10 Killer Texting Tips

ComputerWorld has put together a list of ten informative tips that will help you become a better texter in no time:

To many people over the age of 30, text messaging can seem like one of those strange, complicated behaviors only teenagers understand. In reality, it's one more great tool in your productivity arsenal, right up there with e-mail and instant messaging.

Such as:

If your phone lacks GPS and you need to find your way between points A and B, let SMS be your guide. Before you hit the road, head to MapQuest in your desktop browser and input your destination. Once the site generates the driving directions, click the Send to Cell option and enter your cell number. In seconds you'll receive a text message containing a link to turn-by-turn directions for your route.

 If you're away from your PC, tap Google SMS for on-the-fly navigation. Create a new message with your starting point and destination, then send it to GOOGLE (dial 466453). In return, you'll receive Google Maps directions in one or more text messages (depending on the length of the route). You can also get an actual map by texting "map" and your location.

Read all ten tips at ComputerWorld.

U.S. Cell Phone Users Open to Texting Their Vote for President

Despite their distrust of electronic voting machines, Americans appear ready to embrace SMS voting:

According to the short survey, more than half of all Democrats, Republicans and Independents surveyed say that if allowed, they’d text in their Presidential vote.

If we look to future voters, the numbers are even greater:

Eight in ten (80%) teens, ages 13-17, say that if they were allowed to     vote in this year’s Presidential election, they’d do it by text message     instead of going to the polls.

Read more at Cellular News.

OMG, Parents Are Texting

The Washington Post recently ran a story about parents who text. While the teenagers might not like this, it is good news for mobile marketers:

Parents are horning in on their teenagers' lives through text messaging. Sending shorthand cellphone messages used to be the province of the younger set -- under the dinner table, in the car, at all hours of the night.

Now, parents are responding with their own quick dispatches -- "RU there," "Running L8" -- and becoming the fastest-growing demographic in text messaging, which is one of the biggest areas of the mobile-phone industry.

Read more at The Washington Post.

FCC Approves A National SMS Text Messaging Alert System

The FCC has approved what will certainly be the largest Emergency SMS system in the world:

Cell phone users will get text message alerts of emergencies under a new nationwide alert system approved late Wednesday by the Federal Communications Commission, according to FCC spokesman Robert Kenny.

It seems that the system will work in a manner similar to the TV/Radio Emergency Broadcast Systems:

Under the plan, the FCC will appoint a federal agency to create the messages and pass them on to cell phone companies that choose to participate, an FCC representative said earlier. Once that agency is named, the participating cell phone providers would have 10 months to comply with the new system's requirements.

All major carriers are expected to join the program. Read more @ CNN.

Who Controls Short Codes?

RCR Wireless News has an interesting story about the battle brewing over just who should regulate Short Codes:

The controversy over whether the Federal Communications Commission should regulate short code-related text messaging has opened a floodgate of weighty policy questions — from network management to consumer protection to free speech — that could make resolution of the matter far more difficult than federal regulators and warring factions may have anticipated.

How did we get here?

Last year, NARAL Pro-Choice America bumped heads with Verizon Wireless after the carrier initially rejected its application for a short code it wanted to use to transmit wireless alerts to supporters. After the controversy gained national media attention, Verizon Wireless reversed course and gave the abortion-rights organization access to its network. Then Rebtel, a Voice over Internet Protocol firm that offers low-cost international calling on mobile phones, began to complain loudly about being turned down by Verizon Wireless, Alltel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. in requests to secure short code-enabled text messaging rights.

So how is this going to end? We'll just have to wait and see.
Read more @ RCR Wireless News.

Inaugural Text Messaging Competition Selects Non-Profit Winners From Kenya, Uganda, Mexico and Azerbaijan

Text Messaging isn't all about business:

Mobile technology organisation kiwanja.net today announced the winners of nGOmobile, a competition aimed at encouraging grassroots non-profits in the developing world think about how they could benefit from text messaging in their work.
...
Grassroots NGOs around the world were invited to submit short project ideas explaining how greater access to mobile technology - and SMS text messaging in particular - would benefit them and their work.

The top four entries, selected by a panel of distinguished judges, are being awarded a brand new Hewlett Packard laptop computer, two Nokia mobile phones, a GSM modem, kiwanja.net's own entry-level text messaging platform - FrontlineSMS - and a cash prize of US$1,000.

Read the entire release here.

The Tech of Obamamania: Online Phone Banks, Mass Texting and Blogs

We've already written (twice) about the Obama campaign's innovative use of text messaging, but this Wired piece explores the issue in greater depth:

The use of technology like blogs, mass texting and online phone banks has been key to Sen. Barack Obama's surprise sweep of recent primaries.

The Illinois senator's campaign has been making use of a range of technologies -- from ringtones to SMS -- to inspire Obamamania. And it's working. Obama's recent parade of victories in the primaries has given him a slight lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"They've been using [texting] to get out the vote, which is incredibly smart because it gives people a way to take immediate political action," says Julie Germany, director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet. "It's just what mobile technology is suited for."

There also having a bit of fun with their phones:

The campaign is even offering a ringtone mashup of Obama's speeches -- a 21st-century version of the campaign bumper sticker that is sure to be a conversation starter.

What could broadcast your hip, geeky, socially conscious status better than a phone with Barack Obama's voice ringing out to a club beat with: "We can have universal health care in this country! We can do that!"

Read the entire piece @ Wired News.

The New York Times Is Texting!

