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Comment by ufmace | Hacker News Reader

Well that's cool I guess. But:

1. How are they partnering with all of the device companies to get this on at least most phones? That'd be interesting to know.

2. I guess somebody has to type that intro text. As long as they're doing that, why bother with a normal call? How about just sending the text instead. Or send a text and let me call back for more details when it suits me, either right away or in 10 minutes. It sounds like whoever is sending these probably has a call center or somebody who's job is to sit around and answer the phone when it rings.

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> How are they partnering with all of the device companies to get this on at least most phones?

They are partnering with the existing spam filtering apps that users have already installed on Android and iOS. No need to involve the vendors or carriers.

1. I'm really not sure yet. They haven't given any details publicly or privately. I'm most curious to see how this will be supported on iOS.

2. The demo on the keynote gave a great use case where a school nurse called the speaker about their child, and she was very lucky to pick up and not let it go to voicemail.

There are still a lot of use cases for calls to hammer out important details, even if they are becoming rarer, like health or car maintenance, or places where sms is associated more with spam. This is a great way to get the best of both worlds, even if it's technically during the decline of calls.

> a great use case where a school nurse called the speaker about their child, and she was very lucky to pick up and not let it go to voicemail.

a) if you're a sloppy enough parent that you don't even have your kids' school phone number saved as a contact, I suspect you're accustomed to relying on luck.

b) "Use our service or your children might die" is fairly over the top marketing, even for marketers.

My kids' school doesn't have one number. It varies, and they also use emergency alert systems (presumably via something like Twilio) that don't always come from a predictable number either.

I don't know why I care about this - it's a service offered to business and if business wants to take it up that's their call. But if I were your kids school I would be looking at the far simpler solution of having one outgoing caller id regardless of the extension. I've had kids in school for 12 years now and have never received emergency communication from them. For the great balance of history, we've trusted schools to be able to make on the spot decisions on our behalf because we didn't have a phone in our pocket. And rightly so - the school has multiples of experience dealing with 8 year olds than I will ever have. What could they possibly need to consult me about in real time?

> What could they possibly need to consult me about in real time?

Your kid had an accident and needs new clothes. Your kid fell and is headed to the hospital by ambulance. Your kid has a headache, can we give them ibuprofen? etc.

1. Not an emergency, but I'll see what I can do (although the 3 schools my kids have been in have had spare clothes on hand for these situations)

2. Good. I'll be there when I can being that you're not asking for my consent and are more than qualified to make that decision

3. You already have a list of my child's allergies. Follow your policy which I have already agreed to, but thank you for the non-urgent notification

etc

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