Here’s My Number (for Today)

By ANNA JANE GROSSMAN

Published: November 30, 2006

Some people have found a way to avoid compromising the sanctity of their cellphone without committing the modern sin of being unreachable. Instead of giving out her cell number, Ms. McClain has recently been dispersing what has become known as a “social phone number.”

This is a free number that is as disposable as a Hotmail address.

…

Matt Wisk, creator of the social phone number provider PrivatePhone.com (and chief marketing officer of the site’s parent company, United Online), said he got the idea to protect mobile numbers in 2005 when Paris Hilton’s cellphone was hacked into, spilling her contacts’ phone numbers all over the Internet.

“I thought, ‘There’s got to be a better way,’ ” he said.

…

Of course, even if you use a social phone number, your hidden digits are likely to be announced through caller ID to anyone you deign worthy of calling back.

For that, a Web site called Jangl.com offers users the ability to create new, free numbers for every person they want to call. It works by giving the user and the person being called the same social number to call each other.

“Historically, phone numbers were assigned to a destination, like a home or work phone,” explained one of Jangl’s founders, Michael Cerda. “Then they were assigned to a device, like a cell. What we are doing is assigning numbers to specific relationships. We offer a shared, mutually anonymous number.”

###

I’m a dying breed, one of the few my age without a cell phone, and as a non-user I can appreciate that I may not be able to fully understand the oh-so-complicated relationship one develops with their cell, however… when you reach the point that neither you nor the party you’re calling want to exchange real numbers and you’re not returning calls for fear that your real number will show up on call display, why are you bothering? Maybe that person is better off as an email-only buddy? Just saying…
For full article, check here