I didn’t invent this hack, nor is it complicated, but it sure is nifty. Here it goes…
My company has been growing and growing, and outgrowing its office space, New York City in particular. Therefore, we’re moving employees around and doing rotations at a new office location downtown (specifically, the headquarters of VNU, my company’s largest shareholder). Considering that frenzy plus the fact I’m often on the road, and sometimes work from home, it might seem pointless to maintain a permanent phone line at the office. But my office phone is extremely valuable in that it’s integrated into the network, and a huge number of clients and industry stakeholders contact me through it. I could’ve cancelled the line and directed people to just call my cell phone, or I could constantly check voicemail. But instead I purchased a $38/year Skype-In VOIP account and had the office technician set our system up to automatically forward all calls to my new Skype phone number. As a result, anyone who tries to call me at my old number will reach me directly through my PC. If I miss the call, or my PC is off, then the call goes into Skype voice-mail. Not only can I pick it up later, but I receive a handy little email with details of the missed call.
Moreover, I’m testing out software from Skylook, which enables me – with tremendous ease – to record any Skype call or conference call. Not only is it super easy, but after a call is recorded, an MP3 file is automatically created and dropped in one of my Outlook email folders. The software also asks me if I’d like to email the recording to the other callers.
If my experience with Skype goes well, I might eventually cancel my landline services altogether. Take that you big old phone companies, who keep charging me more and more and more for less and less and less!
