General laziness. I can see where I'd rather use it than call a lot of people I'm meeting or do multiple texts. I hate talking on the phone and love text-ing and this would be convenient. I could have used it this weekend when I was on campus and a bunch of us were trying to coordinate where we'd meet for drinks.
Pinger is... another social interaction tool I won't be using. You (somehow) set up an address book/contact list with the Pinger system, interact with it using voice recognition, record messages, and other people receive text notification that they have a voicemail waiting for them on Pinger's system. Recipients have to call Pinger (rather then their usual voicemail) and interact with the system using traditional button interaction. [Does it sound like I'm not overly impressed? Disclaimer: I am definitely not in your target audience.]
As for the video, it seems cute, hip, and informative in a short amount of time. Phones have the wrong number of buttons on them.
Hello Kelev, it has been ages since I've seen you around, thanks for your feedback!
Even though, you sound pretty jaded, let me give this a go, because Pinger is less complicated than you described. To send a Pinger message:
1. Dial 858 2 PINGER
2. Say the number you are calling
3. Say the name of that person (so that next time you call you say "Karen" instead of the number).
4. Record your message (you know, talk)
5. Hang up.
If someone sends a Pinger to you:
1. Read the text msg.
2. Click the green button on your phone, or scroll over the pinger number in the message and hit dial (this is dependent on what kind of phone you have).
3. Listen to the message
4. Hang up.
Alternate 4: press one to reply, say something, then hang up
Alternate 4: press two to reply all, say something, then hang up.
If you wanted, you could go to the web site and enter the names & numbers of your friends but very few people actually do this because the phone interaction is so easy.
I suspect you are right about not being the target audience, and in theory, neither am I. For most of this newfangled stuff you and I are too damn old. The kids, however seem to like it. ;-)
I would only want to read the text. I wouldn't want to have to call for a voice message. I hate voice messages. I like texts. I am simple, I am. I typically like any new technology but had anything having to do with listening to messages. I would love this thing if there was no speaking involved.
good to know. this product is definitely not for you. ;-)
it's good for people who like to talk, but don't want to have a synchronous conversation.
Maybe our friend Deb is right when she says "there are text people and there are talk people." She's a self-proclaimed text person.
Myself, I guess I'm a hybrid. I like to text, but I also like to talk. And I love to hear the sound of other people. I just don't like having to talk to them Right Now.
I think Deb is right. I mostly dread voicemail, except on the rare occasion. My texting skills are up there with the fastest 13 year-old girls, I've been told and I am usually an early technology adopter.
That's one thing that drives me a bit crazy about my MLIS program. We are kind of driven in half between those who want to use new technologies and others who think that since cataloging has worked as it is for the last 100+ years it should stay that way.
That is very cool to hear. I hope that if you decide to use it again you'll let me know what your experience is like. In fact, what I'd really love is for you to be someone I could bounce ideas off of. :-)
...wait, so this is only limited to other subscribers, users of the service? in other words, in order to use this, my buddy down the street, the crack whore on story and jackson, and my director at work, all have to have this in order to maximize the use of it?
i grasp the concept, but in the age of blackberry's, treo's, text messaging, etc? really don't see the benefit to this if that's the case. i gather you're soliciting both positive and constructive feedback since you started your new gig (congrats btw) but has there (or will there be) an aggressive push to market this to cell phone providers as a value add feature or is going to be a stand alone product.
see, i'm looking at it from an investors POV and trying to see the worth out of this. perhaps i'm missing the point, but I may be spot on with my assesment of this.
This is not a subscription, there is nothing to "have" and this is not a social network. It works as simply as this: you call a number, you say a number for a mobile phone - any mobile phone in the US - you leave a message and you hang up.
While cell phone providers might be interested in the functionality, part of the beauty of Pinger is that it is not confined to a carrier's silo. You can be on Verizon, and I can be on Sprint, and we can exchange Pinger messages. We can send them, save them, forward them etc.
