This post is the result of a fascinating question that I overheard (ahem!), someone discussing in the metro, on my way home yesterday. Not typically the kind to eavesdrop (trust me!), this one surely got me interested!
I pondered on this for a while and wondered what I could do away with. So I came out with a list of techie products that sustain my daily existence and see if there was anything I could do without:
1. TV and Remote: IMPOSSIBLE!!!
2. Radio/Mp3/DVD: Life without music and movies is no life at all. So totally ruled out!
3. Refrigerator/Microwave/Toaster/Oven: If I choose to live in the kitchen my entire life then I'd be fine without these....oh but what about my crispy toast??
4. Washing Machine/Dryer: Well, now not having these could possibly cure the disease of 'shrinking clothes' but then again, I do not have a good Laundromat out here....wait a minute, before you get there, realize that just the thought of 'me-washing-and-drying-clothes' without these two can be extremely threatening so yes, I need them because no Ramdas would come here do it for me!
5. Garbage Disposal: I learnt about this only when I came to the US and realized, in layman's terms, its significance in sanitation, hygiene and overall waste management treatment. Infact, there was a time I wondered if the BMC would be able to set this up in my Ghatkopar, so I would keep this right there!
6. Dishwasher: Now, this has multi-purpose functionality - to wash dishes (sure!), to drain out the washed dishes, to hide uncleaned dishes from the sink, to uhhhhh.....of course, ease my job when I just cannot be bothered to DO the dishes. So am glad, I have this facility!
7. Computers/Internet: No mails? No Bheja Fry?? No google??? No Mac???? No music piracy????? No way!!
8. Phone: Having the IPhone has made my life less complicated (ok that is a bit dramatic and not entirely true but really, not having a phone is out of question here!)
OH WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!! I know what I can DO AWAY WITH!!
It is the entire ordeal (that I go through) in leaving voice messages on the cell phones of people I want to talk to but cannot.
Why have voicemail? What is its purpose? Apart from the fact that you LET a person KNOW that you called (which probably is evident because of the missed number that flashes on the phone), what could be the objective of a voice message? Since I am part of this so-called Matrix (I am actually outside it but pretending to be in it!), I too have a voicemail set up on my phone IN CASE someone cannot get through to me and hence leaves a message. The point is not in leaving or retrieving messages but the long-drawn (mental) process that I get annoyed with. For instance, when I call someone and instead get that person's voicemail, it may typically go as:
"Hi this is ______, please leave me a message".
Now in a fraction of that second, my brain has to derive a plan as to:
(a) first remind myself why I called this person?
(b) what do I want the person to know?
(c) what message should I leave?
(d) when should the person call me back in case I am busy thereafter (am I busy then)?
(e) should I even leave any message?
And this only gets worse if the person is someone I am trying to impress upon. Wish I had a transcription on this!
I am sure I can spare myself of this 'intellectual' agony and simply hang up and (a) wait for the person to revert based on my 'missed phone number' or (b) try again if it is that urgent.
While on the other hand, the typical messages that I usually get range around:
My Husband: "Hi, its me, call me". That's quite sweet but considering we talk sweet-nothings almost all the time, this one I can do without (took his permission indeed when I wrote this one!).
My Friend: "Hi, what's happening, call me". We cross each other almost all the time so really, lets talk TO EACH OTHER rather than our voice mails.
My Mom: "Hi beta, called for no reason so call when you can". A shame indeed on me that I miss my Mom's phone. Sorry Ma, call you in a jiffy!
At times, my nieces and nephew have left random messages or simply sung songs but see, those are different. They are meant to be treasured recordings and can stay put!
So what I am referring to here is the justification of voice messages as opposed to, lets say, emails, emergency texting or simply bombarding the phone with unlimited call-cuts. If these do not work, then it only means not worth getting in touch.
Often, I tend to simply call the person who left a message without actually listening to the message. My bad sure but it is so much more easier to just call rather than listen to the message and then determine when to call, whether to call or not! And since I am, all the time, struggling to ensure my minutes are intact till the due date, I'd rather reserve them for my calls than listen to messages! Actually, having an IPhone is, in this respect, an advantage because its visual voicemail feature lets me unclutter the messages based on names/numbers but requires me to clear/listen to them at some point. Further, whom does this service benefit in true sense - the call who did not get through or the receiver who is yet to listen to the message? Or really the network operators who offer this service and then mint some minutes off 'both' the users? I have heard that there are service providers who offer voice message conversions into text but with this post I doubt ATnT would even both offering this to me.
