The Efficient Crank Call Tool

Trackbacks/Pings (Trackback URL)

1. Netmuse
   

   March 26th, 2007 at 9:33 pm

   Hilarious!!!! Maybe the site was created by a 15 year old

2. Zer
   

   March 26th, 2007 at 9:40 pm

   If you don’t tell me the name of that service… you will regret it…

3. [kbox]
   

   March 26th, 2007 at 9:48 pm

   lol i love how they give an “example” of a phone number as if anyone isn’t going to know what a phone number looks like.

4. Neil Kelty
   

   March 26th, 2007 at 9:49 pm

   I wonder how many people will spend at least 30 minutes looking for this website tomorrow.

   Unless of course, the link comes up here.

5. Adam Healey
   

   March 26th, 2007 at 9:49 pm

   Thank you Michael for not telling us about this company.

6. Rodney Olsen
   

   March 26th, 2007 at 9:51 pm

   Maybe someone should get the number of the person who created it, enter it on their ‘wonderful’ site and then set it on repeat.

7. Neil Kelty
   

   March 26th, 2007 at 9:51 pm

   @kbox

   They are giving an example of the format - otherwise people will enter all sorts of things, like +1 (519)-555-3839. They want that particular format.

8. Tony
   

   March 26th, 2007 at 9:52 pm

   Google will find it for us, eventually. There are some unique character strings in that interface. : )

   http://tinyurl.com/2avdzq

9. Michael Arrington
   

   March 26th, 2007 at 9:54 pm

   just please don’t post a link here.

10. kwandom
    

    March 26th, 2007 at 9:54 pm

    What an evil service. Although, it may be a good payback at those annoying telemarketers.

11. Rex
    

    March 26th, 2007 at 9:57 pm

    That is one useless site, but pretty funny actually.

    Rex

12. Tony
    

    March 26th, 2007 at 9:59 pm

    It’s called [deleted]

    [yep, you were right]

13. Drama 2.0
    

    March 26th, 2007 at 10:03 pm

    The funny thing is that there are probably quite a few people who would gladly pay for the use of a service like this. Is the service childish? Absolutely. Is it borderline illegal? Seems like it might be. But those two things often make for a viable business (if/while the business lasts). So what’s more idiotic? A Web 2.0 startup with no business model that just raised $1 million from VCs or a juvenile service that was probably built fairly quickly by an individual which has a clear possibility of making money?

14. Mike D
    

    March 26th, 2007 at 10:08 pm

    It would be easy for the entrepreneur behind this to stop crank calling abuse if he wanted to by allowing the target to stop any future calls.

15. Wes
    

    March 26th, 2007 at 10:18 pm

    I still don’t understand why the article was put on this site. The service doesn’t serve any meaningful purpose.

16. walkable
    

    March 26th, 2007 at 10:20 pm

    Isn’t that a bit harsh? I can understand ripping on it and then putting a link to it, but not even linking it and making fun of it? It’s like the old saying says “what goes around, comes around.” I really hope that this is not the way TechCrunch is going to continue.

    And I totally agree that it’s not a great idea, but still…

17. Nick Gonzalez
    

    March 26th, 2007 at 10:29 pm

    We didn’t want to encourage abuse of the service.

18. Mark
    

    March 26th, 2007 at 10:47 pm

    I know it’s been said already, but you are guys running out of topics to write about? I read TechCrunch every day, and this is the most pointless and useless piece of info TechCrunch reported in the long time.

    I happen to be operating a site that has been submitted to TechCrunch and has not been covered, which I completely accepted - there should be many others who may have been more worthy of your attention. But “this” makes me doubt it.

    I hope we will see a higher level of newsworthiness in the future posts.

19. 21dt
    

    March 26th, 2007 at 10:52 pm

    about as useful as pimentoloaf(bymail).com was, is, ever will be…a perfect example of and justifcation for filtering what is and is not covered.

20. jj
    

    March 26th, 2007 at 10:58 pm

    Yeah I think I ran into this guy at startup school. Hilarious dude! I think there’s some more info about this said “startup” on the wiki.

21. Andrew
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 12:04 am

    Hey this is good for radio concert givaway lines. Always wanted to be caller 9!

22. mike
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 12:20 am

    whats the site url i wanna try it lol

23. Shaun
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 12:24 am

    In all fairness, “I” could REALLY use a service like this. All my alarm clocks quit after being on for a while. I have a problem where I have difficulty waking up in the morning, even with a blaring radio next to my ear.

    So something like this that I could set to call my cellphone and have it vibrate under my pillow would be great!

24. quality control
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 12:28 am

    I understand that you posted this entry to show us that you apply a “filter” and you only post the best among the thousands of things that you could write about.

