focus for this week: Why don't birds fly backwards ?
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I wanted to call someone by Google Talk. But the person was not available. So I heard the answering machine text - implemented on a Googlish way: “The person you are trying to reach isn’t available, please leave a message after the meep… MEEEEEP” (actually I talk in the following mainly about this MEEEEEP implementation and the ideas I have about this)
Please: to get the idea of this post at least try to experience this also by listening to the Googlish answering machine text yourself - watch the HOWTO. Perhaps I will add later only the female Google voice, if I have asked about the copyright.

And here my live comment.

I immediately informed the person to send me this voice mail. This was a very original comment and I wanted to listen how this sounds. It is interesting what kind of things can make you drift away, laugh or rethink. Of course this is depending on the person; the moment; the things I did just before…
So, you may not find this any interesting at all – right - but think about it: What has recently taken YOUR attention - in this way? Please tell me: there was a moment like this. Also: do you have the possibility to rehear, relive such a moment again?

Let me try to explain why I blog now about this:

• to get to know Erkan better
• one small thing alone can really change something
  

1.
Getting to know Erkan better:
You remember this article (story telling and pictures) ? I thought that I should add some other elements to make the stories more personal. So, this is the first sound I introduce in my blog. And the first one should be something original - something which shows Erkan live. So this is me. Towards the end of the recording you see how my brain is returning slowly back again - don’t let you irritate by that
2.
One small thing alone can really change something:
Normally I expect - from my experience with other standard answering machine texts - a standard text + standard beep sound (I expected the text “Please leave your message after the beep.” or some other text like: “OK, you now know the routine.”).
So, this was a different way to approach this. How interesting it really is to exchange / implement one small thing and achieve such a reaction by a user (OK, I do not know now the intention of Google of doing it like this - but I liked it).

I am also thinking now of buying me a technical device with which I can record video or take pictures while I am on the road. So I can put these into the future blog articles.

Erkan YILMAZ

BTW: if you know someone implementing a similar style of an answering machine text, please tell me.

comments

• by me:
  • Perhaps I know, where Google got the idea for this MEEP ?
    Did I hear here a Meep Meep ?
    Or was it the usual Beep Beep from RoadRunner and my brain played a trick on me ?

Author: Erkan Yilmaz (2007-04-06)