My Google Voice revelation

I won a contest a few months back for an elusive Google Voice number. See, Google purchased a company called Grand Central (similar to Skype) a few years back and has been quite stingy about who gets an invite to beta test the service.

At first, I wasn't that excited. I already had a phone number, why did I need another? I sent a few TXT messages to a friend who was also in the beta, but then I just forgot about the whole thing... until a few weeks ago when I had a revelation and finally figured out why I was starting to LOVE Google Voice. But let's start at the beginning, here are the Top 8 reasons to use Google Voice:

1. You get to pick your own phone number. In Atlanta, we have 3 major area codes... 404, 770, and 678. 404 was the original... if you live in the heart of Atlanta, you get a 404 number. 770 is for everyone who lives outside of Atlanta in the suburbs. 678 is what we came up with when we ran out of 770 numbers. Point being, 404 is more trendy than either of the other two area codes. I picked a 404 GV number.
2. You can set up multiple voicemail messages. Then, you can direct different people to different messages:
   - Crazy ex who won't stop calling you? "This number is no longer in service."
   - Family members? "I'm on my way, Mom. Sheesh!"
   - Close friends? "Wazzzzup?!"
3. Google Voice will transcribe all your voicemails. You get an email with the actual content of the message. See? Genius!:
   
   
4. Free TXT messages! I can sit at home surrounded by hills with no AT&T iPhone coverage and TXT to my heart's content. Which leads me to...
5. Every contact in your phone has a unique 406 area code number which Google provides. When John sends you a TXT it comes from a 406 number you've never seen before. But when I respond to that number, John sees my TXT as coming from my GV number! Oh yeah, and...
6. That 406 number also works for outgoing phone calls. I can dial the 406 number uniquely assigned to John and his phone Ring-Rings from my GV number. This provides...
7. A 100% mask in which I can hide my true phone number. Meet a girl in the frozen food isle of the grocery store? She's getting my GV number. Bump into Kevin Rose at SXSW? GV number. New business cards for 2010? GV number.
8. Call. Recording. Sure, it notifies both callers that what you are about to say MAY be used against you in the court of law... but it makes for a great (and easy) method to record a new podcast! Have a listen:
   
   
   
   We discuss:
   - The Ethics, Laws, and Utter Coolness of Recording Calls.
   - How to Scam a Cheap Version of Adobe Photoshop using Photoshop. (example)
   - College Crew Book Recommendations: Tolkien, Williams, Gaiman, Weis.
   - The iPhone 3GS vs. the Palm Pre vs. those Amazing Nokia Phones with 5MP Cameras!

So there you have it. But seriously, all your friends will be green with envy. The only downside I've noticed is once you start using Google Voice as your primary form of communication, you lose all those "mobile to mobile" minutes provided by your carrier. But it will take more time and research to see if that really matters in the long run.

Enjoy the podcast and do leave us a voicemail if you have any comments!