Answering Service Blog | American Inbound

If you live in Oregon, you may have been sent a phony Amber Alert.

The text reads: “AMBER ALERT! Albany area-2 little girls kidnapped around noon. Suspect is driving brown jeep liberty. Plate number 43 6519 please send to everyone.”

The alert was cancelled when the mother and children were brought into custody in Wisconsin.  Officials are unclear as to why a Wisconsin alert was broadcast in Oregon, but are very concerned.  False information such as this can impact the programs effectiveness and lower the public’s confidence in the system. 

While any new bogus alerts should be reported, officials would like to stress that anyone receiving a text message with this information should not report it. 

Federal regulators will determine this week whether or not a new cell phone alert system is instated.  This would be similar to radio or tv alerts and would be used when an emergency strikes. Cell phone users will receive text messages containing the warnings.

Impetus for this change has been attributed to Hurricane Katrina, college shootings, and the recent tornado tragedies in the southeast.  Currently all four national providers (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile) have stated they will take part.

It seems you don’t have to have perfect eye-sight to work in an answering service, and Drishti’, a call center in India, is proving that on a daily basis!

Drishti’ is the Hindi word for vision, and they have formed an employee base made of only visually-impaired operators.  Their system is setup in such a way that it removes all the barriers sightless people have answering phones.  They are, in a sense, giving their employees a new found vision by giving them a freedom they have never experienced. 

Aruna Shinde, an employee of Drishti’ comments, “It is a challenging work but we can work independently, without taking help from anyone else, So, we are feeling good while working here.”

Another employee, Mangesh Indulkar says, “This is my first job and I really like it. I thought it would be tough working in call centers but it took me eight days during the training. Initially I faced some problems but now it’s fine.”

Imagine a world where instead of talking on the phone, you think on the phone.  If you are hearing-impaired this technology would be a godsend.  Imagine never having to call a relay center again.  It would allow the hearing-impaired to have complete independance over the telephone. While this idea may still be a ways away, the framework for the technology is already in place.

It takes the form of a neckband worn by the ‘thinker’ which captures the signals being sent from the brain to the vocal chords. See the video below for a demonstration! Apparently, the company who makes this, Audeo, has also created a thought-driven wheelchair. Kudos to them for being so ‘forward-thinking!’

New Scientist has the full story.

Dr. Neil Martin, Founder/CEO of Global Care Quest and Chief of Neurosurgery at UCLA Medical Center announces a new way to view medical images over your cell phone.

The ICIS Mobile viewer made made Martin and others will help reduce diagnosis times.  As the first 3 hours after an emergency are the most critical, this technology is sure to help many physicians who are on the move.

Please read the full article for more information.

Working the graveyard shift can drive you to exhaustion.  You are forced to constantly shift around your schedule to cope with everyday life.  Errands must run in the day, and social outings and prime time television are always in the evening. 

It turns out that mixing up your daily schedule can put quite strain on your heart. 

So third shift operators, please, take it easy!  Try and make your daily schedule as routine as possible and refer to this article for more information.