WHAT’S IN A DAME : When it’s all about you, call via Slydial
Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Perhaps you’ve heard about Slydial, the service that lets people pretend they’re communicating with others — friends, lovers, soon-to-be ex-friends and ex-lovers — while avoiding them.
With Slydial, someone can “call” mobile phone users and be directed immediately to their voice-mail without having to speak with them.
In other words, it’s a modern take on the old call-at-an-off-hour-andleave-a-message-when-you’re-sureno-one-will-pick-up routine, but it can be done any time of the day.
Slydial’s Web site (www. slydial. com ) makes no apologies for its duplicitous nature. Rather, it hypes it, providing several scenarios in which conversation evasion could be useful.
“You go to a week-long convention for work in Las Vegas and blow $ 5, 000 the first night at the roulette table. You need to call your wife.... Her voice-mail will be much more understanding than she will.” Or, “You just partied hard last night and going to work is just not on your radar today. You dread having to call your boss.... Instead just leave him a simple voice-mail letting him know that you won’t be coming in to work.” Or, “Your Aunt June sent you a sweater for your birthday. You need to call her to thank her but you don’t want to listen to her go on and on about her recent hip replacement. Instead just leave her an appreciative voice-mail that she can share with her bridge club.” How sneaky.
How cowardly.
How selfish.
And how do I sign up ?
(Also, how much longer until this works on landline phones too ? At this point, it works only when connecting to wireless users. )
When I was younger, talking on the phone was my favorite — only — hobby. Now — when so much of a week is spent juggling calls, not to mention e-mails and faxes in between tasks — talking on the phone is work. In my off time, my energy and patience for conversations with a receiver pressed to my ear are limited.
So when I watched a TV report about Slydial and saw that it was free (they do offer a paid premium service, but the basic service involves no fees ), I had to try it out — on myself. I wasn’t going to experiment with any real contacts yet.
Using my landline phone, I dialed (267 ) 759-3425 (that’s 267-SLYDIAL ), which is technically a free call, although any normal long-distance / roam charges would apply. After listening to a commercial, I was directed to dial the desired mobile number and entered my own. I was immediately connected to my voicemail (“ Oh my gosh, this really works ! Byeee ! ” ). Meanwhile my mobile phone registered only a halfring before alerting me I missed a call and that I had voice-mail from myself. Success ! I avoided talking to me !
I haven’t worked up the nerve to use Slydial since. Sure, I haven’t yet found just the right time to return the call of a chatty long-distance friend, and Slydial could help me craftily buy some time. But I fear being slimy. More than that, I fear being caught being slimy.
Slydial could certainly work a time or two. But after a while, won’t folks catch on ? Won’t they notice that, gee, you always seem to just miss them or, gee, they never hear the phone ring when you call... even when it’s sitting right by them... with the volume at full blast ?
How will your acquaintances feel when they f igure out your charade of intentionally eluding them ? Slydialing has the potential to wreck not only relationships (“ Don’t want to talk to me, huh ? Fine ! You’ll never have to talk to me again !” Click !) and your reputation (“ Not only did the loser not have the guts to break up to my face, he Slydialed ! ” ).
And they eventually will find out. That’s because this stealthy service is not such a secret, Slydial boasts entirely too proudly on the press section of its Web site, revealing that its oh-so-surreptitious product has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Lost Angeles Times, USA Today, NBC, CNN, ABC News, U. S. News & World Report, etc.
Maybe someone should Slydial them and tell them to shut up. I’m calling on you to e-mail: jchristman@arkansasonline. com What’s in a Dame is a weekly report from the woman ’hood.
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