Call a Blogger with GrandCentral
Monday, February 25th, 2008;
-- Janet Meiners |
Have you ever wanted to actually speak to a blogger who’s blog you admire? You may be in luck, because Google’s blogging platform Blogger is being integrated with their VOIP phone service, GrandCentral.
Google bought the company last July and it’s been in private beta since. However, if you want to try the service now, you can get an account without an invitation. All you need is a Blogger account.
The idea behind GrandCentral is that you get one phone number for all of your phones. You can manage it yourself online and set rules for your phones (like set it to ring on your desk phone during business hours and then switch to your cell phone afterwards). Other features include letting you check voicemail online, block numbers, and record calls (this is what I need to use my account for).
There’s much more to the service, but the news today is that if you have a Blogger account, you can add a GrandCentral button to your sidebar. Then people can call you without knowing your phone number. You can screen the calls. My guess is that most bloggers would rather write than talk on the phone. I’m more likely to answer the phone if I’m billing someone for consulting (see Ether).
Currently you can add a button to any web page - like your eBay or Amazon listing, but I haven’t seen anyone use the service in this way yet. Now if I can just remember my login information, I should give GrandCentral another look.
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February 25th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I love the new technology, but honestly I sometimes just sit back, sigh, and yearn for the days of giant, plastic, rotary dial phones with short curly cords.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I’m not sure I’d want people calling me all the time. Email is enough for the initial contact or better yet comment on my blog.
The anonymity makes sense and I’m sure this will be a good solution for some, but not sure it would be for me.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Smart move on googles part. They’ll be even more powerful although having all those calls would get annoying
February 25th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
[...] is putting on it’s Blogger Platform according to a post I read at MarketingPilgrim titled Call a Blogger with GrandCentral - perhaps the only caveat is that most bloggers don’t want to talk to their readers over the [...]
February 26th, 2008 at 12:58 am
[...] it’s Blogger platform using GrandCentral, as reported in Marketing Pilgrim in a post titled Call a Blogger with GrandCentral. “…Google bought the company last July and it’s been in private beta since. However, [...]
February 26th, 2008 at 5:30 am
Sounds like a good service. It might just catch on with the blogging community.
February 26th, 2008 at 8:27 am
I wish GrandCentral would be launched in the UK, it looks like a fantastic service.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:21 am
I think this service definitely has potential for bloggers. I’m very interested to see how this materializes.
February 27th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Anyone on this thread planning on giving the blogger with GrandCentral a shot?
February 28th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Welcome, sleepless nights
March 19th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I plan on giving them a try. I’m very excited about the new feature. Sadly, I found out too late, so now, I have to wait to be invited before I join the Grand Central community. But I’m eager to join. I’d love 2 speak to my readers.
May 5th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
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June 25th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
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July 11th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
[...] has now announced that you can get a GrandCentral account as long as you have a Blogger account - thank you Janet, as seeing your post reminded me to write [...]