"17"

Yes, that is exactly how many voicemails I have, or should I say, had. As I write this, the number has now increased to eighteen since I took the picture.

This is my exact phone. See the number seventeen staring me down?

One thing you will learn about me, if you don’t already know, is that I am addicted to my Crackberry. (Even more now that I just downloaded the new software version last week.) Between text messaging, instant messaging, e-mails, pictures and Facebook, I am constantly on my phone. My family hates it, my friends hate it, and I have to be honest, I wish I could put it down more. To me, all of these forms of communication seem convenient. What doesn’t seem convenient is checking voicemails. I don’t know why, but I have not been a regular checker of voicemails for years. In fact, I answer my phone far less than I do a text, instant message, e-mail or Facebook notification. No, this is not on purpose, but think about it. If you call, I have just 15-20 seconds to catch the call. With any other form of communication, I have as long as necessary, but I usually respond within minutes. To me, that is far easier than calling my voicemail, listening to that annoying, digital lady tell me how many new voicemails I have, the time/date stamp and finally the message. Most of the time, for you to just tell me to call you back. With any other form of communication, I see what you want to tell me immediately and can respond accordingly.

With Sprint, they only allow a new voicemail to stay on their system for so long before they delete it. So, occasionally I see the number decrease by one, or even two. If Sprint had a nice app like the iphone has for my Crackberry, called Visual Voicemail, I could select whatever voicemail I would like without the need to listen to all the other messages prior to the one I really want. I tried downloading an app today for my Crackberry called, YouMail and I saw immediately why it was rated poorly. The idea was there, but was much too difficult for me to take the time to learn. Google is coming out with their version in the next few weeks. Imagine having your voicemails transcribed to your inbox? That would be a lot easier.

You might be asking, “Where is he going with all of this?” Well, I read an article last week in The New York Times, that talks about this particular subject. Apparently, I am not the only that doesn’t listen to their voicemails. Click below to read.

Fashion & Style
You’ve Got Voice Mail, but Do You Care?
By JILL COLVIN
Published: April 2, 2009
In an age of instant information gratification, the burden of having to dial in to a mailbox, enter a passcode and sit through “um’s” and “ah’s” from unwanted callers can seem too much to bear.

Now, just so we are all on the same page and you don’t get mad at me... I don’t check voicemails, but do text, instant message, e-mail and Facebook.