As David Utter of WebProNews says: "OMG NYT TXT 2 U!!!"

The Times took another step to meeting the demands of its readers, this time on the mobile side of the content experience. A Times by SMS feature opened today, as a complementary service to their existing mobile website.

By sending a keyword to 698698 (NYT-NYT), people can retrieve news items, and the work of columnists like tech writer David Pogue or opinion writer Maureen Dowd, via text. The arriving message contains a hyperlink, giving a person the option to view the column in the mobile browser rather than replying to the first message for the next piece of the item.

See our previous coverage of the NY Times' Mobile Real Estate Listings

Student suffers from 'text messenger's thumb'

We always encourage you to text at Club Texting, but as with all good things, do so in moderation:

A medical student in New Zealand has been diagnosed with ‘text-messager’s thumb’ as a result of her excessive use of SMS.

Fleur de Vere Beavis is said to be suffering from the condition of Texting Tenosynovitis, which has seen her tendons swell up and her thumb become inflamed.

Sending up to 100 messages every day has caused her physical pain, says the New Zealand Herald, with the problem one of only a few cases in the world.

Read the entire story @ MobileMarketingNews.co.uk.

Report: Text Messages Sent To Grow To 2.3 Trillion In 2008

Think Text Messaging isn't an important marketing platform? Think again:

Gartner estimates that about 1.9 trillion messages were sent this year and next year will see 20 percent growth to reach the 2.3 trillion mark.

Now before you say, 'wait a minute, you're talking about Europe, not the States,' consider this:

Gartner notes that the least amount of growth will come from Europe, where use is leveling off and may even reach its zenith this year. North America, on the other hand, will see significant growth. We're expected to send more than 300 billion messages, up from 189 billion in 2007. That means North America alone will account for roughly 25 percent of the growth in message use in 2008.

Are you communicating with your customers through SMS Text Messaging yet? If not, it's time to get in touch with Club Texting.

Read more at Information Week.

The Wall Street Journal's SMS Christmas Cartoon

The Wall Street Journal recently ran a Christmas cartoon that really reflects our  SMS-obsessed culture:

Happy Holidays from Club Texting.

FCC Asked to Stop Telecom Censorship of Text Messages

A COALITION OF ADVOCACY GROUPS Tuesday asked the Federal Communications Commission to prohibit wireless companies from censoring text messages. "Discriminating in providing mobile services is contrary to the principles which have governed both wired and wireless carriers for decades," the organizations argued in a petition filed Tuesday.

Why is this so important?

With more and more consumers relying on text messaging, advocates say it's critical to stop telecoms from blocking messages. "There's a lot at stake because this is the way people are communicating now," said Gigi Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge. The groups argued to the FCC that declining to transmit messages from certain senders violates common carrier rules, which prohibit telephone companies from picking and choosing which conversations to allow.

If you think the advocacy groups are overreacting, then consider this:

On at least two occasions this year, wireless companies refused to send certain text messages. In September, Verizon barred the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America from sending messages to supporters, even though they had signed up to receive them. The company reversed its decision after an article about the situation ran in The New York Times. And earlier this year, several carriers refused to run text messages from a rival, Rebtel, that offers Voice over Internet Protocol service.

Read more at OnlineMediaDaily.

Firing Employee for “Calling in Sick” Via Text Message Deemed Unfair

Today we take a look at the lighter side of texting:

If a company can fire a worker via text message, then why can’t a worker “call in sick” via text message?

Apparently he can, an Edinburgh employment tribunal has ruled. Or at least, if an excuse via text message has been accepted once, it has to be accepted again, unless notice to the employee about the change in procedure is given.

Mark Morrison worked as a sales adviser for tile shop Tile It All. When his brother passed away last December, he sent a text message to his manager, Robert Selley, to inform him, and later sent another text message indicating he would be on sick leave until after the funeral.

Upon returning, Morrison heard nothing adverse about his method of informing his employer. Four days later, he again stayed home, telling his manager via text message (over five consecutive days) that he was depressed and not coming to work.

This time when he returned he was dismissed for “failure to follow company procedures.” Policy indicated that he should notifty for reporting absences. The policy stated that absences should be notified by phone calls.

However, the tribunal said that since Tile It All had accepted his notification one week, and hadn’t informed him of any problem, they could not dismiss him for using the same method the next week.

Read the entire article @ RealTechNews

What Are We Thankful For On Thanksgiving? Text Messaging Of Course

Cory Treffiletti at the Online Spin blog writes about some of the things he's thankful for this Thanksgiving:

I am thankful for the iPhone and the ability to take my music everywhere with me, in my phone and on my person. I am especially thankful for the fact that the iPhone comes with a TWO-piece headset, making it easier to block out street noise while calling when away from the office. Why no one thought of that before boggles my mind.

I am thankful for text messaging because it allows me to stay in contact with my fiancé and shoot happy little notes to her at any time of day, making her smile on the other end.

Happy Thanksgiving from Club Texting.

 

The New York Times Now Offers Mobile Real Estate Listings!

The New York Times has made it easy to get information about properties on your mobile device, regardless of whether you are looking in the newspaper, on the Web site or searching directly from a mobile device.

...

From the newspaper:  To get more information about a print ad, text the property ID from a real estate classified to a mobile device.

From your mobile device: To search for properties directly from your mobile device, go to m.nytimes.com/re and enter your property criteria (such as location and price) or  find a specific property by listing ID.

