Stay in Touch, but Out of Reach

Nate West is a disc jockey on Y101 in Jackson, Miss. He loves hearing from his listeners, but he also loves his privacy. He found the perfect solution for keeping in touch with his audience when he heard about PrivatePhone, one of a growing number of companies that offer free phone numbers that send all calls directly to voicemail.

“I’ve only had my number for a couple of weeks, but I love it,” says West. He uses his free phone number to leave messages for listeners about where he’ll be making personal appearances that they can hear when they call him. They, in turn, can leave voicemail messages for him about his show. “I can think of a lot of uses for this technology,” says West. “I could use it to sell a car if I wanted to.”

That’s the beauty of these free phone numbers – people can get in touch with you, but you’re in control. Thanks to technology, we take it for granted that people are always just a phone call, text message or e-mail away. But there are situations where you want to maintain your privacy while still being available on your own terms. While it is great to be in touch with friends and family, there are some people you may not want to talk to.

In addition to the annoyance factor of unwanted phone calls, there are safety and financial issues to consider every time you give out your home phone or cell phone number. Once your home phone number is in the public domain, anyone can use it to find your address. And unwanted calls on your cell phone use up precious minutes from your calling plan.

For those on the dating scene, a free phone number is the perfect solution to the dilemma of whether or not to give your number out to someone you just met. With a free phone number, they can call you, leave a message and you can choose to call back – or not. It’s also a safe way to let Internet friends, like people you meet on MySpace, get in touch with you without giving out any personal information.

Students going away to college, can maintain a phone number in their hometowns that friends and family can use to contact them without paying the toll for a long distance call. In today’s highly mobile society where people are apt to live in several different cities, in numerous apartments and homes and work at many different jobs, a personal phone number supplies a way for people to reestablish contact after a friend moves away.

A free phone number is also helpful when you’re placing a “for sale” ad in the paper or listing an item on online sites like craigslist.com -- you won’t be constantly interrupted by people calling about your sofa, but you won’t miss any prospective buyers, either. And it’s a great tool for small business owners. You can sign up for a phone number with any area code you like, so you can have a virtual presence in most any city in the United States.

Getting and using a free phone number is quick and easy. For example, to sign up for a PrivatePhone number, users can either call (866) 611-6511 via mobile phone or visit www.PrivatePhone.com, choose an area code and a phone number, and they are all set. All incoming calls go straight to a voicemail box that can be checked either by phone or on the Internet. Incoming caller ID and call blocking features are included in the service, and SMS messaging can be set up to send an alert to a user’s mobile phone when a new message comes in.

“This is such a slick service,” says West. “Everyone needs one of these numbers.”

SOURCE ARA Content