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How To Use Google Voice To Effectively Manage Communication

// January 19th, 2011 // No Comments » // technology

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, and tonite’s addition of the ability to port your existing phone number into Google Voice convinced me to do it sooner than later. I’ve been a Google Voice user since it was called Grand Central. I got my number way back then, and I’ve still got the same one. I got my first cellphone from Sprint when I was 16, had it for a year, and then switched to SouthwesternBellWireless and got a new number. That SouthwesternBellWireless number is the same phone number I have today, 11 years later.

I don’t get spam phone calls on my real phone number, ever. I don’t have crazy ex-girlfriends calling it, nor do I get unwanted phone calls on that number. Part of that is because I lead a pretty boring life. The other part is because I figured out a long time ago how to effectively use Google Voice to filter and manage my phone calls. Google Voice can be used in a few different ways, but I use it as a throwaway number – it’s the number I give out at stores that want it, to contractors, etc. Basically, I keep my real number private – only family and best friends get it. Everyone else gets my Google Voice number. I’ve done this for several years now, and I figure it’s about time I share my method with everyone else.

First up, you’ll need a Google Voice number – they’re free, so go ahead and set one up. It’s also a good idea to have a smartphone and a Google Voice app to go along with it. You can do this without an app, but it’s considerably more of a hassle, specifically for outgoing communications.

Now, start giving that number out instead of giving your real number out. It takes a bit of practice to start spitting out the right number, so make sure you know it well. You can start by telling anyone you want to manage that you got a new number. Just tell them you had to change your number, and give them the new one. Don’t respond if they text or call the old one, just ignore it (they think that number was disconnected anyways).

Now that you are all setup and rolling, here are a few tricks to really use Google Voice effectively:

Incoming

1. Block callers – no carrier in the U.S. currently lets you block specific phone numbers from calling you, unfortunately. Google Voice does – just go to your call log on the website, and click the ‘More’ link at the bottom of their bubble. In the pop-up window, choose ‘Block Caller’ – confirm the option and you’re good to go. When that number calls you, it’s automatically given a standard ‘This number is not in service‘ message and then disconnected. It never even rings through to you. This is handy when you get spam phone calls, or if you get a stalker.

2. Use Groups – I synchronized my phone book with my Google account, and setup a ‘Coworkers’ group in my contacts. I can then setup a specific voicemail message that only my coworkers hear, and I can specify whether or not people in that group can get through to me (or get sent straight to voicemail).

3. Free voicemail transcription – you can set your Google Voice number up as your voicemail, bypassing your regular carrier’s offering. This way, you can get an email or text message when you get a new voicemail, along with a text transcription of the message – for free! Note, the transcription isn’t always the best, but it’s usually good enough for me to get the gist of the message.

4. Do Not Disturb – this is really the best part of the whole setup. Since only your closest friends and family have your real number, you can give your Google Voice number out willy-nilly, to anyone who wants it. You can then put your Google Voice account on ‘Do Not Disturb’, so that all calls to that number go straight to voicemail. This way, you can still carry around your cell phone, but you don’t have to worry about being bothered by pesky spam phone calls or other unwanted calls. Just remember to turn this eventually…

Outgoing

1. Send text messages – since you gave your Google Voice number to all your coworkers or new friends, you can use Google Voice to text them, as well – further confirming that this is a ‘legit’ number. You can send a text message through the Google Voice website on your phone or computer, or if you have a supported smartphone, you can use the Google Voice app for your platform (Android/BlackBerry/etc).

2. Make phone calls - again, everyone thinks this is your number, so it should be what shows up on caller ID, shouldn’t it? If you don’t have the app on your phone, you can initiate calls through the mobile website, or simply by calling your Google Voice number from your real number, and then following the prompts to place the call.

If you have an Android-powered smartphone, there is a free app called Voice Plus that lets you setup specific filters that automatically choose the outgoing number. So, for instance, I put everyone at work into a ‘Coworkers’ group in my contacts list. Then I told Voice Plus to automatically use my Google Voice as the outgoing number if I dial anyone from the ‘Coworkers’ group – everyone else sees my normal number, unless I manually specify otherwise.