    But, I would like to see the same “quality filter” in the advertisings you have at TechCrunch.
    It just happened that I clicked one of your ads (edgeio) and it is completely lame! awful, undesigned, hard to understand the service….

    if you do the things for the “quality”, please don’t sell yourself and get “quality filtered advertisers”

    thanks.

25. David (the site's creator)
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 1:26 am

    Well, I’m the creator of this site, and I really appreciate the coverage by Nick, Mike, and Techcrunch in general.

    This is not a “startup”, its just a useful tool that I built in a day for myself and my friends. I was very frustrated with misplacing my phone and not having a land-line or another roommate to call. And I built it so I could have something to talk about at Startup School as my big project is still in ’stealth mode’.

    The idea here is that its better than another line in that you need to place only one call, and the service will call you back 10 times while you look for your phone. As soon as you find it, just answer, and the rest of the calls will stop.

    I appreciate everyone’s opinion here, and would invite you tell me how we can make this a more useful service. We’re also evaluating if we should stop calls between 1 and 6 AM etc… We can discuss it more in the forum… or on this forum. Let us know what you want!

    -David

26. Markus
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 1:40 am

    Hmmmm… fantastic way to get out of boring meetings. If you’ve got your laptop with you, you can covertly go to the site and enter your number. Then answer, pause for a moment, and exclaim “Oh my god….. really? Don’t do anything! I’ll be there right away!”….Then simple excuse yourself from the meeting due to an emergency. Perfect.

    Actually there could be a business derived from this, for wake up calls. It would be best if it worked via SMS though. For example, text 0730 to 12345 be called at 7:30am.

27. Richard
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 1:57 am

    Oh, so suddenly prank calls aren’t that funny anymore? The justin.tv coverage from a few days ago sounded a whole lot different.

28. Dhawal
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 2:00 am

    Hey David, I would like to take a look at the site. If you could let me know the url or mail me on dhawal.hdd@gmail.com

29. David (the site's creator)
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 2:07 am

    Sure, if anyone else is interested in the URL, you can email me at david AT keenscreen DOT com

    I will respond ASAP.

    thanks!
    David

30. igotit
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 2:16 am

    very clever David
    so subtle!

31. Damian
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 2:35 am

    Hmm, only works for US numbers. Boo!

32. Isaac
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 2:50 am

    david, this is great. I used it for 2 things:

    1] to find my mobile

    2] to prank call my brother at 2:45 am (hey if i’m up he should be too)

    Awesome toy brother.

33. Caller
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 2:54 am

    David, can you give me your phone number, please?

34. Dobber
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 3:12 am

    When registering a domain name for a service like this you really should use information which is not so clearly bogus.

    registrant-firstname: Foo
    registrant-lastname: Bar
    registrant-organization: Infinity
    registrant-street1: 1234 Happy Lane
    registrant-pcode: 66019
    registrant-city: Happyville
    registrant-ccode: US
    registrant-phone: +8?8.9?6?9?6
    registrant-email: m?m?o?@yahoo.com

    The ? are my addition

35. David (the site's creator)
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 3:19 am

    Dobber -

    I had the original contact information when I launched, but changed the domain name registration (just an hour ago) because a friend cautioned me that I might get my phone # called many, many times, or even a death threat.

    I’ll change the registration back. I’m proud of this service, even if it received a pretty negative review.

36. Stan
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 5:12 am

    Yeah If anyone wants to know the URL

    just email david at KEENSCREEN dot COM

37. stan miller
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 5:13 am

    What happens if the target number is registered on the ‘DoNotCall’ list?

    If someone uses your service to crank call a third party, that may make you liable for big fines.

38. Graham
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 5:44 am

    As other people have mentioned. Its a great personal alarm clock. Even i fsomeone else you know is very reliable, you can set it for them.

    It has limited potential, but even so. I think it appeals, the idea of ‘getting back at someone’ more than they care to admit.

    Just like ringing doorbells and running away… stupid, anoying but very funny in a world that has turned everyday life into death and sadness.

    This is light hearted naughty fun.

    Im going to use it for my alarm clock.

39. SonnyG
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 5:45 am

    What’s the point of blogging about some new site and not telling ppl what it is? Don’t start a story and not finish it…

40. John
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 5:52 am

    SonnyG to get the url send an email to david at KEENSCREEN DOT COM . He will send you the address. How can you use this as an alarm clock, theres no set time you would like it to call?

41. david
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 6:24 am

    Is it enough to log the IP and phonenumber, as you do it on this site? Aren’t you still responsible for the abuse?
    I wonder how long this project will last.
    I don’t have an U.S. number so i couldn’t test it
    (The SourceCode does not really look nice) Lots of work to do, I guess!