For more details on the program, visit the New York Times' website.

For more information about Club Texting's Real Estate Tools check out our Text Messaging For Real Estate section.

New Service GoMobo Lets You Text Your Delivery Orders In NYC

Thrillist reports on an exciting new tool for hungry texters:

GoMobo's a free, NY-based service that uses text messaging to remove human error/annoyingness from the ordering process -- like a SkyNet for your stomach, but decades away from self-aware falafel. Just pick your favorite spot and input your go-to meal (e.g., Atomic Wings burger, medium rare, American cheese, bacon, onions, ketchup, mustard, no mayo, side salad, side o' ranch, fruit cup) and Mobo will assign it a code (e.g., "1"). Whenever you desire said feast, simply text the code to Mobo, which'll notify the restaurant, charge your card on file, factor in tip, etc, and make note of any special instructions -- like "Don't pack cold Coke with hot pizza", or "If mugged, protect Lo Mein with life".

Find out more at GoMobo.com

SMS Powered Interactive Street Art

Credo Mobile is taking it to the streets.

The progressive mobile phone provider, a division of Working Assets, this week launched an integrated campaign from independent SS+K, Los Angeles, that positions the company as a provider of social change.

As part of the campaign, Credo is producing political street theater in select cities using projected cartoon images on the sides of buildings drawn by political satirist Tom Tomorrow. Images of people such as George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are shown next to blank dialogue boxes. Passersby can use their mobile phones to text in what they think the characters should say and then the words appear as part of the images.

Read  the entire article @ Adweek.

M:Metrics Study: 92.5 Million Active SMS Users Make Short Code-Based Mobile Marketing the Most Effective Platform for Mobile Advertisers

A new study by M:Metrics affirms what we've believed since we started texting:

NeuStar, Inc. announced today that Common Short Code (CSC)-based messaging campaigns have been cited as an "unprecedented platform for marketing" in a recent report published by mobile media research firm M:Metrics. The M:Metrics report, which can be downloaded for free at the U.S. Common Short Codes website (www.USshortcodes.com), states that CSCs are an effective way to engage and drive consumer response across various media channels.

Accessible to more than 95 percent of mobile users, CSCs are short five- and six-digit numbers with which mobile phone users can send and receive text and multimedia messages using the capabilities that come standard with virtually every handset made. Among the many advantages CSCs provide to advertisers today are the greatest reach to mobile users (versus all other mobile marketing methods); user-generated opt-in; ease of use; very low cost; ease of channel integration; and demonstrated impact across a host of campaign types and objectives.

"In the United States, CSCs represent the only universal way for brands to connect with almost all mobile users," said Evan Neufeld, vice president and senior analyst at M:Metrics. "In August 2007, 92.5 million, or 43 percent, of mobile subscribers actively engaged in text messaging. Of these 92.5 million mobile subscribers, 41 million send text messages almost every day. Not only is this number impressive as a stand-alone figure, but it is exponentially higher than the potential reach of the next available mobile advertising method."

"CSCs create a level of interaction that is unparalleled in any other medium," said Diane Strahan, vice president of mobile at NeuStar. "The M:Metrics study offers detailed proof of what mobile marketing-savvy organizations across many industry verticals have speculated: that CSCs provide brands with the broadest and the most targeted way to reach today's mobile consumer. As texting continues to increase in popularity, advertising agencies and marketers are focusing more and more on CSCs as a preferred mobile medium of choice. These firms are embracing CSCs not only to reach today's on-the-go consumer directly, but also to transform traditional print, broadcast and outdoor advertising into truly interactive touchpoints -- thus building significant loyalty among key audiences."

Read the story @ CNN Money or download the report @ www.USshortcodes.com

BYU Joins the 'Texting' Craze with New Club Texting Powered Program

BYUSA will take advantage of the texting fad by sending out mass text messages to students informing them of upcoming campus events.

Students can receive text messages about BYUSA events by texting BYUSA to 25827.

"The texting service that we provide is a way for students to find out about campus events," said Devon Glassman, BYUSA vice president. " I know I am really attached to my phone, I get texts all the time and I always look at a text message. I don't always look at a poster that I walk by."

Students who sign up for this service will receive a maximum of six text messages a month.

"The main goal is to advertise better to students and to get in touch with students the way it's easiest to get in touch with them and help students stay connected to campus," Glassman said.

The first text message students will receive will be a reminder about fall preference.

"Text messaging has become a very mainstream form of communication." Glassman said. "It's really popular and really convenient and cheap."

Students who subscribe to this service will have no additional charge to their normal text messaging charges, according to their plan.

Dan Mortensen, a freshman from Orem majoring in manufacturing engineering technology, said he would use the service because he rarely knows what is happening on campus and always checks his text messages

"I really feel in the dark sometimes about what is going on despite all the banners and ads they have up," Mortensen said.

Read the entire press release @ BYU's website.

SMS Text Messages Replace Mail At UK Council

Following up on our previous post about innovative and surprising uses of SMS, we found this interesting bit of Text-Government in action:

Late council tax payers won't be able to use the UK postal strike as an excuse for non-payment any more, thanks to the local council's deployment of a text messaging system from Avanquest.

Barbergh District Council in Suffolk is using Avanquest's SMS solution, Text Message Server, to improve internal and external communications. Rather than sending out printed reminders for council tax or booking building inspection appointments, council staff will contact people using SMS messages.

