You Aren’t Alone If You Hate Voicemail; Witness The ‘Rebirth’ Occurring Now

Voicemail Is Going Extinct

Voicemails are becoming a dying breed as new technologies transcribe voice to text, and email, Twitter and text messages become an easier and more instant way to communicate.

American Public Media’s Marketplace reported the growing trend in a radio report yesterday. What they found is that in some cases, voicemail never even left the ground. In fact, Lehman Brothers was one phone call away from being rescued through a private bailout, but Warren Buffett admits it never happened because he didn’t know how to check his voicemail. Not to mention, on many occasions, carriers have told me that the number one reason people call customer care is to learn how to set up their voicemail box.

Even for those who know how to use it, they aren’t fans. A survey commissioned by Sprint (NYSE: S) found that people younger than 65 responded much faster to a text than a voicemail and uReach Technologies, a firm that designs voice-messaging systems for Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and other phone companies, said 30 percent of messages can linger for three-plus days before being retrieved. And, even worse, in about 20 percent of cases, people won’t even check their messages once a month.

Companies are not going to let this opportunity pass them by. Already, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) offers “visual voicemail” on the phone, and other companies like Spinvox transcribes messages. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is attempting its own version with its Google Voice application, and while its launched on Android devices, Apple’s blocked it from the iPhone (which is a whole different story). The report mentions PhoneTag, which transcribes voicemails to text and send them to your inbox. The company claims it takes seven second to read a message that takes 79 seconds to hear.

Marketplace actually calls this second wave of voicemail the “rebirth.” “With hostility toward traditional voice mail growing, a number of companies are starting to offer services often for a fee that give customers more control. That’s right. First they make voice mail a nuisance to use, then they charge you to simplify it.”

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