Greetings from the future – 2017 to be exact.
Thanks to PR Daily for inspiring this week’s “What is…” Wednesday question – what is a desk phone?
According to PR Daily’s recent poll, in just five years, most desk phones will cease to exist, giving way to even smarter smart phones.
Yes, this means kids in high school right now will be coming out of college rolling their eyes when I tell them all about how my time as a PR intern included answering the office phones and directing calls!
Other soon-to-be-extinct tools, according to the blog:
- Tape recorders – again, aren’t those already on today’s smart phones?
- Fax machines – while I can use one, at age 32 these were already dying off when I entered the business world
- The Rolodex – still alive and well in Scott Hanson’s office as of now
- Standard work hours – what are those?
I also see voicemail in the endangered category, but not so sure about email, which my 25-year-old brother thinks will eventually be eaten alive by texting.
What say you, fellow dinosaurs?
Our fax machine serves only as a place for unwanted solicitations from insurance companies, mortgage companies and vacation companies.
I tried sending a fax once. It resulted in me scanning and emailing the doc. I do have a little Rolodex notebook but it acts more as storage than reference. Everything else my smarty-pants phone takes car of!
Photo caption: A Phonosaurus-Desk