"The potential for numerous worker hours saved is enormous, coupled with money savings - the cost of a second class stamp is 24p, a text charge is 6p," said Bob Southgate, Babergh's head of customer services.

But that's not all:

Barbergh plans to expand SMS usage for emergency planning processes and also for people to report fly-tipping or grafitti to the relevant departments.

Read More @ Computer Business Review.

The Most Innovative, Bizarre, Or Surprising Uses Of SMS Text Messaging

Every year, the citizens of this planet send over a trillion text messages. That adds up to over $100 Billion Dollars in texting revenues. Talking about numbers as big as these two, it's not surprising that enterprising people, companies, and organizations have found some pretty amazing (good and bad) uses for text messaging. We've scoured the web to round up 20 of the most interesting examples (again, good and bad) that we could find. Some of these you may have heard of (depending on where you live), while others will make you wonder why you hadn't thought of that, and still others will just make you scratch your head.

War - British Launch Text Message Blitz Against The Taliban
TALIBAN fighters in Afghanistan are being bombarded by a devastating new British weapon ? the text message.

Intelligence chiefs find out the numbers of the enemy’s mobile phones then send them waves of messages to confuse them and destroy morale, The Sun can reveal.

Texts range from simple abuse such as “We know who you are, give up” or “Go home, you’ll never beat us”. Others are disguised as messages from comrades to spread duff information.

The text attacks are carried out by the 15 (UK) Psychological Operations Group, based at the Intelligence Corps’ HQ in Chicksands, Beds.

A military source in Afghanistan said: “If they know their fight is pointless, they are quite likely to give up.”

Government - Swiss Town Votes On Local Speed Limits Via An SMS Election
Residents of the Swiss town of Bulach are using SMS (short message service) to cast votes on a local measure regarding road speed limits. The SMS voting project will be reviewed by the Swiss government which could decide to roll out the capability across the country.

Just like for any election in Switzerland, the residents received their voting material in the mail but this time they also received a user ID and PIN (personal identification number) for voting via SMS. The letters were sent Oct. 10 and residents can use a variety of methods including SMS to cast their vote before Oct. 30.

Government - New Zealand Substitutes Text Message Reminders For Immigration Raids
Visa overstayers who might once have been targeted in dawn raids by immigration officials may in future receive kinder, gentler, texts and email reminders.

The Department of Labour – which incorporates the Immigration Service – has started sending personalised texts and emails to customers to provide "immigration information" such as permit expiry reminders, policy and fee change notifications, notices for immigration agents and information about jobs.

Government - SMS service to keep rickshaw drivers in check
The Delhi Traffic Police has launched an SMS service to lodge complaints against erring autorickshaw drivers, including those who overcharge, misbehave or harass commuters, reports Delhi Newsline.

"Complainants can now send their messages to 6767. For a complaint regarding refusal to ply, the complainant should type in ‘REF' followed by the registration number of the autorickshaw, and send it to the number.

For overcharging, type ‘OVC', for misbehaviour ‘MIB' and for harassment ‘HAR' and send it to 6767. At the end of the day, officials said, all the complaints would be downloaded through the Net and action would be taken against the drivers."

??? - Super-mousetrap Texts You When The Pests Are Dead
We've seen some relatively mouse-friendly attempts at a better mousetrap, but Rentokil's RADAR trap drops all the touchy-feely stuff and brings the pain action-movie-style: with infrared beams, a trick floor, and poison-gas dispensers. Mice who foolishly wander into the Rodent Activated Detection And Riddance unit, where infrared beams and pressure sensors in the bottom of the box trigger the release of a "measured dose" of carbon dioxide, which Rentokil says is a "quick and humane" way of dealing with little Mickey. Once the deed is done, the trap fires off a text message to let you know that the rodent resistance is being dealt with, and prepares to strike again.

Insurance - Metropolitan Life and Clickatell introduce the world's first insurance by mobile phone in South Africa
South African insurance company Metropolitan Life has introduced a new service called Cover2go that makes innovative use of mobile phone technology from Clickatell to offer insurance cover to those on lower incomes in South Africa. The service costs around R10 (approx *1), which is deducted from the phone's airtime and provides instant life insurance for six days, paying out R60,000 (approx *6,300) in the case of accidental death. Cover2go has already been offered to the public at taxi ranks in Gauteng, South Africa, in a pilot campaign.

The customer purchases the policy by sending their name and identity number to a premium-rate number. The system, powered by Clickatell, replies with a confirmation and policy number, requests the name of a beneficiary, and reminds the policyholder to inform an associate about the life insurance. One policy is permitted per person and a renewal notification is sent on expiry.

Charity - When Disaster Strikes, Text 2HELP
In the event of a major disaster (such as Hurricanes Katrina or Wilma) the American Red Cross will collaborate with the CTIA to activate the Text 2HELP initiative. At that time, subscribers of participating wireless carriers can send a text message to "2HELP" (24357) containing the word "HELP." A $5 tax-deductible donation will be made to the American Red Cross for disaster relief efforts. Donations will appear on customers' monthly bills or be debited from prepaid account balances.

Hoaxes - SMS Prank On AIDS Melons Spreads Scare In Qatar
Panic gripped the public as mobile text messages flew thick warning massive flooding of Aids virus-injected watermelons in the market.

The message from unidentified quarters said that over one million melons, injected with Aids virus, have been smuggled into Qatar through Al Shamal road.

