SMS Text Messaging … 21st Century Vice or Virtue?

SMS Text Messaging … 21st Century Vice or Virtue?

by: Jo Wintour

The Short Message Service (SMS), more commonly known as text messaging, is currently the most used mobile phone service. Frantic wrist action is enjoyed everywhere, even to the point of etiquette, as consumers are spotted texting in restaurants and bars, at weddings and in meetings. The semianonymity of ‘text’ seems key to its popularity, as it provides a comfortable amount of distance, but allows almost instant communication. The world of SMS is expanding so rapidly that many people are of the opinion that text will overtake talk as the preferred form of communication. It could be argued that a great percentage of people find ขtextข easier and perhaps less embarrassing to articulate their thoughts. Many intimate confessions have been communicated by text, including the recent escapades of Paris Hilton and Charlotte Church.

Research suggests that introverts prefer texting as they have the opportunity to think about what to say, removing the pressure of articulating an instance response. Some people also find text a useful timesaving medium by removing the opportunity for smalltalk. With text, mobile users can get straight to the point, much appreciated by people who simply do not enjoy talking on the phone.

Text opportunities are endless. The Live 8 ticket lottery was a very high profile use of text. Over 26 million people took part in the text messaging campaign this month to support the work of Live 8. Throughout the concerts, viewers were urged to send a text message consisting of their names in order to strengthen the message sent to the world leaders. As text is such a convenient option, many believe that this campaign was more successful than a ขphone inข campaign would have been. The appeal posed little challenge for the public viewers, who sitting in the comfort of their own homes, could easily reach for their mobile phone and interact with the Live 8 campaign. Furthermore, the lucky concert attendees were encouraged to send a quick text in between dancing to the live acts. As this took very little effort the response rate to the text appeal was phenomenal.

There are many companies keen to exploit entertainment products and packages through mobile phones. The media industry, particularly radio and reality TV shows, is continuing to cash in on this popular method of communication by engaging viewers to text in and express their opinion. Hit TV shows, such as Big Brother, Pop Idol and Celebrity Love Island, are inundated with texts from the public wishing to save their favourite person. Other media companies promote text as a convenient way to enter competitions. Text messages ease the tedious routine of entering a competition via a phone call, where engaged lines and automated instructions are inevitable, they are also faster and less hassle than snail mail and often more costeffective.

Entertainment isn’t the only industry to exploit SMS. According to textually.org, the top 10 uses for SMS in the US include:

1) Alerting mobile technicians to system errors

2) Alerting mobile execs to urgent voice messages

3) Confirming with mobile sales personnel that a faxed order was received

4) Informing travellers of delays and changes

5) Enabling contract workers to receive and accept project offers

6) Keeping stock traders up to date on urgent stock activity

7) Reminding data services subscribers about daily updates

8) Alerting doctors to urgent patient situations

9) Letting mobile sales teams input daily sales figures into corporate database

10) Sending mobile sales reps reminders of appointments and other schedule details

A more advanced form of text messaging, dubbed the XHIBIT, involves witnesses in criminal court cases automatically receiving a text when they are due to appear in court. Many have favoured this easy method, claiming it effectively reduces the time witnesses of crime have to spend waiting around in court. This is also in place to support the police force, who claim that less time is wasted in the court through this technology. Research suggests that XHIBIT text could save 80,000 police days every year.

Additionally, text provides an additional medium for support services. Examples include encouraging messages for those trying to give up smoking and messages of advice for those suffering from anxiety problems. Furthermore, some people rely on receiving texts with the latest news, such as stock quotes and weather updates.

With the digital and communications market expanding so rapidly, research suggests that text will continue to see many improvements and will consequently become a more fundamental part of our everyday lives.

