Call me, maybe

Remember the telephone? I grew up in the 1980s, and the phone was a pretty critical piece daily of tech. I used it to talk to my friends. I used it to find out if a book I wanted was available at the library (there was no online card catalog, because there was no “online”). I used it to call Infocom when I was stuck in the hardest game I’ve ever played. I used the phone a lot.

Later, as the internet’s tendrils began to touch all facets of our lives, the phone became less relevant. New patterns of communication emerged that remain with us today: words on screens, typed and transmitted at the speed of light. Not a bad thing, overall, but it’s definitely changed the rules for quick two-party communication. Now, when you need help or information from a company, reaching for the phone is often a much less appealing option. It’s become so much easier to email or live chat. And if you do make a call, you’re often thrown into an IVR hellscape with a gauntlet of inscrutable navigation options engineered to keep you as far away from a real human being as possible. It’s not a great experience.

I remember the days when you could just punch in a number, hear a ring or two, and talk to a person who was qualified to answer your question or help you with your problem. I think we all took that for granted, because it was the default experience. There was nothing special or magical about it; it’s just how things worked.

And I think it can still work today. It’s worth a try, at least. So, starting right now, I’m offering phone support for Neatnik LLC products and services (like omg.lol). You can call +1-707-NEATNIK (+1-707-632-8645), and if I’m available, I’ll answer. Keep in mind that I’m in the US Eastern time zone (UTC-4 or -5, depending on the time of year), and I have a rather demanding full-time job outside of Neatnik LLC, so reaching me might be hit or miss during regular business hours.

I’m soft-launching this here and we’ll see how it goes (before I start plastering the number all over my website and help pages and such). I don’t really know what to expect! But if you have a question and would rather ask over the phone instead of typing an email, feel free to give it a try!

(Special thanks to omg.lol member @rail for teaching me all about SIP configurations and related stuff!)