Anyways, this is a technology which is my 'unnecessary' evil that I can do away with. What would be yours?
If I had to give up on one technology, what would I choose?
I pondered on this for a while and wondered what I could do away with. So I came out with a list of techie products that sustain my daily existence and see if there was anything I could do without:
1. TV and Remote: IMPOSSIBLE!!!
2. Radio/Mp3/DVD: Life without music and movies is no life at all. So totally ruled out!
3. Refrigerator/Microwave/Toaster/Oven: If I choose to live in the kitchen my entire life then I'd be fine without these....oh but what about my crispy toast??
4. Washing Machine/Dryer: Well, now not having these could possibly cure the disease of 'shrinking clothes' but then again, I do not have a good Laundromat out here....wait a minute, before you get there, realize that just the thought of 'me-washing-and-drying-clothes' without these two can be extremely threatening so yes, I need them because no Ramdas would come here do it for me!
5. Garbage Disposal: I learnt about this only when I came to the US and realized, in layman's terms, its significance in sanitation, hygiene and overall waste management treatment. Infact, there was a time I wondered if the BMC would be able to set this up in my Ghatkopar, so I would keep this right there!
6. Dishwasher: Now, this has multi-purpose functionality - to wash dishes (sure!), to drain out the washed dishes, to hide uncleaned dishes from the sink, to uhhhhh.....of course, ease my job when I just cannot be bothered to DO the dishes. So am glad, I have this facility!
7. Computers/Internet: No mails? No Bheja Fry?? No google??? No Mac????
8. Phone: Having the IPhone has made my life less complicated (ok that is a bit dramatic and not entirely true but really, not having a phone is out of question here!)
OH WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!! I know what I can DO AWAY WITH!!
It is the entire ordeal (that I go through) in leaving voice messages on the cell phones of people I want to talk to but cannot.
Why have voicemail? What is its purpose? Apart from the fact that you LET a person KNOW that you called (which probably is evident because of the missed number that flashes on the phone), what could be the objective of a voice message? Since I am part of this so-called Matrix (I am actually outside it but pretending to be in it!), I too have a voicemail set up on my phone IN CASE someone cannot get through to me and hence leaves a message. The point is not in leaving or retrieving messages but the long-drawn (mental) process that I get annoyed with. For instance, when I call someone and instead get that person's voicemail, it may typically go as:
"Hi this is ______, please leave me a message".
Now in a fraction of that second, my brain has to derive a plan as to:
(a) first remind myself why I called this person?
(b) what do I want the person to know?
(c) what message should I leave?
(d) when should the person call me back in case I am busy thereafter (am I busy then)?
(e) should I even leave any message?
And this only gets worse if the person is someone I am trying to impress upon. Wish I had a transcription on this!
I am sure I can spare myself of this 'intellectual' agony and simply hang up and (a) wait for the person to revert based on my 'missed phone number' or (b) try again if it is that urgent.
While on the other hand, the typical messages that I usually get range around:
My Husband: "Hi, its me, call me". That's quite sweet but considering we talk sweet-nothings almost all the time, this one I can do without (took his permission indeed when I wrote this one!).
My Friend: "Hi, what's happening, call me". We cross each other almost all the time so really, lets talk TO EACH OTHER rather than our voice mails.
My Mom: "Hi beta, called for no reason so call when you can". A shame indeed on me that I miss my Mom's phone. Sorry Ma, call you in a jiffy!
At times, my nieces and nephew have left random messages or simply sung songs but see, those are different. They are meant to be treasured recordings and can stay put!
So what I am referring to here is the justification of voice messages as opposed to, lets say, emails, emergency texting or simply bombarding the phone with unlimited call-cuts. If these do not work, then it only means not worth getting in touch.
Often, I tend to simply call the person who left a message without actually listening to the message. My bad sure but it is so much more easier to just call rather than listen to the message and then determine when to call, whether to call or not! And since I am, all the time, struggling to ensure my minutes are intact till the due date, I'd rather reserve them for my calls than listen to messages! Actually, having an IPhone is, in this respect, an advantage because its visual voicemail feature lets me unclutter the messages based on names/numbers but requires me to clear/listen to them at some point. Further, whom does this service benefit in true sense - the call who did not get through or the receiver who is yet to listen to the message? Or really the network operators who offer this service and then mint some minutes off 'both' the users? I have heard that there are service providers who offer voice message conversions into text but with this post I doubt ATnT would even both offering this to me.
Anyways, this is a technology which is my 'unnecessary' evil that I can do away with. What would be yours?