For more information about text opportunities and the latest developments see:

http://www.sonyericsson.com

http://www.newindpress.com/

http://www.ngfl.gov.uk/news

http://www.textually.org

About The Author

Jo Wintour

Loves travelling, good music and eating out

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 19

by Jo Wintour

What SMS Users Are Telling Telcos

What SMS Users Are Telling Telcos

by: Colin Ong TS

The recent rollout of 3Gready mobile devices has caused a lot of excitement in the Telco industry, especially in the AsiaPacific region. This article will highlight the message that current customers are sending through their SMS messaging habits. Many consumers have been used to sending SMS for at least 2 years. Even with its humble typing of tiny keypads and source of simple news channel, SMS is a global phenomenon. Telcos must take time to study what their customers are saying.

Here are some guideposts.

Equitable Pricing Plan:

Most customers fall under a mobile plan that guarantees a certain number of free SMS a month. This will imply that even with future sophisticated messaging systems, they are still more inclined to expect the same pricing plan. Thus it could be inappropriate to introduce a permessaging pricing, no matter of sophisticated the delivery. Telcos must conduct extensive market research to find the correct pricing plan.

Customisation of Ads:

Customers are not only willing to receive high quality advertisements on their mobile devices, but also want these advertisements to be customized to their interests and preferences. This implies that customers are ready to share more personal details and the mobile devices can be viewed as a channel for dynamic and realtime feedback channel. This may spell the demise of the print newsletter and survey form as the penetration rate for mobile devices increase.

Unchanged Keypad:

Many critics of the SMS system had reservations that customers are not adept at typing messages through small mobile device’s keyboard. They had felt that the customer is too impatient and too many typing errors will be made. Well they were wrong! Telcos should collaborate with phone makers to keep the current mobile device’s keyboard unchanged and concentrate on keeping the screen larger and equipped with better resolution.

Integrating the experience:

Telcos must pay heed in collaborating with the various broadcasting corporations to create an integrated experience. Current mobile device users are very comfortable in voice and SMS communication. Take this as an example: A customer plays a LAN game on broadband in an Internet Café, decides to leave the playstation and continues the game on a mobile device. When he reaches home, he turns on his home entertainment system and continues the final stage of the game. This is possible with the GPRS system and 3G Technology synergising with the broadcasting corporation. But more importantly, a number of media and communication providers benefit from this integration. New revenue streams can be developed.

The overlooked education industry:

It is unfortunate that the education industry has not fully utilized SMS to complement the delivery of lecture notes and tests. The same grouses are the small mobile device screen and the lack of security features to determine the identity of the user. However, with 3G technology, educators should think out of the box and allow students to spend more time off campus to conduct their own research. Occasionally, they can arrange for the student to sit for a test that can be transmitted through their mobile devices.

Untapped Security Market:

The Mobile Device can be the next ขinthingข as a security device. The concept is relatively simple. The student’s location can be tracked by the GPRS system through the mobile device and the parent can have a facetoface chat with the child. This concept can also be stretched to include these devices in various parts of a car – i.e. like a black box in a plane. If there are any major accidents, insurance companies can view these recordings and get a better picture of the accident.

About The Author

Colin Ong TS is the Managing Director of MR=MC Consulting (http://www.mrmc.com.sg) and Founder of the 12n Professional Online Networking Community (http://www.mrmc.com.sg/12n)

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 03, 2004

by Colin Ong TS

Why Mobile SMS Text Marketing not Email Marketing?

Why Mobile SMS Text Marketing not Email Marketing?

by: Vijay Shukla

Why Mobile SMS Text Marketing not Email Marketing?

With over 1.8 billion mobile connections globally, mobile marketing has now become an extremely effective tool to marketers for promoting their brands in multiple ways. With increasing population of mobile phones and decreasing usage costs, SMS (text message) is becoming a compelling proposition for direct marketers who till now relied on emails and letters alone. Very often comparisons are drawn between effectiveness of Email and SMS (text messaging). On face of it, Email seems to have an inherent advantage of being less costly than SMS. A slightly deeper study by ValueFirst Messaging (http://www.vfirst.com) reveals that being closetofree has become the main reason for Email loosing all its relevance in terms of being effective.