Using Google Voice this way is totally free, and gives you an easy way to filter and manage who can get ahold of you, and when. The possibilities are endless – I give my Google Voice number to contractors I’m only using temporarily, companies that are coming to install something or deliver a package, or anyone else who needs to get ahold of me, but I’m unsure if they’ll know when to stop calling me.

Have you come up with any other tricks for using Google Voice effectively?

Of Course AT&T Doesn’t Want Google Voice

// July 28th, 2009 // 8 Comments » // Mobile, technology

I’ve been a Google Voice user since it was called Grand Central, and use the number as a disposable one – I’ll give it out to anyone. Until recently, that was the only real benefit that I saw – using Google Voice like a filter, to control who has direct access to my ‘real’ mobile number (which I protect carefully). However, a recent post from Andy Abramson shined a light on a much better scenario.

You can now hook up your Google Voice to your Gizmo5 service, using Gizmo5 as the SIP gateway to sending and receiving calls to/from your Google Voice number. After installing Gizmo5 on my Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, I am able to tether the tablet to my phone over 3G, and then use it to directly dial a phone number, and my caller ID comes across as my Google Voice number. Brilliant. I almost have the same setup working on my Nokia E63. On my N79 and 5800 XpressMusic, I can do the same thing using Nimbuzz to handle the SIP features, again, over 3G.

Why is the 3G significant? Because, currently, with AT&T, it would cost me $129/month to get unlimited domestic minutes, unlimited messaging, and unlimited 3G. If I want *just* unlimited 3G, with no minutes, it costs $59/mo – less than half the price. If I could make unlimited domestic calls with Google Voice through Gizmo5 SIP over 3G, I could get the features of the $130 plan, for only $60/month.  I would have replicated the entire cellphone experience with nothing but a data connection.

Of course you can do this without needing Google Voice, but using it brings along the SMS part of the equation, along with more advanced call management options, such as being able to send the call to another phone, etc.

So, what’s the catch? First off, coverage – 3G coverage, while plentiful, is nowhere near the same level as EDGE coverage, and a voice call over EDGE is spotty, at best. The other catch is battery life – maintaining a constantly active data connection on today’s cell phones isn’t likely to last you through lunch, much less an entire workday.

The point is, it’s doable, and with today’s technology, not something that’s coming down the pipeline. Given that AT&T’s 3G network is already stretched to the max, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if AT&T was the one who prompted Apple to remove the Google Voice applications from the App Store recently. What do you think? Are you a bit more interested in Google Voice, now?

This also leads me to ask a familiar question – if/when AT&T (or the other carriers) finally realize that they are nothing but a dumb pipe, how will they compete? Will we have all-out price wars, or will we finally see the mobile carriers competing in the areas of customer service, extra features, etc?

Google Voice Vs. Spinvox: FIGHT!

// April 23rd, 2009 // 8 Comments » // Mobile, technology

I’ve been a Spinvox enthusiast for over a year now. I had previously completely turned Voicemail off on my phone, and Spinvox gave me a reason to turn it back on. You can read more about that here. Google Voice recently became available, including speech-to-text transcription, so I wanted to pit the two of them against each other. Google Voice is apparently only using software for recognition, while Spinvox maintains that it uses a combination of real live people and software, which should offer a better transcription experience.

Using the same phone, I called my cell phone, and left the same message with both services: ‘Hey dude, this is Ricky Cadden, call me back at 817-472-8391. Just seeing what you were up to.‘ The number is made-up, fyi. Here’s what I got from either service:

Google Voice:

hey dave this is rick you can call me back at (817) 472-8391 just see what you’re up to

Spinvox:

Hey dude, this is Ricky Tedon(?). Can call me back at 18174728391. Just See what you’re up to.

Sadly, neither service got the entire message correct. Google Voice misheard ‘dude’ for Dave, and completely left my last name out of the message. However, the number is formatted ‘prettier’ with Google Voice. Spinvox does a bit better, getting most of the message correct, and actually acknowledging that I said my last name. While Spinvox didn’t get my last name correct, they were kind enough to put a (?) tag, so that I would know they weren’t sure of that part of the message – handy. The number is presented in a raw format, but my Nokia N79 was still able to see that it was a phone number, so that I could just click to call it, similar to the Google Voice message.