42. Cory
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 6:44 am

    @Graham (38), @Shaun (23), and @Markus (26)…

    A better service for what you are talking about is OhDontForget.com. You can set a time for the service to send your cell phone a text message. It was designed as a reminder service, but if you’re creative enough you can do a lot more with it (alarm clock, get out of meetings, get out of a lame date, etc.).

43. Stan Miller
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 7:11 am

    FWIW, the link was already posted here, albeit indirect, in an earlier comment ( Hint #34).

    Also, there may be a business model here after all. Those who use the service as an alarm clock, to ‘find my phone’, or whatever have established a relationship with the service provider and are probably eligible for future telemarketing opportunities.

    That automated caller ( Stanley prefers a sexy Brit) could have special offers for you in the morning. Say, “get 20% off at Peet’s coffee (Villa La Jolla & Nobel) Use coupon code 556.”

    The offers give one the incentive to continue to use the service.

    David, don’t give up on the idea. All you need is an automated way to opt out. For example “Press 6 if you don’t ever want me (in sexy Brit voice) to call you again with great offers in the morning. Or press 3 for me to call you again in 5 minutes…”

    Having a sexy brit call me every morning would be a good thing.

    “Hallo. Good morning Stanley. Hungry for a Bagel? Meet meet at Einstein’s for 20% off …’

    You get the idea. Good luck!

44. Cucirca
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 7:12 am

    Click my name to see the url

45. Dan Vax
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 7:27 am

    Someone phone my phone.

46. IPBullshit
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 7:36 am

    1. Open 3proxy.com
    2. Goto forementioned website.
    3. Call whoever you want.

    

47. Joe Lima
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 7:40 am

    What I can’t figure out is how justin.tv got passed your filter.

48. rs99
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 7:43 am

    I don’t understand why this is sooo bad that you won’t post the URL? How is this any worse than web-to-SMS services?

    https://www.vtext.com/customer_site/jsp/messaging_lo.jsp will let you send an SMS message to any cell phone — another potential PITA.

49. jason
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 7:45 am

    “But there’s a point here. People complain that we don’t cover enough startups here on TechCrunch, and that more (or all) that submit profiles deserved to be covered.”

    I think the point needs to be made that some websites aren’t even startups. Like the developer of this tool points out above, “This is not a “startup”, its just a useful tool that I built in a day for myself”. Just because someone builds a mashup site or designs their graphics with rounded corners and shiny surfaces doesn’t mean the site was meant to be a business.

    Personally I’m glad for the filter. Show me sites that have a business plan, in addition to a cool concept/interface/mashup/whatever, that will likely be around in 5 months much less 5 years from now.

50. John
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 7:47 am

    haahhaha the url finally got posted.

51. Vijay Chakravarthy
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 7:49 am

    I would like to fund this. Do you have the entrepreneurs contact info. Specifically, his phone number?

52. rack pallet
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 7:50 am

    - good job not posting URL; the guy who made this - heh y?

    -RB

53. Jim Rudnick
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 8:02 am

    nice widget! now all you gotta do is to add us Canadians to the reach, and I’d buy it today!

    J

54. Vivek
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 8:48 am

    to David (the site’s creator) ..

    if you really want to make this site _useful_ .. i mean .. used only for purpose of finding your own phone.. nothing else
    then I suggest you start asking people to create logins .. register phone numbers by sending a code by SMS ..
    this will ensure that ppl dial to their own numbers only

    but ….
    you know what …I think .. next time someone really has to find their phone ..
    they wont really go through the login-password blah blah algo!
    instead they might just bend over to grab another phone

    this service is really useless !!
    hence proved
    

55. Bob
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 8:49 am

    Hmm… I could use this.

56. Simon North
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 8:57 am

    Great idea, but probably useless to eveyone, apart from people who want to be idiots and prank people, good job you havent added a link to it.

57. Lawrence
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 8:59 am

    I think the concept is interesting, as a small side project it’s cool. I’d definitely look into some checks to make it valid.

    Like, you could force the user to make a call from another phone to start the service. While the person is on the phone, it continues to ring the phone.

    Or, you could just use the 2nd phone to keep track of the people so that if complaints arise, you can point them to a phone record.

    Cool dude!

58. Lawrence
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 9:02 am

    Just thought of something else:

    You could charge the second phone a small fee for each call. And then credit the missing # with the money.

    The person who is calling is cool with it, as its all the same to them (unless they are borrowing their friends phone…)

    Just another idea.

59. Lawrence
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 9:14 am

    Another idea:

    You could force the user to sign up for the service first, with a text message to the phone to confirm it. Then allow them to make calls later to it when they lose it.

