deafbiz.com

I learned about this new service from LifeHacker

Keep in mind that this is for making hearing phone calls as you can use it from your mobile phone or if your computer is capable of making phone calls from the browser. It’s a useful tool to minimize wasting minutes on the cell phone and aggravation with phone menus.

Fonolo uses a patented process called “Deep Dialing”.  Fonolo works by automating the nativiation through the dreaded touch-tone menus. (”Press 1 for English…”)

Instead, you navigate a company’s phone menu visually, through a web or mobile interface.

Just click the point in the menu you need to call and fonolo will automatically dial the company, navigate to that point and then connect you to the call.

For those using Relay Services, this is a handy guide to prep you for the phone menu so that you can decide ahead of time which numbers to press for the right services.

For example, here’s what it would look like if you plan to call AOL:

Main menu

Main Menu

Hi. Thanks for calling AOL.

This call may be monitored or recorded for quality service.

[click to expand] Main Menu:

To get to the right place, just say one of these:

“Reset password,”

“Tech support,”

“Billing,”

“Sign up,” or,

“Cancellations.”

If nothing sounds right, say “It’s none of those.”

Right now, they’re limited to a small number of companies since it’s in Beta mode. Fonolo built a system that “spiders” the phone system, much like a web search engine spiders the web. Fonolo dial companies, navigate their menus and use a combination of voice recognition, signal processing and human editing to maintain a map of phone space. Since phone menus can change any time, Fonolo continually spider each company to keep the database current.

Not a bad idea to reduce your time on Relay Services (but of course a bad idea for Relay Services because that’ll mean less money for them, heh).

Fonolo

I’ve made a big mistake of subscribing to Sitesell.com and I cannot get unsubscribed. They’re already in violated of FCC rules for not providing an unsubscribe link. I’m getting bombarded with their emails and am at my wit’s end to stop it!

So this is my deafbiz.com policy - any deaf related website using sitesell.com web builder will be immediately removed from the link directory, no question asked. If you plead with me to get back on the list, your pleas will be ignored. Use another website builder program!
This is my message to Ken Evoy (even though he said he’s an MD, I call b.s. on that) - get me off your f****** mailing list!

Just an observation that I’m seeing so many deaf people working for Relay Services that it just reminds me of deaf printers union.

I haven’t yet started using Twitter but I have no doubt that the deaf community will catch on to it (witness twittering during the San Diego Fires).

So I found an excellent guide of twittering etiquette.

The Big Juicy Twitter Guide

Get ready to KickStart your career! Think of Facebook with serious networking.

Already there’s one for Gallaudet , RIT, and CSUN, but not NTID.   At least not yet.