Emails get blocked: An internal study revealed that most people have more than three Email accounts. Some of these accounts have become inactive as these receive only unsolicited SPAM. Various companies have installed very effective SPAM filters which block marketing mails and if not blocked by SPAM filters these land up in the Junk folder of the recipient. The marketing mails which are still able to make it to the Inbox are quite likely to be deleted from there without the recipient even taking a look at the subject matter.

SMS are always read: Now compare this with a marketing message sent as an SMS. A small element of cost associated with SMS has prevented it from being too widely used. SMS are easily personalised and are always read before they get deleted. Recipient sees the SMS immediately on receiving it and the impact and retention of the message is much higher than any other medium. SMS is not overlooked and one can be almost fully assured that once a message lands on a phone it is going to be seen, read and retained at least for some time.

SMS cover all buying segments: SMS unlike Email are pushed on mobile phones instantly. An Email user may not fetch his mails for a long time, particularly when he is using multiple accounts. In context of marketing also mobile phones cover a much larger and wider segment of potential buyers of goods and services than Email. Some of the significant segments, with substantial buying power, which get neglected by Email are housewives, elderly people not very technology savvy, etc. Mobile population is much larger than regular Email users.

The following is the comparison of email and SMS marketing:

Reach

Email: Internet users

SMS: Mobile users

Cost per transaction

Email: Low

SMS: Medium

Access

Email: Home and work

SMS: Everywhere

Impact

Email: Low

SMS: Medium to high

Personal

Email: No

SMS: Yes

Synchronous

Email: No

SMS: Yes

Viral

Email: Yes

SMS: Yes

Conclusion: Mobile marketing is a new addition to the media mix, with great opportunities for direct interaction with customers and costeffective data collection. SMSbased marketing is more impactful and has much higher penetration than Emails. A serious campaign, either for a brand building exercise or for short term promotions, can rely much more on SMS than Emails.

Selecting a SMS marketing technology partner that understands the medium as well the requirements is the key to success.

About The Author

Vijay Shukla

This article has been contributed by Mr. Vijay Shukla Vijay has over 8 years of industry experience in management consulting and providing innovative services and applications around mobile data services for large enterprise. The above article represents personal views of the author. He can be contacted at [email protected]

http://www.vfirst.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 26

by Vijay Shukla

Stay In The Know With Google SMS

Stay In The Know With Google SMS

by: Jakob Jelling

The Short Messaging Service (SMS) from Google sends short, quick, text answers in response to your queries from an SMSenabled mobile device, such as a cell phone. For example, you can look up phone numbers and addresses of local restaurants, do local phone book searches, compare prices from online merchants in Froogle to those you find in local stores, even look up definitions of words from the dictionary.

SMS has long been a common means of mobile communication in Europe. It has been available in the US for some time, but hasn’t been widely used. You don’t need a phone with a web browser to use Googleกs SMS. Since the information is transmitted as text only, without graphics, only the ability to send and receive SMS messages is needed. At present, the service is only available only in English, through major US wireless carriers like AT&T, Nextel, Sprint, and TMobile. Your service plan must allow for SMS messaging also. Use of SMS doesn’t generally count against minutes under most plans, but both your SMS to Google and the answer received from Google will typically count towards messages allowed.

Use of the Google SMS service is free at present, though of course users will need to pay any connection and messaging charges from their wireless carriers.

Google SMS can be handy for travel in particular. For example, letกs say youกve arrived at your hotel, and really have a taste for Chinese food. You may be able to use Google SMS to enter กChinese food deliveryก followed by the zip code of your hotel. Google will return, usually in less than a minute, a list of local Chinese restaurants that offer delivery. This is a nice alternative to looking in a phone book, where you may not know the city, and also is handy for situations where you may not be able to connect to the Internet easily.

By Jakob Jelling

http://www.sitetube.com

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.

