Link: Unbound Spiral: The Future is Voice Messaging.
The future is voice messaging, not voice mail. Voice messaging only comes into its own when matched with "presence" applications like Skype. It's an important distinction, for voice messaging will be used differently.
Links in the forums and some recent press comment around Skype have included reference to voice mail. It's probably a natural reference as we talk about "left a" and "getting voice mail" all the time. However in Skype's case what they are soon to implement is not really voice mail. Rather it is voice messaging. It's a subtle yet significant difference and I hope their language comes to reflect it.
Here's why. Voice Mail is typically a voice message that was left when there was a communications failure. The intended recipient either wasn't near the phone or didn't want to answer your phone call. You leave a voice message you have no sense of timing. We call this telephone tag.
By contrast the "voice messaging option" on Skype doesn't require that you try calling the person first. You have their presence, you know at what level of importance you want to put the interruption. In this world the voice messaging function is different. A voice message is less invasive, less disruptive to workflow.
In Skype, voice messaging is for the occasions when I don't want to interrupt someone's workspace. It's perfect for update messages, invites to the weekend party etc. Messages that will benefit from a vocal / personal touch. Yet they don't have to interrupt the work flow. Let's face it... if I work with someone all the time and they aren't on Skype, then leaving a voice mail isn't the best place to try and reach them or deal with an urgent problem. I either have to now deal with it myself, postpone until we are mutually present (text can work well here) or call their cellphone.
Voice mail implies dump it in a box. Voice messaging heralds in a new more efficient age. Voice mail shouldn't be in Skype's vocabulary. Similarly the current "test" recorded message should be re-scripted to reflect the changed paradigm. It currently refers to voice mail. However you would have to know a tester to have tried it.
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