Dial-A-Wiki

From This Might Be A Wiki

Dial-A-Wiki at (505) TMBW-505 is a now-defunct song-a-day telephone service and unofficial fan tribute to They Might Be Giants' Dial-A-Song. Callers were greeted with a different song by They Might Be Giants every day, and could leave a voicemail message after the beep if desired.

The service was created on August 10, 2010 by This Might Be A Wiki admin Jon Uleis. Dial-A-Wiki was powered by the free Google Voice telecommunications service, which can act as an answering machine with a 60-second length limitation on voicemail greetings (limiting the service to short songs, or edited versions of songs). The service ran for approximately one month before its cancellation.

1 FAQ
2 Song list

FAQ

Note: This FAQ is preserved in the present tense for archival purposes, despite Dial-A-Wiki's current inactive status

Why Dial-A-Wiki?

The service was created to fill the large void that was left when They Might Be Giants decided to end their Dial-A-Song service in the late 2000s, in favor of the They Might Be Giants Podcast. Dial-A-Wiki is not intended as a method of redistributing content by They Might Be Giants, but only as a nostalgic glimpse of the heavily cherished (often quoted as "life-changing") service by They Might Be Giants.

TMBW presents this service out of love and respect for the band, and hopes that it continues to spread among fans, and perhaps even attract new ones to the band's music. As the service consists of very low-quality versions of songs only available over the phone, all of which are under 60 seconds in length (and most of which are not available for purchase), we believe that it is not in any way detrimental to the band's music sales.

Is it free?

Yes, like Dial-A-Song, Dial-A-Wiki is a regular telephone call to a landline number in the United States; regular carrier long distance rates may apply, but it's still "Free when you call from work." The 505 area code happens to be located in the state of New Mexico. Remember to dial a "1" before the area code if calling from a landline telephone.

How many calls per day does it receive?

As of August 17, 2010 (day #8), the service is receiving an average of 80 to 90 calls per day, which is increasing exponentially each day.

Should I leave a voicemail?

That's up to you! If you do, it will be listened to and enjoyed. Interesting voicemails that have been left so far include live covers of They Might Be Giants songs and parodies or renditions of famous Dial-A-Song voicemails (such as "Fat Danny Aykroyd" or "Untitled"--the Gloria conversation). Note that voicemail messages have a 3-minute limit.

If you would like your recorded voicemail message sent back to you in MP3 format, send an email to Jon or leave a message on this talk page, along with the date and approximate time at which the message was left, and a description of the content of the message.