The Ministry of Interior swung into action. Their investigations with various agencies proved the rumours baseless. After confirming the message was the handiwork of either an individual or a group of miscreants, the Ministry of Interior issued a statement to allay the fears of the public.

Justice - Kobe Bryant's Attorney's Filed Motions To Access Accusers SMS Records
At issue-- text messages, which are saved on a phone company computer. Bryant's defense wants messages sent by the accuser released-- suggesting those messages could help Bryant's case.

With text messaging, there is distinct information tapped in by the caller. According to producers of Celebrity Justice, Kobe Bryant's attorneys are filing a motion to access all the data.

Legal Analyst Shawn Chapman says depending on the content, expect arguments on the messages authenticity".

Nature - Texting To Save Kenyan Elephants
Elephants might be huge, but scientists in Kenya are finding it hard to track them, so they're using text messages to keep tabs on the tuskers.

They're fitting the jumbo beasts with special collars that text in their exact location every hour.

That means the experts can discover where elephants roam, and use that information to protect them.

They hope the technology will also be able to warn farmers if elephants are about to trample their crops in future.

SMS Enabled Interactive Street Performance Art
TXTUal Healing is an interactive public theater piece. It looks at the cell phone as a device not just to remove oneself from a physical space, but to interact with and explore  it.

Using 'always on' technology, cell phones with SMS allow an audience to interact with public space through projections on the structures that surround us, like the facade of a building for instance.

Some cool examples:

• Graffiti in the style of the famous Jesus Saves, on the sides of Brooklyn apartment buildings.
• An interactive, text-bubbled Last Supper: One Of Your Will Betray Me
• And, in a cool juxtaposition of the past and the present, text messages projected on the walls of the Roman Coliseum.

Education - Catching SMS Cheaters In The Classroom
British Schools are installing detection systems in classrooms, exam halls and changing rooms to combat pupils’ pervasive use – and misuse – of mobile phones.

When Tendring technology college in Essex installed two detectors in its exam halls in January, supervisors discovered about 20 phones among 100 pupils.

“It is illegal to block mobile phone activity,” said Mr Lee. “That is why we’ve gone for a system that doesn’t interfere with the signal.

“By adapting the software, we could collect the mobile phone number that has been detected and send an automatic text message telling them [the owner] to switch it off. But even that might be a civil liberties issue, and we’re not going there at this stage."

Religion - Send A Prayer To The Western Wall By SMS
It a very old tradition to place a note with a prayer or request in the Western Wall and for years, several Web sites have offered Jews from around the world the option to send their prayers by e-mail to a rabbi who then prints them out and places them for them in Jerusalem's Western Wall.

Now SMS2Wall is offering a text message version of this same service,  enabling people who can't make it to Jerusalem, to have their intimate messages placed in the Western Wall, from their mobile phones.

Love & Marriage - Dubai's Grand Mufti Accredits Divorce Through SMS
Muslim authorities in Dubai, acknowledging the synergy of technology and tadition, Thursday confirmed that a Muslim divorce can be carried out via a mobile phone text message or SMS.

The country's Grand Mufti, Ahmed al-Haddad, who issued a fatwa on the subject, noted: 'Islamic clerics disagreed over the way divorce can be written.'

'While some said writing a divorce is equivalent to verbally announcing it, others believe a divorce must be documented by writing and can only be applied when there is intention and when it is read aloud.'

Al-Haddad said he believed an Islamic judge or 'mufti' is able judge a divorce case filed via a mobile phone SMS, based on any of the two opinions by choosing what is most applicable to the couple's circumstances.

Sex - Text-Sex With Artificial Intelligence Powered Chat-bots
In early 2002, wireless technology company, Link77, specializing in the development and operation of innovative mobile services, launched an SMS Chatterbot* called NataChata, a sophisticated text chat application for adults, based on Artificial Intelligence, enabling users to engage in provocative and sex texting... with a bot.

Labor - 'U R Sacked' - 2,500 People Fired Via Text Message
How's This For Efficiency: 2,500 Workers at the British Amulet Group received a message on their mobiles phones telling them they were out of work.

The message said, in part, "you are being made redundant with immediate effect".

Politics - 2008 Presidential Hopefuls Embrace Text Messaging
If Sen. Barack Obama is your guy, dial 62262 -- which spells "Obama" -- on your cellphone and text "Go." For supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, punch in 77007 and text "Join." Text "Today" to 30644 if you're a fan of former senator John Edwards.

A small but growing list of presidential candidates, all Democrats, are jumping on the text-messaging bandwagon. With more than three-quarters of Americans estimated to own cellphones -- and more than 15 billion text messages sent within the country each month -- campaigns believe it's a technology they can't afford not to exploit.

• Previously: Hillary Clinton Reaches Out To Voters With Text Messages
• Previously: Obama Launches Text Messaging Campaign Effort

Literature - Novels Via SMS Popular In Japan
Engadget report on a fabulous success story of a Japanes author who has been sending installments of his best selling novel by text messaging.

"The author of best selling novel Deep Love, who calls himself Yoshi, created a website providing content for mobile phones in May 2000.

"Using a promotional campaign that consisted of passing out business cards to about 2,000 high-school girls in front of Tokyo's Shibuya Station (the center of Tokyo youth culture), Yoshi released The Story of Ayu, the first installment in the longer novel. News of the novel spread by word of mouth, and within three years the site had received a total of 20 million hits".

