

VoiceGem (YC S12) Brings Communication Back To The Future - abless
http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/02/voicegem/

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kirillzubovsky
I love these guys. Started using VoiceGem in beta a few weeks ago and can't
stop. I am now using this with my family, who often try to reach me with no
luck. The benefits are obvious - you don't have to respond to voice calls.
There's an expectation on the sender's end that you will respond, eventually,
but you can be in control of your time. Unlike a regular voicemail, this also
allows you not to talk to the other party in real time, thus delivering your
message to them, but on your time. Seriously, just try it, you'll fall in love
with the app.

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salman89
How is this different from other apps like blip.me (besides for the obvious
web vs mobile platform)? A year ago a bunch of friends and myself installed
and began to use blip, but the novelty quickly wore off. Can't remember the
last time I used it.

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abless
We see two main differences to existing voice applications. First, VoiceGem is
meant to be usable by anyone (without having to install an iPhone application,
for example). This is the kind of service you can use with your parents, non-
tech friends, or customers. Secondly, and maybe even more importantly, we try
to enable longer, richer conversations. Whereas blip.me/Voxer focus on walkie-
talkie applications (and do a great job!), the messages we get and send are
often 5+ minutes long.

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salman89
I do think it is important to have a platform that is easy to access, and I'm
sure you guys are working hard at that.

Is there any data that validates the notion that people will be leaving 5+
minute long messages for each other? I honestly can't remember the last time I
left a voicemail for a friend/family, but that is purely anecdotal.

Anyhow, good luck!

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jen_h
People like to _leave_ >5 minute messages. Actually listening to them is a
different thing. ;)

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ardakara
Certainly, and it really depends on the context.

For example, being far from family and friends, I love putting on my
earphones, laying down and listening to my friends' messages.

The nice thing is that I can listen to these messages anytime my hands are
busy but my brain isn't. Running, driving, biking, cooking are all more fun
with a story from an old-friend in the background.

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revorad
The onboarding process on the iphone app is probably the best I've seen on any
app. This is good stuff.

Edit: But it breaks my heart to think that they will give it away for free to
grow fast and then do all sorts of backflips in search of a business model.
The business model is straightforward here. This product is useful. It has
emotional value. Just charge good money for it and focus on making it bloody
brilliant.

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tbenst
Reminds me of Heytell. The threading of messages is a massive improvement, but
still too difficult to find an old message judging only by time. Would be
great to have a rudimentary speech-to-text

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nostromo
Speaking is faster than typing but reading is faster than listening. This is
why I prefer leaving messages to writing emails and reading emails to
listening to messages.

I'd love it if VoiceGem grew into a service that allows me to either listen to
or read a message, depending on the context (in the car vs. in the office,
high vs. low emotional value). Right now the best solution is to use Google
Voice to transcribe voice mail and speech recognition to quickly type out an
email, but it's not ideal.

Anyway, best of luck!

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abless
Great feedback, thank you! I certainly see your point, and I think it really
depends on the use case. VoiceGem wasn't intended as a text replacement, but
more for personal messages with emotional value, hence listening to them.

However, the use case you describe has come up several times now, so it's
something we are aware of.

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carterschonwald
please do it. you might be able to convince me to ask you to take my money if
you do. :)

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blakeapm
I started using the beta a while back and use it all the time now. It's super
convenient and really slick. Good job guys.

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jenntoda
Perfect for sending love to my technologically challenged parents! :)

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spydertennis
Isn't this just voicemail? There are even services that let you leave a
voicemail directly without actually calling the person. How is this
different/better than that?

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dclowd9901
Voicemail is owned and run by phone companies, and thus harder to extend and
digitize. It was only recently that visual voicemail became possible, and only
because Apple demanded it. I can see the benefits of pulling this out of their
grasp, especially in the case that was mentioned (intercontinental
communication).

That said, isn't there already a very popular app that does this?

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ardakara
Yes, there are already apps that let you send shorter voice messages, but you
have to have your friends install it first. VoiceGem lets you send as long a
message as you want to anyone. They can also listen and reply without signing
up, or installing anything.

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chime
I think a Gmail plugin (Chrome/FF extension) would make this awesome. I'd love
a [record] button in Gmail Compose window.

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abless
Thanks. We're definitely considering that, I think it would make a lot of
sense.

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sjtgraham
I wonder if this the idea that got them into YC or a pivot they made during
the cycle. It's kind of disconcerting that this is in YC when there were
probably better people/ideas that didn't even get an interview.

