Two Slashes

(Finally…a post worthy of avoiding the ‘Geeky’ label. At least, I think so…)

There have been plenty of ways in which people have been able to filter out their communications. For example, e-mail allows you to read any message you want, whenever you want, without having to read the others first. Voicemail has gotten to the point where you can do the same, a la iPhone (I say “Blech!” at the iPhone, but to be honest this is a very useful feature, one that should have been implemented ages ago).

But while these are useful, you still have to deal with the notifications (in most cases) that someone’s even trying to get in touch with you. Most cell phones beep (by default) when you’ve got voicemail or a new text message (of course, this can be disabled), and you can hide yourself on most instant messaging services by marking yourself as Away and setting your client to not harass you. And let’s not even get into the spam circles of junk mail/e-mail/phone calls…

But while you can do all of that with the “current-generation” of communications, what about some of the older things…things that haven’t changed much in years. Yes, I’m talking about your standard hardwired telephone.

While some people find that simply having a single cell phone and dropping the house phone in favor of giving everyone their cell phone number is a way to reduce bills, the typical household still has at least one landline running to their home. It’s great as a communications device; it’s simple and it works, and you don’t have to worry about recharging it (short of a cordless handset…but since you generally don’t put those in a purse or pocket and forget about them for a week, they still follow my point). But where’s the ability to screen calls, or filter out the obvious junk.

If there’s one thing I believe the typical phone service needs to stay in the game at this point, it’s the ability to allow their users to filter their callers. Sure, there’s a Do Not Call list, but has anyone actually followed that, and how many people can actually be bothered to notify the FCC (or whoever the heck deals with the violations) that someone has indeed violated it.

At this point in the game, I would have envisioned a web-based and phone-based system for setting up call screening. Nothing overly elaborate, but perhaps a list of recent calls with the option to block them always or at a certain time (useful for neighbors with no sense of night and day ), a la this s***ty mock-up. Believe me, people will take advatange of something that they can make as routine as their e-mail, without having to jump through hoops.

Now obviously, with such blocking power, there would have to be a way to get around this. So for that, I figure some of the more important government numbers would not be subjected to such blocking, as would important divisions of corporate agencies, such as a debt collector notifying a resident that they’re a few months…the list is endless, but no doubt it would help.

Of course, what to do with the screened calls? That could be another option; for some, the voicemail would probably be an ideal place, like your nightowl neighbor, but for others, what about playing the phone-disconnected three-tone “whistle” and message? And all the while…no phone ringing at 3 AM, or because of some quirky insurance salesman interrupting your dinner trying to sell you condoms because of a new “per-child insurance tax” your policy is being subject to.

I think it’s about time the tried-and-true methods got a bit of a revamp. Change is good…especially change that doesn’t interfere unless it’s specifically set up to. Come on…this shouldn’t be something that people need to install a phone company’s worth of equipment in their home for some peace of mind…but what do you think?