60. Yay for David
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 9:14 am

    First off anyone who didn’t put in David’s URL and find the site themselves I’m just embarrassed for you. Secondly they record the user IP and “fully cooperate with all law enforcement and government requests for call information, and will help prosecute abuses of the system to the full extent of the law.” Which sucks because I wanted to do unlawful things like call Mr. Arrington a bunch. Oh well, I guess its back to the manual way.

61. Topher
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 9:15 am

    This is no different than Skype, Netzero phone, Yahoo phone or any other ISP/IM phone. You can make calls on those services - crank calls included with no way for them to be traced.

    I actually like the idea of using it for wake up calls in the morning.

62. mathew
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 9:34 am

    1. Put home phone number on Do Not Call registry.

    2. Have friend enter your number on David’s site.

    3. Small claims lawsuit.

    4. Profit!

63. Steve Morsa
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 9:48 am

    David–this is a great idea…and here’s how you can quickly and easily become the next zillionaire with it:

    Ignore the FCC’s do-not-call rules and start calling everyone with high public profiles; politicians, business leaders, etc…notify the press of what you’re doing…and wait for Google to buy you out just like they did the copyright infringing YouTube…since they apparently have little or no compunction about buying companies that steal the IP assets and innovation of others…as long as they get tons of new traffic…

64. The Webmaster
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 11:06 am

    The site is now up over at the Internet Wikia. We are also going to post EVERY MAJOR Marketing Blog over there as well. TechCrunch will have their very own page.

65. Gil Megidish
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 11:11 am

    Could have been perfect if you could enter two phone numbers, and it would connect the voice channel between them.

    So you call your mother in law, and hook her up with IRS. Or, hook your old workplace’s conference room telephone with hot dating service. But that’s just my imagination, you can just use it to find TWO lost phones. Killer app!

66. Jorge
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 12:36 pm

    Steve’s idea (#63) is the best one of seen so far.

67. Markus
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 1:22 pm

    Okay, here’s one more idea (still reading David?)

    I remember reading about this clever alarm clock for people who have a problem turning off their alarms or incessantly hitting snooze in their half-asleep state.

    The alarm clock pops out puzzle pieces that you must assemble correctly in order to get it to snooze or turn off (thereby forcing you into proper consciousness).

    http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gad.....032138.php

    Anyways, your automated caller could be set up to query some simple math that requires the answerer to at least be conscious to answer. Example:

    “To stop further calls, please key the answer to the question - what is 5 times 4 plus 11?”

    Ideally, the user could specify some things like how many questions must be answered correctly and the relative difficulty of the questions (for those of you who can literally do complex calculations in your sleep).

    I know plenty of people that could use that service.

68. David (the site's creator)
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 1:41 pm

    Markus & All:

    Definitely still reading! Thanks for all the interest! Frankly I’m overwhelmed!

    Great idea Markus. But how would the alarm service work to prevent you from calling other people at 3AM? Perhaps proving you own the phone first: call the #, and give you some random numbers and ask you to type them in…. then you’re verified. Then you can set up as many alarms as you want.

    The call schedule feature is something I’ve heard a lot of requests for. I just want to make sure we design it in the right way that makes it useful for everyone.

    Since this story is about to get pushed to the 2nd page, I invite everyone to continue the discussion either on my blog at http://www.davidparkinson.com or on the TechCrunch forums: http://forums.techcrunch.com/f.....eadID=2131

69. Jackson
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 2:09 pm

    I’m gonna go ahead and make the opposite complaint, that TechCrunch is covering too many irrelevant “businesses” (websites, really). This would definitely be in that category.

70. Ben Roodman
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 4:02 pm

    The creator was also a Startup School 2007 attendee. http://wiki.startupschool.org/.....oject_here

71. John Mason
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 5:04 pm

    Goto http://digg.com/software/Web_2.....m#c5886172

    For this article on digg

72. Don Vaillancourt
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 6:13 pm

    I wonder if you can do long distance with it.

73. bdeseattle
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 8:32 pm

    @9 - hey mike - didn’t take long for the fanboys to migrate to this comments thread did it? geez. enough already. interesting to see how quickly things [d]evolved in this comments stream simply to satiate their needs…in this case divulging the url - even after you explicitly asked that it not be posted @9 above. sigh.

74. Anthony Feint
    

    March 27th, 2007 at 8:50 pm

    Why does Techcrunch need to hide the URL? I think we’re all mature enough to decide if we should use a site like this. Anyways here is the URL: http://www.phonemyphone.com

75. Mike
    

    March 29th, 2007 at 5:19 am

    I’m not sure anyone has mentioned this yet… but just another way for people to put in massive amounts of votes to American Idol…

76. Scott
    

    April 9th, 2007 at 4:42 pm

    yeah i agree with anthony, i used this service for good, not evil