Accessibility - Real-time Text Messaging For The Deaf
Thanks to Text4Deaf, users can send and receive messages to individuals and groups. The Website also enables recipients to respond directly to the originating PC, Mac, PDA or mobile phone and to group member mobile phones. Users can send Web texts from any web-enabled device worldwide to any U.S. or Canadian mobile phone.

Commercial Fishing - Indian Fishers Negotiate Prices Via Text Message
"During a recent trip to India I saw fishermen in Kerala use SMS and voice for negotiating the price of their fresh catch. This was like share trading at the stock exchange. I could foresee they could well exploit IM with mobile positioning and presence functionality."

Many of these stories were found at the excellent blog, Textually.

Read a story about an interesting use of text messaging we didn't cover? Let us know in the comments.

A High Def Billboard In Times Square That Interacts Via Short Codes

Clear Channel Outdoor’s Spectacolor Division unveiled a digital billboard in Times Square this week.
...
The new Spectacolor HD billboard is the first to run multiple advertiser spots in conjunction with streaming news, weather and live HD broadcasts, which are provided exclusively by CNN.

Why are we bringing it to your attention?

In addition to streaming news, the billboard will also provide viewers with a dedicated audio channel received via mobile phones by dialing a toll free number. Advertisers will have access to a standard feature set that includes Bluetooth downloads, interactive content via short code (SPECHD) and Times Square’s first free public WiFi Hot Spot.

Somehow billboard doesn't do this thing justice.

@ Media Buyer Planner (via Textually)

Forget E-Tickets, In The Philippines They've Got SMS Tickets

The 160Characters Association ran an interesting story this morning about Philipino airline Cebu Pacific:

Flights on Philipine domestic airline Cebu Pacific can be paid for through ATMs with the tickets delivered by SMS.

Travellers with domestic Philipino carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) can pay for their airline tickets via the 1,700 Megalink automated teller machines (ATMs) around the country after making their booking through CEB’s call center or by text message.

Follow here for more.

Text The Vote

As a follow-up to our earlier post about Barack Obama's text messaging efforts, we'd like to point you to this story that appeared on the Washington Post's 'The Trail' 2008 election blog a couple of weeks back:

If the campaigns get it right, mobile experts say, next year's election will see "a very big bump" in youth voter participation.

That's a big "if."

So far only Sen. Barack Obama, who's emerging as the pioneering Internet candidate of the campaign (by measure of online fundraising prowess and grassroots popularity on the MySpace-Facebook-YouTube trifecta), is regularly using a text messaging campaign effectively and strategically.

And they've got a study to back up those claims:

A new study by Princeton and University of Michigan found that on the eve of last year's midterm elections, young voters who were sent message reminders were significantly more likely to vote. No surprise there, experts say, since most teenagers live on their cell phones the same way many use SMS programs on Facebook and MySpace. The non-partisan Working Assets Wireless, a mobile company that works with civic organizations, reported that sending a message reminder to vote -- particularly a succinct, to-the-point reminder -- gave a 4 percent boost in the youth voter turnout rates.

Read the entire piece at the Washington Post's website.

Oh, and if you need more proof to how mobile-savvy Barack Obama's campaign is, in addition to  a twitter-based effort, they've even got ringtones.

The Baby Boomers Are Mobile Savvy!

We all know that the 18 - 34 demo is extremely mobile savvy (and of course teenagers and tweens in even greater percentages), but this bit of news is definitely surprising (in a good way!):

NEW DATA FROM INSIGHTEXPRESS SHOWS that when it comes to use of mobile features, Baby Boomers aren't that far behind their younger, seemingly more tech-savvy counterparts--a sign that mobile marketers and advertisers have the opportunity to tap into a wider, more diverse audience than previously thought.

The Stamford-based online market research firm surveyed more than 2000 mobile users and separated them into four age groups: Gen Y (18-24), Gen X (25-44), younger Baby Boomers (45-54) and older Baby Boomers (55-64).

Not surprisingly, mobile penetration was high across all ages, at 85% and 82% for Gens Y and X, respectively--meanwhile, 80% of younger Boomers surveyed had a mobile phone, followed closely by older Boomers at 79%.

Boomers' handsets were just as cutting edge as their younger counterparts, as 75% of younger Boomers and 68% of older Boomers had phones that supported text messaging--compared to 86% and 82% of Gens Y and X, respectively. Gen Y led the pack in actual text-message usage with 43%, followed by Gen X with 22%--but some 16% of all younger Boomers and 10% of all older Boomers sent or received text messages daily.

Head over to Online Media Daily for the rest of the findings and some interesting commentary.
 

California Considers SMS Emergency Alert System

Consider this situation:

When a wildfire threatened resort areas of Catalina Island off Los Angeles last week, authorities used bullhorns to spread word of an evacuation.

We know that there is a better emergency communications solution--and is seems that California has realized that as well:

"All of the cellphones within range of those towers [on Catalina Island] would ring with an emergency message," says Lt. Gov. John Garamendi (D), describing the proposed cellular alert system, which could use text and voice messages. "Visitors as well as residents on the island who had cellphones, pagers, BlackBerrys, etc., would get the message."

Cellphones are now ubiquitous – outnumbering land lines in the US – making them an obvious part of any emergency alert system.

Visit CBS to read more about California's emergency SMS alert effort.

UK Domino's To Offer Pizza Via Text Message

Here in the States we can only hope for the day that services like this make their way across the pond:

Good news for junk food junkies - Dominos is offering pizza by via SMS.

