offers something called “Ditchmail,” which is an option that hangs up right after the greeting ends. It is perfect for the dreaded ex, or whoever else one might find undesirable to talk to.
Sarah Schoenholtz, a junior at the University, liked the concept. “This is a good idea. Ditchmail seems hilarious, but I’d like something to be done about blocked callers, and people who have the wrong number,” she said. “I love this concept though.”
Some other nice aspects of YouMail are that there is no need to memorize and enter a pin number to access messages every time, and YouMail actually takes the time to text message the user when they get a voicemail, including the caller name and a return phone number. Most importantly, the reign of the monotonous, dreary automated voice may be coming to an end as people can now give their voicemail a free, extreme makeover and some flare to their outgoing messages. Go to YouMail.com to see why this new technology will be the end of all boring voicemail.
What a welcome screen at your customized YouMail.com account may look like.