And yes, I posted this because I am looking for positive and negative feedback. And also because I am curious to see how easily people understand the concept. Did you watch the video? What did you think of it?
So, last night I showed it to Matt, who deemed it "interesting", which is good praise. We both tried it and he really liked it. I maintain I still text over voice but I'd rather use it and leave one message than many.
getting last minute message to soccer team parents, say when there's a pending thunderstorm and everybody is getting on the road to drive 45 minutes 1 way to the field? Or there's a last minute change in venue?
question: can I set up a phone list? i want to be able to say "soccer moms" and be able to hit every parent on the team with one message.
The only one down side is that my friends are sorta old and they don't really upgrade their cellphone nor service. So I have limited number of people I can actually send text, which means they won't be that happy if I keep sending voice-text thingie.
But, like others said, I've been wondering if there's anyway I can text my voice message since people are so busy and you don't want to interrupt them by calling them not really knowing how busy they are.
Hi Karen, I'm new to your blog (I followed a link from foxydee) and I just wanted to leave my $.02. (actually, looking at how long this comment is, maybe you deserve a refund!!)
I love the idea since the only people who really call me are my family members, and we always end up doing the daisy-chain thing (1 calls me, I call 2, 2 calls 3, 4 and 5 meet, then call 1, who calls me, etc.). We try email, but not everyone is on a smart phone/gets their email delivered to their phone, so emails can stagnate in the inbox.
So, conceptually, I like it a lot.
Practically, I have one huge glaring issue - the charges. Most (American) cell plans have enough minutes that a voicemail isn't a big deal, but calling a number externally will charge them minutes (while calling voicemail may or may not). But, for the sake of argument, let's say that the airtime charge is negligible. My phone company charges $.15 per text, so receiving a voicemail instead of a text message is preferable to me. Also, is the number toll or toll-free?
As for being a phone vs. text person, I think I'm more like you in that I enjoy getting voicemail and choosing to reply when it is convenient for me to do so, but I also like text (in my case, either through yahoo IM/blackberry IM/email), and I can always look back through the email chain to see what was decided.
The video was informative, and I like the style of the graphics. I chose to watch it twice so that I understood the product. The voice actor is easy to understand and has a pleasant voice. I think the "quick" emphasis shouldn't be on the length of the voicemail ("trade quick voicemail messages") but rather the speed at which you trade it ("quickly trade voicemail messages"). Also, it took to the second scene for me to understand why I would want to use Pinger rather than my built-in voicemail. Depending on the target audience and target application of the service, emphasis could be placed on the "voicemail all" feature right off the bat.
Again, the service is intriguing - thanks for posting about it!!
Comments
Good. Can you think of a scenario where this would be useful to you?
You could use this to contact the invitees to let them know the party is canceled.
yes. i have heard of other people using this to coordinate group activity:
Al: "are you guys free for dinner tonight?"
Joe replies to all: I am free, let's do Japanese"
Lisa replies to all: I am free too, let's go to Okina Sushi at 7"
Lisa replies to Joe "want to carpool?"
Joe to Lisa "yep, I'll pick you up at 6:30
Lisa replies to all "see you at 7"
etc.
Can you imagine that as an email thread?
yep. you totally get this. i hope you try it out.
I've started using it for that - when i want to tell you something but I don't really want to talk to you....
Kudos to the director of the video. They did a good job demonstrating the service in a brief period of time.
As for the video, it seems cute, hip, and informative in a short amount of time. Phones have the wrong number of buttons on them.
Hello Kelev, it has been ages since I've seen you around, thanks for your feedback!
Even though, you sound pretty jaded, let me give this a go, because Pinger is less complicated than you described. To send a Pinger message:
1. Dial 858 2 PINGER
2. Say the number you are calling
3. Say the name of that person (so that next time you call you say "Karen" instead of the number).
4. Record your message (you know, talk)
5. Hang up.
If someone sends a Pinger to you:
1. Read the text msg.
2. Click the green button on your phone, or scroll over the pinger number in the message and hit dial (this is dependent on what kind of phone you have).