Yes, if you get a passion for pepperoni when the pubs throw out, just go to your phone and send a message. Your pizza will then arrive from one of Dominos' 470 outlets just as you've dozed off in the armchair. There are a couple of safeguards - firstly, you'll need to register your full details online beforehand and you'll need to set up a 'favourite meals' list, which you can text to the shop. So texting 'hammered' could lead to a large pizza with extra cheese arriving at your door.

(More info @ Domino's via intomobile via Tech Digest)

Search Wikipedia via SMS Text Message

Wikipedia, everyone's favorite online encyclopedia, is now available via SMS-sort of:

SMS service GoLive! Mobile now offers a convenient text messaging interface to the Wikipedia.  Text the words about <your search term> to short code 23907 and you'll get back a link to a mobile-friendly, shortened Wikipedia page. This is fantastic for quick trivia look-ups on the go - but it does require that you can surf the web on your cell phone. (If only they texted you back the results...)

(via LifeHacker)

PingMe Launches SMS Reminder Service

For those who can never seem to keep up with an endless stream of appointments and responsibilities comes PingMe, a new SMS-based reminder service. Thrillist has the details:

PM's a new free service that'll text and/or email you reminders whenever you command it to, much like your late manservant did, only PM's missives do what Covington never could (digitally beam themselves into your pocket). With its Post-it-esque interface, using PM's as easy as setting and saving however many "pings" your defective memory requires: punch in your message, date/time, targets (phone or email), and whether or not to repeat -- daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or millennially (handy for long-prophesied apocalypses). When the time comes, you'll get a text/email with your requested info, like rental car confirmation numbers, bar/restaurant addresses, or just friendly reminders for everyday tasks: "I must kill...the Queen"/"I must prevent Reggie Jackson from killing the Queen."

Sounds promising--for more head over to Thrillist.

Dadnab Rolls Out SMS Transit Tools In The Bay Area

Dadnab is an Austin Texas based company with an interesting SMS application:

Dadnab  is a text messaging service that plans your trips on city transit.  Without web access and don't want to study the schedules?  Dadnab tells you which bus or train to take, at which location, at what time.

They recently added the Bay Area to their system:

A Bay Area Dadnab user sends a text message (SMS) with an origin and destination to bay@dadnab.com. Seconds later, the user receives a text message with the optimal routes and times to get to the desired destination by rail, bus, or ferry.

Dadnab incorporates schedule information from 28 Bay Area transit providers and serves a population of more than seven million residents in the region.

This is an interesting use of text messaging--the only question is, how well would this service work for complicated directions? Would such a response overwhelm the user? Would it require multiple texts? Regardless, this is an innovative service, and if they could figure out a way to account for service delays and shutdowns--which would have been a godsend during New York City's recent subway flood--they might have a killer app on their hands.

Read the entire press release here.

SMS Usage At Verizon Up To 10 Billion Messages A Month

Verizon Wireless customers sent and received more than 10 billion text messages (or SMS messages) in June 2007, a company record and the highest reported total of any wireless service provider in the nation.

Also in June, Verizon Wireless customers sent and received more than 200 million multimedia messages (MMS), which include picture and video messages.

Both monthly figures represent an increase of more than 100 percent from September 2006, when the company broke the five billion monthly text message threshold for the first time.

And in case you were wondering:

If a person were to send a single text message every 15 seconds, it would take more than 4,750 years of continuous texting to send 10 billion text messages and more than 95 years to send 200 million multimedia messages.

Official Press Release (via Textually)

The Tweens Are Texting

Sunday's Washington Post ran an interesting story about a Disney survey of cell-phone usage (including SMS text messaging) among the 10 - 17 age group. There are no details about the methodology of the survey, but no matter, as there are all sorts of interesting findings within:

• The poll of more than 1,500 teens and preteens found that 44 percent use text messages as their primary form of communication.
• More than half -- 52 percent -- say they send text messages from a movie theater while 28 percent have sent messages from the dinner table.
• For many -- 26 percent -- texting is one of the first things they do in the morning, within 10 minutes of waking up.
• One-third of the respondents said they would rather give up the radio, video games or a trip to the mall before giving up their phones.

The future for text messaging looks good.

Read the entire article at The Washington Post (via Textually)

Obama Launches Text Messaging Campaign Effort

RCR Wireless News is reporting that Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama has unveiled a text messaging initiative

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama’s campaign said it launched a new text messaging initiative to expand its grassroots network and organize volunteers for events.
...

The campaign of the Illinois senator directs supporters to send “GO” to OBAMA (62262) to sign up for messages. The Obama campaign said it will not charge for the wireless service.

For Obama, who already has a significant online presence--the infamous YouTube video (unofficial of course), a popular Facebook group,  and extensive social networking tools--the decision to add text messaging to his campaign arsenal was a no-brainer:

“With millions of Americans relying on cellphones, this new service will enable the campaign to not only communicate news about events and campaign developments, but it will also allow users to request information from the campaign,” stated an Obama campaign press release. “The campaign will use text to inform supporters about important public appearance and ask for opinions and advice.”

Obama is not the first candidate to embrace text messaging--see our previous coverage of Hillary Clinton's text messaging efforts.

(via Textually)

Technorati Tags: obama, barack obama, election, 2008, text messaging

Broadway Theaters Launch Text Messaging Promotions

SMS continues to proliferate in the most unlikely places. Case in point: the New York Times is reporting that Broadway Theaters have begun implementing text messaging promotions:

Typically you are told to turn off your cellphone before a performance. But at a recent Saturday matinee of “Spring Awakening,” the Broadway musical that garnered eight Tony Awards last week, the audience was told to do just the opposite.

