As a former resident of NYC, where I enjoyed craigslist’s enormous popularity and usefulness in all things housing/roommate/classifieds related, it was with a chuckle and a sigh that I read about new service craigsnumber in this morning’s FierceVOIP.  Taking a page out of craiglist’s automated anonymous email system (amongst others that offer similar services including Yahoo! mail), craigsnumber allows one to generate a phone number that auto-forwards to another line - one’s own phone presumably, though I’m sure pranksters will have their fun - and expires in a set period of time (1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, or 1 month).  The service even allows you to request an area code for your “anonumber” (my term; “anomail” is email equivalent) from a drop-down of 14 major metro areas.           

Night on the town coming up?  Grab a craigsnumber and dish it without abandon, knowing that its self-set fuse will let you easily turn on, or off, any contacts that come of it.  Unfortunately, the generated extension is likely to put a crimp in your “game.”

Craigsnumber fills a valuable void in the anonymity preservation field and I’m bullish on the feature’s prospects despite extension hassles.  We’ll likely see the same tech implemented seamlessly in social networks, dating sites, etc. in the near-term.

For the next hour, you can reach me on my cell at (415) 234 5400 x 573.