3. Listen to the message
4. Hang up.
Alternate 4: press one to reply, say something, then hang up
Alternate 4: press two to reply all, say something, then hang up.
If you wanted, you could go to the web site and enter the names & numbers of your friends but very few people actually do this because the phone interaction is so easy.
I suspect you are right about not being the target audience, and in theory, neither am I. For most of this newfangled stuff you and I are too damn old. The kids, however seem to like it. ;-)
good to know. this product is definitely not for you. ;-)
it's good for people who like to talk, but don't want to have a synchronous conversation.
Maybe our friend Deb is right when she says "there are text people and there are talk people." She's a self-proclaimed text person.
Myself, I guess I'm a hybrid. I like to text, but I also like to talk. And I love to hear the sound of other people. I just don't like having to talk to them Right Now.
That's one thing that drives me a bit crazy about my MLIS program. We are kind of driven in half between those who want to use new technologies and others who think that since cataloging has worked as it is for the last 100+ years it should stay that way.
...wait, so this is only limited to other subscribers, users of the service? in other words, in order to use this, my buddy down the street, the crack whore on story and jackson, and my director at work, all have to have this in order to maximize the use of it?
i grasp the concept, but in the age of blackberry's, treo's, text messaging, etc? really don't see the benefit to this if that's the case. i gather you're soliciting both positive and constructive feedback since you started your new gig (congrats btw) but has there (or will there be) an aggressive push to market this to cell phone providers as a value add feature or is going to be a stand alone product.
see, i'm looking at it from an investors POV and trying to see the worth out of this. perhaps i'm missing the point, but I may be spot on with my assesment of this.
While cell phone providers might be interested in the functionality, part of the beauty of Pinger is that it is not confined to a carrier's silo. You can be on Verizon, and I can be on Sprint, and we can exchange Pinger messages. We can send them, save them, forward them etc.
And yes, I posted this because I am looking for positive and negative feedback. And also because I am curious to see how easily people understand the concept. Did you watch the video? What did you think of it?
getting last minute message to soccer team parents, say when there's a pending thunderstorm and everybody is getting on the road to drive 45 minutes 1 way to the field? Or there's a last minute change in venue?
question: can I set up a phone list? i want to be able to say "soccer moms" and be able to hit every parent on the team with one message.
But, like others said, I've been wondering if there's anyway I can text my voice message since people are so busy and you don't want to interrupt them by calling them not really knowing how busy they are.
I love the idea since the only people who really call me are my family members, and we always end up doing the daisy-chain thing (1 calls me, I call 2, 2 calls 3, 4 and 5 meet, then call 1, who calls me, etc.). We try email, but not everyone is on a smart phone/gets their email delivered to their phone, so emails can stagnate in the inbox.
So, conceptually, I like it a lot.
Practically, I have one huge glaring issue - the charges. Most (American) cell plans have enough minutes that a voicemail isn't a big deal, but calling a number externally will charge them minutes (while calling voicemail may or may not). But, for the sake of argument, let's say that the airtime charge is negligible. My phone company charges $.15 per text, so receiving a voicemail instead of a text message is preferable to me. Also, is the number toll or toll-free?
As for being a phone vs. text person, I think I'm more like you in that I enjoy getting voicemail and choosing to reply when it is convenient for me to do so, but I also like text (in my case, either through yahoo IM/blackberry IM/email), and I can always look back through the email chain to see what was decided.
The video was informative, and I like the style of the graphics. I chose to watch it twice so that I understood the product. The voice actor is easy to understand and has a pleasant voice. I think the "quick" emphasis shouldn't be on the length of the voicemail ("trade quick voicemail messages") but rather the speed at which you trade it ("quickly trade voicemail messages"). Also, it took to the second scene for me to understand why I would want to use Pinger rather than my built-in voicemail. Depending on the target audience and target application of the service, emphasis could be placed on the "voicemail all" feature right off the bat.
Again, the service is intriguing - thanks for posting about it!!