Sounds like a good idea. Or not? Microsoft / Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk
Ideas are difficult.
Good ideas are harder.
But ideas that might go one way or another seem to emerge from tech companies like barrels out of a cellar.
The latest has mesmerized with a curious dissonance coming from Microsoft.
It’s something that I’m sure only has the best of intentions, but it can turn to pain, depression, and gut ulcers because that’s how life is.
This is the problem that Microsoft engineers want to solve. Sometimes, a Microsoft Team the call needs to be forwarded. You, then, sit there until it happens. Or, like me, you just do something else on your laptop until it happens.
That’s clearly not good enough for Microsoft. Here, in the 365 road map, is a glorious new entry. It’s titled: “Music is waiting for call forwarding.”
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Currently, you see, there is no sound while you wait for the transfer. Only a happy peace interacts with your prediction.
But now – or rather in September – “callers can play music on standby when call forwarding is initiated”.
At heart, I adore this. Even if, right now, it is unknown what kind of music will be played. Or, really, whether companies can choose their own music.
The award goes to the first company to choose “Who Are You” by The Who or Ed Sheeran and “I Don’t Care” by Justin Bieber. No, Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello” won’t do it.
I fear that, despite my enthusiasm, many people may find this feature extremely annoying. Why, they would say, be reminded of all the times you seem to have spent hours and hours getting customer service while a cheap tune rings around your head until it starts to choke?
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Worse, what if companies could only choose from a specific set of used tunes from the supermarket catalog?
Or what if corporate IT gets to decide? Can you imagine waiting for your call to be routed and being struck by the melodious sound of Ozzy Osbourne at his finest?
And what if you were kept in the void for tens of minutes, and you had no way out?
As with so many things in tech, it all depends on execution, so I asked Microsoft for some enlightenment.
In a cryptic tone, a company spokesperson told me, “We’ll have more details to share when we officially announce the availability of this feature.”
The anguish of all. It’s unbearable.
Perhaps companies will be able to poll employees as to what kind of music they prefer.
Perhaps Microsoft will only provide music hummed by its own employees.
Perhaps it won’t be long before many Teams users will appreciate that silence can in fact have a silver lining.
