I have maintained an "800" (toll free) phone number for over 25 years. I'm beginning to phase it out. Technology has rendered it quaint. No one pays for long distance phone calls any longer. I can't just discontinue it because it's on much of my advertising, but in about a year it will be history. I've resisted this move because I thought it might lend a little "legitimacy" to my endeavor. But now I believe it just makes me look like an antique. I may be one, but there is no sense in letting everyone know.
Truthfully, I rarely get a phone call anymore. If someone wants to reach me they usually text or email. I've joked for a few years now that the first time I hear a bride and/or grooms voice is when they are saying their vows. Our business has been conducted entirely via email. I've also used Skype and FaceTime to consult with bridal couples to discuss their music and to give them an opportunity to audition me. (Okay. I do get to hear their voices then.)
I remember being stationed at an USAF base near Tokyo when I was young. In order for me to call home I had to go to a special "call unit", book the time and pay for the minutes in advance. I believe the charge was $3.00 per minute. That was a lot of money for a homesick young airman, but I willingly paid it a couple of times. Yesterday I spent over two hours talking with a friend in Spain. The Skype call was free. And I regularly give lessons online and don't have to pay for the service.
One of the nice things about the new communications tech is that it can bring us closer together. Geographic boundaries matter less. My online students are all over the U.S. and one even lives part of the time in Costa Rica. But for 30 minutes each week they are in my home (or I'm in their home depending upon your perspective) learning how to play guitar.
It's not just that the technology is cool, (and I believe it is) but it has changed our day-to-day routines. I'm anxious to see how it will affect the way art is created. Will it inspire songs, or poems, or stories? Will it be featured in films or TV shows? I think art education will (and has) benefited first. But we're just getting started. The surface has yet to be scratched and the twentieth century is sounding more and more old fashioned.