“Win Your Chance to Come Backstage!” said a flier inserted into the Playbill, which encouraged theatergoers to send the text message “bdway spring” to a five-digit number before the end of intermission.

And the customer reaction?

After the show, Becky Mitchell, 18, received a text message that she had won, and she bounded onto the stage with Alyssa Navia, 19, a friend from Boston College, where both are freshmen. “This is my first Broadway show,” said Ms. Mitchell, who wore a rugby shirt and Ugg boots. “This is fantastic.”

Of course, the production company has a lot to gain by offering this type of promotion:

At the performance, 62 people sent text messages, which included their telephone numbers and e-mail addresses, in hopes of winning the contest. All of their information went into a database that will be used to pitch Broadway tickets and other promotions.

In exchange, contestants were sent a ring tone of a popular song in “Spring Awakening” and a photograph from the show to use as wallpaper on their phones. Both of the souvenirs are potential conversation starters with friends, whom the producers think of as would-be ticket buyers.

While not yet on par with response rates for similar promotions at concerts, early results are promising:

About 8.5 percent of audience members have been sending text messages in the 14 contests that the production has done so far, but organizers expect participation to reach 10 percent.

For a similar promotion with a tour of the rock-oriented theatrical production Blue Man Group, an average of 16 percent of audience members sent text messages, Mr. Bazadona said.

In a tour that covered 60 cities in 90 days, about 50,000 people sent text messages. “This means that each night, 16 percent of the house is leaving the theater with Blue Man Group somehow represented on their mobile phone,” Mr. Bazadona said.

Read the entire article @ NYTimes.com (via mocoNews)

Technorati Tags: broadway, sms, text messaging

Boston Police Let You Text In Anonymous Tips

File this one under incredibly useful, or incredibly creepy. Textually is reporting that the Boston Police Department has set up an anonymous text in tip line. The press release has some more info:

In a press conference held today, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis unveiled the major initiative to revitalize the city’s anonymous crime tip hotline. The tip hotline program, called Crime Stoppers, is being enhanced by enabling citizens to text message an anonymous tip to police. In addition, the program will be promoted to Bostonians though a targeted pro bono advertising campaign. Boston is the first city in the nation to give it citizens the ability to submit an anonymous tip from their mobile phone via text messaging.

Textually notes that this is not the first such program worldwide:

-- China's New Participatory Citizen Surveillance 

-- UK Police texting scheme nets first criminal 

-- Shanghai police to open SMS hot line 

-- India SMS service to keep rickshaw drivers in check

-- The Netherlands Dutch police start SMS-alert service

Read the press release or head over to Textually.

Technorati Tags: crime, sms, text messaging, boston, police

USA Today Bets On Text Message Marketing

adWeek Magazine is reporting that the nation's largest newspaper, USA Today, is making a big bet on SMS marketing (they're aiming the service at adults, not text-happy teens).

The average USA Today reader is 44 years old. But the paper is hoping its audience will soon be text messaging like teenagers—early and often. To help drive that behavior and open up a new revenue stream, the paper will announce this week the launch of an integrated platform combining print and interactive ads in text messages.
...
Print ads in the paper's Money and Sports sections, as well as on its weather page, will give readers a number they can text with requests for up-to-date information on a company or sports team, or to get a five-day local weather forecast. The reply would contain an interactive ad.

They've already signed up some major blue-chip companies: Citibank, Chevrolet, and Microsoft. This effort could wind up marking a significant turning point in the mobile marketing arena, as most successful campaigns have targeted teens so far.

(via Textually)

Technorati Tags: USA Today, Interactive Ads, SMS

Reactee: Text In To My T-Shirt!

Today Thrillist reviewed Reactee, an innovative t-shirt company that lets you buy a custom printed t-shirt, along with a unique Keyword. When someone reads your shirt, they can text a message into Reactee's shortcode with your unique keyword. The message is then forwarded on to you.

Thrillist explains just who these t-shirts are aimed at:

Though they're fun for all, Reactee shirts were originally designed for performers (DJs, musicians, mimes) looking to share gig info, and protesters organizing anti-Starbucks riots.

Reactee has a nice design tool at their website, which allows you to edit/design/and redesign your shirt until it's perfect--you see the results in real-time. When you're ready you check out, you pay a single price ($20) for the shirt, the keyword, and the  service  to forward responses to your own phone. Very cool.

Reactee

Technorati Tags: reactee, thrillist, t-shirts, tees, SMS, text messaging

Record American Idol Vote Totals for This Season

Daily Variety has a story about the vast number of votes cast during the recent season of American Idol:

Voters turned out in record numbers for the sixth edition of Fox's "American Idol."

Overall, 609 million votes were cast through the five-month run of the show, besting last year's top figure of 578 million, according to Telescope, the Los Angeles-based company that processes the "Idol" votes. When the show started in 2002, 110 million votes were phoned.

Those vote totals include SMS entries. Last year the number of text votes were out of this world:

Last year, 64.5 million SMS messages were sent via Cingular.

Exact numbers on SMS votes aren't available yet, but you can bet they were huge, especially when you consider this:

This year, the company launched new "Idol"-themed content, in the form of video and other downloads, to encourage more customers to use its new mobile offerings.

Technorati Tags: SMS, american idol, voting