It was five years ago that I declared voicemail dead.

How far have we come since then?

Voicemail is still around, but text messaging has far surpassed voice messages. This is partly an assumption, but today's Chicago Tribune provides factual data.

AT&T reports its text-messaging volume for the second quarter of 2008 was 55 billion, a number that has tripled in just one year.

It seems many people prefer texting over leaving voicemails.

However, despite my earlier declaration that voicemail is dead, I only meant dead in it's current form. Voice is not dead, and never will be. Rather, it's the current archaic methods of leaving voice messages that could be greatly improved in today's fast-paced, text-based society.

Many services are available today which help heavy emailers and texters stay informed of new voice messages.

GrandCentral sends you an email for each new voice message, with a link to listen to the message on the web.

Pinger sends you a text message (or an email) with a callback number to immediately listen to the message.

These services prove that voice itself is not dead, but the traditional approach is no longer efficient.

Whereas I like leaving others voice messages, I hate having to call them just to get to their voice mailbox. What if they pick up? I didn't necessarily want (nor have the time) to talk in real-time this second, but rather just leave a quick memo about something on my mind.

Naturally, older generations are slower to adopt such new technologies, but I think it's just a matter of learning how to use it. By doing so, you'll be increasing your communication skills, thereby keeping in touch with more people.

What's not to like about that?