How To Fail, By Google Voice

// March 17th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // annoying, communication, stupid

This week’s episode of ‘How To Fail’ is brought to you by Google’s new Google Voice service, formerly (currently, for me) known as GrandCentral. Google purchased Grand Central in July 2007, nearly 2 years ago, and promptly did nothing with it (unsurprisingly). The service has been active for existing users, but new registrations were closed off, and beta invites were removed, as well. There have been no new features, and I’ve even seen a few things disappear, such as the easy way to begin a phone call from the web interface.

Last week, on March 11 2009, Google announced that GrandCentral had become Google Voice! Finally, some action, with new features, including the much-needed SMS support, and a new voicemail transcription service! There was much fanfare, with several video walkthroughs posted and everything. Sounds great, right? Yeah, unless you’re one of the unlucky users still stuck with GrandCentral.

That’s right, despite having 2 years to get things ready, there are still, 6 days later, users left without the update, staring blankly at the same GrandCentral interface we stopped using a long time ago (though I use the service almost daily, I don’t login to the web dashboard ever). We do get a nice plain banner, though:

That’s it. If you click the ‘Read the blog’ link, you’re simply taken to the Google Voice announcement post, as if to tease you a bit more. Jerks.

For those folks reading this blog, here’s what NOT to do when you launch a service, or upgrade an existing service:

1. Announce it with big fanfare, but with randomly limited access.

2. Not offer any information about why a particular user might have been left out. Even something stupid like, ‘We’re starting with user #1, and you’re user #2562348, so you might have to wait a bit’ would be better than just ‘sorry, not yet, keep checking like a dork, thanks.’

This is just a big fat FAIL, there’s really no other way around it.

Update: Not long after posting this, I received a comment from Vincent at Google Voice, letting me know my account had been updated. While that doesn’t change the prior situation, it does make me happy to know that Google is actively keeping up with conversations being had around the web about their products. Excellent way to handle an already bad situation, Vincent.

GrandCentral Is Now Google Voice – SWEET

// March 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // cool, Mobile

I’ve been a GrandCentral user for over a year, and use it constantly. Mostly, I use my GrandCentral number as a ‘throwaway’ number that I can freely give to anyone. I’m extremely protective of my ‘real’ cell phone number (haven’t had a landline for years) because I’ve had the same cell number for nearly a decade. I’m one of the few who hasn’t changed numbers, and I also don’t get spam on my cell phone, either via SMS or via voice calls. I have my GrandCentral number listed on my business cards, and it is the number that I spout off whenever a service/store requests a number.

Unfortunately, when Google purchased GrandCentral, it mostly died. Sure, it’s still functional, but as with most of Google’s acquisitions, nothing new happened to it – it was left in what is most accurately called suspended animation – just kinda there. Today, however, Google changed that, relaunching GrandCentral as Google Voice, and bringing in the one feature that I’ve been anxiously awaiting – SMS. Previously, when someone would SMS my GrandCentral number, it went precisely nowhere. The message basically vanished into the ether. Now, though, I’m going to be able to forward it anywhere I want – even receive it as an email. Brilliant.

So, who cares? We all have cell phones now, and they come with a free number. VOIP services like Skype and Gizmo Project have offered you another number for years – what does anyone want with a Google Voice number? The key, in my opinion, is to use Google Voice as a gateway – similar to how you might use a 24-7 assistant or secretary. This person is in control of who gets to talk to me, when, and through what method (voice, email, sms, etc). With Google Voice, I can direct callers to any number (or prevent them from getting through on a number) that I want, and I can setup custom voicemail recordings for different contacts.

Some will also point to the new transcription service as a competitor to Spinvox or YouMail, and while sure, the features are the same, I don’t think Google Voice will compete with Spinvox’s quality transcription (you should see some of the messages that they’ve gotten right – it’s astounding, really) or YouMail’s complete voicemail replacement, with more options than you can shake a stick at.

I’m hoping that Google Voice will prompt the wireless carriers to offer more call management options, personally. It’s absurd that I cannot block a specific number from ringing through to my phone, or that I cannot temporarily forward all of my SMS to another number (when I’m travelling internationally, for instance).