• Atherel@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    48 minutes ago

    I had voicemail deactivated for decades. I’m not reachable? Call again later or write a message. Now that I’m older I had to reactivate it because contractors, pharmacy etc. expect and use it to send me information.

    I hate voice messages in WhatsApp and the like but I can see the usage for others. My wife communicates with her friends this way. When you have to watch the kids you can send and listen to messages without having to look at your phone.

  • dan@upvote.au
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    5 hours ago

    Voicemail’s definitely not dead.

    I can’t find any voicemail services that work the way I want them to though, so I started building my own using Twilio to handle the incoming phone call + ElevenLabs for text-to-speech + AssemblyAI for speech-to-text + Trestle Smart CNAM API for identifying the caller. I’ll open-source the code once it’s ready.

      • dan@upvote.au
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        2 hours ago

        Twilio’s TTS isn’t as good as ElevenLabs, and their transcription isn’t as good as AssemblyAI. AssemblyAI can pull key details out of the message (eg people’s names, company names, callback numbers, etc) and IIRC it’s quite a bit cheaper than Twilio’s transcription. AssemblyAI provide $50 free credit to try their service, which should last me a very long time assuming it doesn’t expire.

        Plus now I can put “AI engineer” on my resume, lol. A lot of “AI” is all about gluing other people’s work together, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.

  • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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    10 hours ago

    Since when is voicemail dead? It’s vital for when I miss a call from a healthcare provider, pharmacy, contractor, service provider … do y’all just sit in a sealed box all day?

    • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org
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      6 hours ago

      I send all unknown calls to voice mail. I’ve had my carrier disable voice mail for my phone line.
      My providers all use email or are ‘known’ by my phone. … I hope.

      • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        So when the new specialty pharmacy phones you for details on where to send your prescription, you’re just gonna … not?

        • BakerBagel@midwest.social
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          4 hours ago

          My pharmacies have always sent me a text notification that my prescription is ready for pick up. The only people calling my phone are scammers

          • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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            3 hours ago

            I’m happy for you that you’ve never had to deal with length prior authorizations, specialty pharmacies, need for clarifications, notifications of delay …

            I remember being on the phone with my pharmacist a few hours before my wedding - he called so something could get sorted out ASAP. Fortunately that one didn’t have to go to voicemail.

    • stinky@redlemmy.com
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      10 hours ago

      no, I call my doctors or other services to verify dates… voicemail is abused by spammers so I never listen to them

      • christophski@feddit.uk
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        28 minutes ago

        Spammers never ever leave voicemails, that’s how I know a call was spam. If someone actually needs me, either I have their numbers already or they leave a voicemail

      • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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        8 hours ago

        I get tons of spam calls and basically zero spam voicemail 🤷‍♂️

        Plus with most carriers being able to transcribe voicemails I don’t even need to listen to them.

        • BakerBagel@midwest.social
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          4 hours ago

          If it’s important I’ll be expecting a phone call or know who is calling me. All that a voicemail does is tell spammers that they have a valid and active phone number that they should keep calling.

          • WR5@lemmy.world
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            3 hours ago

            “Hi honey, it’s me. I’m calling from the hospital, my phone was damaged in the crash. I know this area code is weird, we were only about halfway to Grandma’s when we were hit…”

            “Unknown number? I’m not listening to that shit, I’m waiting for my wife to call when she gets to her parents house!”

  • _bcron_@lemmy.world
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    10 hours ago

    Voicemail? Dead? Naww, it’s better than ever. If you get that far spit something out so I can read the transcription or I’ll straight up block your ass and forget you for eternity. Never do a callback if it’s one of those scam robocall ring-and-hangup shits

    • toofpic@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      If you’re a usual person, then “boo-hoo, people are so scared to be blocked by you”.
      If you’re a moderator or something, you’re evil and unfit the position.

  • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
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    11 hours ago

    I think it’s early to declare voicemail dead. It was alive and kicking when I checked mine last Christmas…or was that Christmas 2019? Maybe I should check on it again.

    And I’ve been assured that my work voicemail is definitely setup and functional. I trust the team that sets those things up, and I’m confident that it’s doing it’s job… whatever it’s for.

    • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
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      10 hours ago

      Hahahaha, have my upvote.

      Yea, we don’t bother at work. You know I called, don’t waste your time listening to a message. If I called, it was urgent, get back to me as quick as you can.

      Otherwise I’m gonna send you a message to setup a call.

      • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
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        4 hours ago

        Yeah. I’m very thankful that my work operates by the same expectations.

        Anyone calling unscheduled is urgent enough that I probably shouldn’t waste time listening to the voicemail. Every other call is scheduled, anyway.

        It leaves my work voicemail delightfully empty.

  • whithom@discuss.online
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    8 hours ago

    I do love the oatmeal, but everything he does now is just for money. He’s probably just got a team of writers at this point.

    • emeralddawn45@discuss.tchncs.de
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      7 hours ago

      What makes you say that? The website seems way less ad heavy or monetized than most webcomic sites. I dont even see a link for a patreon or any sort of paywall. Theres one trailer for his netflix show but thats barely even self promotion, and doesnt come close to the shameless levels of nearly begging that a lot of webcomic artists do.

  • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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    10 hours ago

    I want to sit down with the person who brought voice notes to Hinge, and ask them why the fuck they thought dating by voicemail was a good idea.