Is voice mail dead?
What Google Voice and instant messaging have done to the humble phone message
Voice mail is dying, said Farhad Manjoo in Slate. One thing killing it is Google Voice, “the search company's fantastic Web app that gives you a single number to connect all your phones and lets you make rules about who can call which phone when.” And every other way we invent to stay in touch—e-mail, instant messaging, Twitter—is proving “faster and more useful than leaving an audio message on someone’s phone.”
Phone messages aren’t dying, said John Biggs in Crunch Gear. They’re already dead—at least, they are to me. “I haven’t listened to a voice mail in years.” I’d much rather see an imperfect transcription of a phone message from Google Voice, Spinvox or some other service than have to listen to every droning message sitting in my in-box.
Some messages can be annoying, it’s true, said Kevin Purdy in Lifehacker. So if you’re sick of voice mail, don’t use it. That’s why there are all those services out there to help you deal with them. “Still, there are some things best said with your actual voice instead of emoticons.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fall
The Week Recommends Get ready for pumpkin spice season with concerts from big-name artists
-
How to put student loan payments on pause
The Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
Is Kash Patel’s fate sealed after Kirk shooting missteps?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The FBI’s bungled response in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting has director Kash Patel in the hot seat