Are You Anti Voice Mail?

When I call my good friend, Jacqueline and she doesn't pick up, I definitely opt out of leaving her a voice mail. I know it gets lost in the 5 others she hasn't checked from last week on her Blackberry. However, I know that if I send a quick text, DM on Twitter or Facebook message that I will get a quick reply. Sound familiar?

The New York Times recently wrote a piece, "You've Got Voice Mail, But Do You Care?" which reiterated this common theme that we live in an age of instant gratification. It's a burden to hit the playback button or (gasp) have to dial into your password and wait for the her drone-like voice, prompting you to the next step.
The article showed research that people take longer to reply to voice messages than other types of communication. "Data from uReach Technologies, which operates the voice messaging systems of Verizon Wireless and other cellphone carriers, shows that over 30 percent of voice messages linger unheard for three days or longer and that more than 20 percent of people with messages in their mailboxes “rarely even dial in” to check them, said Saul Einbinder, senior vice president for marketing and business development for uReach, in an e-mail message."

On the flip side, research showed that "91 percent of people under 30 respond to text messages within an hour, and they are four times more likely to respond to texts than to voice messages within minutes, according to a 2008 study for Sprint conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation." I'm not surprised.

Is it Generation Y that is driving the voice mail away? My mom always says, "Did you get my voice mail?" I say, "No, but I saw you called." Oops, sorry Ma.

This shift away from voice mail probably is a generational divide, in which younger people are substituting text for talk, while my grandparents and parents leave long, lengthy voice mails. Yet, I gotta stick up for the voice mail. I still think they're important and as impatient as I can be, as much as I'm a texting fan, there are those times when it's nice to hear someone's voice or they need to tell you something specific or even just say hello.

So, I wonder, are voice mails going to become obsolete? Do voice mails take a back burner to other immediate forms of communication in your life?

Photo Credit: Post Gazette, Anita Dufalla

Talk Nerdy To Me

Daily Candy is launching a contest, "Get With the Programmer-Talk Nerdy to Me" in time for the Valentine season. I love this idea! Previously, I wrote about how geeks and nerds are worth it, originating from a Craigslist post so I'm not trying to discriminate here but I think they're underrated. Maybe it's because I'm a geek too ;)

Daily Candy humorously asserts: "We're accepting nominations for the Don Juan of the Database. Do you know a worthy Gigabyte Gigolo?" To nominate your "RAMcake," they have an easy form to fill out and they will announce the finalists on February 4th for interactive voting, then the winner will be displayed on Friday, February 13th. I will also note that the winner (and the nominator) will win an HP Mini 1000 XP edition series netbook with an upgraded 60 GB hard drive. Follow http://www.dailycandy.com/programmer to nominate your RAMcake.

Nathan, a Talk Nerdy To Me nominee

It's time to rev your hard drives.

A Stylishly Hip, USB Drive

Stylehive features some great technology products, most of which a stylishly hip but definitively geeky gal like myself gets excited about. This evening I stumbled across the Mimoco USB Flash Drive. I'm all about organization and whether it means transporting documents or having your favorite music and photos in one place, I can't live without my USB flash drive. Mine however, is bland and looks like yours probably. So by blending together my technologically driven life with a little design edge, the Mimoco USB flash drive strives to combine both. Take a look at the two below, you don't even know what they are at first. Right?

Photo Credit: Stylehive

Some of the features I like:
-Includes protoHoodie keychain accessory which makes for great portability
- Look and feel ranges from Star Wars to limited Artist Series, so you can be sure your flash drive stands out from everyone else's
-Compatible with Mac & Windows

Why Geeks, Nerds (and Dorks) are worth it...

Listen up ladies. I'm not writing a Sex and the City column or anything, but I've had my share of dating mishaps (yes, one guy actually brought me to meet his entire family on the first date!?). With that being said, I came across a humorous article on the Best of Craigslist from the SF Bay area titled, "Why Geeks and Nerds are Worth It..."
It caught my attention because I work in the tech world and happen to praise intelligence, a little geekism, and MacGyver types over any "dude-guy," (speaking from personal experience). The post is well-written and funny, so make sure to read the whole thing but here are a few of my favorites that got a chuckle out of me:

3.) They’re more romantic than they’re given credit for. Ok true, their idea of romance might be to make up a spiffy web-page with all the reasons why they love you, with links to pics of you and sonnets and such... but hey. It lasts longer than flowers, plus you can show your friends.

6.) Most are quite good at remembering dates. Like birthdates and such, especially if they know it’ll make you happy. Due again to their neglected status, they’re more attentive than guys who “have more options”. Plus, with all that down time without a steady girlfriend, they’ll likely have mental lists of all the things they’d love to do once they GOT a girlfriend.

11.) His friends aren’t jerks. I can’t stress this enough. You’ll more likely get “Omg! A GIRL!! Can I see?!” than “Hey hot stuff back that ass up here and let me get some grub on...” They’re awkward geeks too and will, 9 times out of 10, treat you with the utmost respect and, more than likely, a note of awe. A cute girl picked one of their clan to date? It could happen to them! Hope! Drag some of your single girlfriends over, open up a pack of Mt. Dew, crack open the DnD set and get working. Nothing impresses geek guys more than a girl who can hack-n-slash (well ok maybe if she can code... a geek can dream).

13.) They’re usually very well educated. Physics majors and the like. You won’t have to listen to him blathering on about his car (ok maybe a little), he’ll have loads of other interesting things to talk about. Politics, world events, how much the chicken burgers down at the local place rock, so long as you douse them in hot sauce...

14.) You’ll almost never have to hear, “Yaw dawg whazzap!!” plop out of their mouths. Unless it’s in jest. They spell properly, use correct punctuation, and are able to tell the difference between the toilet and the floor. They almost never get “wasted”, so you won’t have to worry about coming home to find him and his friends passed out on the floor amidst a pile of beer bottles. Mt. Dew cans, perhaps...