Give a missed call...

When you are leaving for home late in the night after a night-out with friends, it is very common to hear them say, “give a missed call once you have reached home”. This is so common that we do not even bat an eyelid when we say, “missed call”. And why not, it is the most cost effective way to convey the required message?

Looks like many companies , even bans have started following this “missed call” process. Like ICICI Bank has various numbers for missed call. You give a missed call on one number you can get an SMS instantly stating your balance and give a missed call to another number, you can get mini-statements delivered to your inbox. PNB, Axis and BoI are stated to follow this missed call route. Another Marathi daily urges its readers to merely give a missed call to a number which will automatically renew subscription. And if in Haryana, you can give a missed call to a BMG cinema number and get SMS about movie details. Satyam Cinemas in Chennai is planning to use the same method to check seat availability. Anna Hazare also used the missed call technique to get people to register their support for the fight against corruption.

This is an amazing concept and goes on to show how when human mind and technology come together there is a lot of innovation which can happen. This is probably one innovation which the foreign companies can learn from us. They are used to guffawing at Indians, saying that “missed call” happens only in India but then, turning this into an excellent idea can also happen only in India! Maybe the same “missed call” concept can be extended to protect senior citizens and women in distress. And do not be surprised if companies now start charging us for even missed calls!