Manage Your Phone Calls with Google Voice

I was talking to a friend this weekend, and she mentioned that she had purchased a cheap cell phone and some prepaid minutes because she's trying to sell something and didn't want to give out her 'real' phone number.  Not a bad idea really, and I think those cheap no contract phones can be a good thing, as you can tell from the previous couple posts.  But now she doesn't need the phone any more, but she bought minutes that need to be used or they'll expire - therefore not really being a good deal at all.

I mentioned that she should have (could have?) just signed up for Google Voice and given that number out instead.  The calls could have come into her regular phone, because Google Voice lets you forward calls to any or all of your regular phones.  Just link them with your Google Voice number and decide which phones should ring when a call comes in to your Google Voice number.  And, of course, these settings can be changed at any time.

Of course, Google Voice has all kinds other features like voicemail, text messaging, call screening, call blocking, caller ID, the ability to record custom greetings for different callers or groups of callers, and even the ability to embed a widget in a web page so all callers have to do is click to call you.  For free.  And that's just the beginning, really.  Google Voice offers so much more than I've even begun to mention.

So maybe I was wrong.  She shouldn't have gotten a Google Voice number to give out instead of her 'real' number.  She should get a Google Voice number and start using it for everything.  And me?  I've had a Google Voice number for a couple years - and I really, really need to start using it!

Any big Google Voice users out there?  What do you think?  How do you use it?

Free Conference Calls

With the high cost of gas, I know a lot of business are relying on conference calls to hold meetings.  Instead of having everyone drive or fly in and getting them all together in one room, they just get everyone on the phone.  Even if they're paying to have the conference services, companies can save money by using them.

I'm no business, and I don't often have a need for big meetings or conference calls, so I don't want to pay for a service.  It would not be cost effective for my needs.  That's why I signed up with Free Conference Calling.  It's a free service for conference calling that anyone can use, anytime.  Conference calls can hold up to 1000 participants and can be easily recorded for later reference or playback.  The online interface allows the host to manage calls and callers easily, or they can be managed by phone controls, too.

The only thing you can't offer is a toll-free number for callers to join your conference call.  Any costs for calling in are incurred by the callers and based on their long-distance plans.

If you'd like to be able to host your own free conference calls, whether for business or just for family calls, sign up for your own free account at Free Conference Calling.

Free Web Conferencing

I did a quick search for free web conferencing solutions - because someone we know wants to spend $500 for another year of Go To Meeting - and we really don't use it enough to justify that. If we hosted larger meetings and more often, maybe, but for what we do one of these free options will work just fine.

• DimDim - So simple anyone can use it. Unlike other web conference products, Dimdim does not require users to install software on their computers to attend web meetings. Users can start or join meetings with just a few clicks. Dimdim is available for free so everyone - not just big companies with big budgets - can use it.
• Yugma - Yugma free web conferencing allows anyone, anywhere to instantly share their desktop and ideas online with others - up to 20 attendees. I'm thinking the Skype Edition looks really promising.
• Vyew - free for up to 10 attendees, has ads. Browser based with no download required.

All of these are upgradeable if you need additional features - and for less than $500/year.

For phone conferencing there's:

• FreeConferencing.com - up to 1000 callers with NO reservations, free recording and downloads.
• Free Conference Calling - up to 500 callers - on demand conference calling, free recording and MP3 playback, and conference call security.