Well, I know that you understand what phone numbers are, and it is very likely you have one. If you are working or own a business, you may have two. If you have a fax machine, which many do not anymore, you have a third number or more. But what if you are like me and have a personal phone and would like another? My excuse is that I have had a (540) area code number for over 35 years, but I have moved to another state. I would like to have a local number for where I am now. But wait…how about all of my friends and family that have learned and used my 540 number for all these years? I have a really neat solution; have one of each!
If you have a Google account, or at least Gmail, you are in luck. If you do not have a Google account, get one for free. Let it be known here that I have no financial interest in Google. I have had some suggest it in the past, but I write about it because I feel it is a great system for most anything you may need. Email, business (large or small), presentations, spreadsheets, etc. You can do a lot more with all the other Google apps as your needs and experience increase.
Today, I am here to share a Google phone number with you. Actually, it is called Google Voice (voice.google.com). Since I have swapped my old Google Voice number for one where I am now, I can share it with you. It was 540-908-4406 in Harrisonburg, VA. I have recently changed it for free to a Central Florida number with an “863”, area code. And everything is still free.
What do you get with a free Google Voice number? How about free calling to the US and Canada? You can send and receive unlimited text messages for free. You can usually see the name and number of the person calling you, even if they are not in your contacts list. You can forward your calls to any other phone number, so you can always be reachable. You can screen your calls before you answer them, so you can decide whether to pick them up or not. If you do not pick one up, you may choose to listen to them, and they will go straight to voicemail when done, or you can interrupt if needed and speak with them.
My two favorites are: first, you get voicemail transcription. Google Voice will transcribe your voicemails into text, so you can read them instead of listening to them and send them immediately to your Gmail. The second is that you can create personalized voicemail greetings for different situations. You may set up different greetings when you are at work or on vacation. Furthermore, you can set people (or groups) in your contacts to get different greetings. Say, the Scout Troupe members have one greeting relating to them and another for everyone else. Or even one for each different group you have in your contacts.
You can also port (give the number to Google only, and then you only have one number) your existing phone number to Google Voice, so you do not have to give out a new number to everyone who has the old one. Furthermore, Google Voice uses end-to-end encryption to protect your calls and texts, which is superb security.
Overall, Google Voice is an excellent application that can make your life more communicative. If you are looking for a way to improve your phone communication, I highly recommend giving Google Voice a try.
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