Virtual Address Book

Up until this point, it has always been very difficult to contact people whose cell phone numbers you do not know because there is no phonebook for that purpose.  However, a new company, Telnic, looks to change that, according to an article in BusinessWeek entitled "How Telnic Will Revolutionize Dialing".  This company created an online address book in which companies and individuals can provide their personal contact information, to whatever extent they wish to do so.  The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has also approved a brand new domain (.tel), which is not tied to a specific website, just for this purpose.

 

This new technology is something that will help many people and companies.  Though a regular phonebook may be useful in some situations, such as looking up a business phone number or someone's home phone umber, there are many times where you will not be able to locate the contact information you wish to find.  Obviously, you have most of your friends' cell phone numbers, but what if you needed to contact someone in an emergency and you didn't have their cell phone number at hand.  With this new technology it would become simple to look up a number on a computer or a cell phone.  Also, being able to use electronic searches is much faster and simpler than looking something up in a book.   It seems as if most things in written form are slowly changing over to a screen form, including newspapers, magazines, and books.

 

This is something that is just getting started, and in my opinion, will probably begin on more of a business level.  I think it will take longer for individuals to integrate to this technology.  Businesses will probably find it efficient to store their contact information here so that anyone can find ways to communicate with them quickly if needed.  With face-to-face business encounters becoming more and more a thing of the past and today's advanced technology, companies want to be able to make contact with their consumers and other companies whenever they need to do so.  However, I believe that it will take much longer for individuals to move to this new technology.  Although most people would love the idea of having this virtual phonebook, I think they will be hesitant to put their own information out there for everyone to see.  No matter how protected this may seem, people are always cautious when it comes to giving out personal information.  Eventually, people probably will adjust to this advancement and begin using it to their advantage, but for now it seems the regular old phonebook will have to do.  With most new technologies, people seem unsure at first until they know all the kinks have been worked out and I'm sure Tecnic's virtual phonebook will be no different.  I think this could possibly move into the category of a very important technologic asset for people.  Everyday new technologies and innovations are coming out that cause our world to continue to shrink and this is no exception.