Monday, November 06, 2006

You....have...two...new...mes...sages....

Ease of use is hugely underrated. One thing we hear all the time here at GlobalGiving is to please make giving as easy as possible. People don't want to have to click a hundred times to make a donation.

So I am always on the lookout for products and services that are very easy to use.

Today I draw your attention to Pinger. This service enables you to leave voice messages for others without having their phone ring - perfect for when they are in a meeting or when it is the middle of the night their time. What's even better is the ease with which they can pick up those messages. In most cases, they get a text message (SMS) on their cell phones telling them who has left a message, and how long the message is. All they have to do is hit one button, and they go straight to the message - without all the usual extraneous action (password) and information ("You..... have....two.... new....messages.......... First..... mes....sage. .....From .......phone...... num...ber.... 1 2... 3 - 4... 5... 6... - 7... 8... 9....... Sent...... Nov.... em .... ber.... 3, two..... thou....sand.... and... six... at... two..... thirty....seven... p...m").

This service dramatically reduces the time required to listen to your messages, and it allows you to listen to the messages in any order you want.

Joe Sipher, one of Pinger's co-founders, told me that cell phone companies claimed it was impossible to improve on the existing voice mail interfaces,which had been honed over the last twenty years. Luckily, Joe and his co-founder ignored them.

Try Pinger - I bet you will like it.