This article was posted on November 08, 2004

by Jakob Jelling

Understanding The Operation Of Mobile Phone Networ

Understanding The Operation Of Mobile Phone Networks

by: Peter Lenkefi

Mobile phones have become as commonplace as pocket radios. There is no where you will go without finding someone with the palm tucked close to the ear receiving or making a call.

Mobile services differ greatly from the traditional telephony service in many respects. Here, we try to look at how cellular phones phones operate and how calls are made and received.

The first thing you will have to understand about mobile technology is mobile phones are essentially radios. All communication – to an from the device – travel along radio lines and is bound by radio transmission rules we see in the old Motorola two way radio systems. The only difference is that cellular phones are able to apply computer concepts such as advanced networking and sophiscated programming into their functions and that is how we come by SMS text messages, conferencing, call waiting features and calendar systems.

The second concept is that of cells. There is no single block of network but rather a city may be divided into several cells and a call from one cellular device to the other keeps hoping along the cells till it gets to the destined number. The advantage of the cell system, is that it allows for frequency reuse, meaning several users can use the same small cell and permits the company to use the same frequency over and over again without locking resources to one phone call only. Typically, one cell covers about 26 square kilometers and each one has a base station which is just a tower and some radio equipment to manage the signals.

Of late, cell phone technologies are laden with computer applications. SMS and WAP access are for example typical computer applications that have found their way into cellular functionality. SMS operates like the traditional email system and is controlled by a server just like we have a network server. WAP dwells more on computer programming and is also controlled by a WAP server. When you send a text message, it travels over the cellular network and is stored in a server and delivered to the recipient. The reason why it is purely a computer network facility and independent of the cellular service is that even whilst receiving calls SMS messages can come through.

WAP is purely an internet driven service integrated into cellular networks to enhance experience normally reserved for internet surfers. Examples of these facilities are downloads and information services like flight schedules and weather updates which are obtained from cellular operators via handsets.

As mobile users grow in sophiscation, so does the technology that drives the device. Each new day we shall see what we call convergence technology whereby other fields of communication shall be gradually fused into mobile operations to give customers enhanced experience.

About The Author

Peter Lenkefi

For more more information about mobile phone network please visit http://www.cellphonenation.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 17

by Peter Lenkefi

SMS for the estate agent Targeted marketing tool

SMS for the estate agent Targeted marketing tool, or Legal Minefield?

by: Ken Norbury

Imagine having at your disposal a means to immediately inform house buyers that you have just the property they are looking for. Potential buyers have given their details and their preferences imagine that you can send them this information no matter where they are or what they are doing, they can read it at a time that’s convenient and can act accordingly in their own time. Imagine that you can do this quickly and easily, in a matter of minutes, regardless of the number of recipients.

Sounds too good to be true? Well itกs not itกs available now, itกs inexpensive and you can be taking advantage of it within minutes of reading this article. Itกs called SMS Text Messaging and of course you already knew about it didn’t you?

From the homebuyerกs perspective, SMS is a really convenient way to get information. Itกs personal and itกs discreet. Thereกs immediacy about the message, but at the same time itกs not intrusive, and they can handle the response at their convenience.

So you decide that this is a great idea and you want to get your company geared up for the 21st century. How do you get started? Perhaps your first thought is to get your friendly IT Consultant to take a look at the problem, right?

Stop! Don’t pick up that phone until youกve read the rest of this article. In common with many of these kinds of issues itกs easy to get so bogged down in the technicalities that we fail to consider some of the other issues involved.

First of all, letกs look at the legalities.

By 31st October 2003, all member states of the European Union will be implementing Article 13 of the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications (DPEC).A public consultation on how to implement the DPEC in the UK was launched by the DTI on 27 March 2003, and ran for 12 weeks, closing on 19 June 2003. Final implementing Regulations are now being prepared, taking into account the responses received. The DTI intend to publish details of these final measures by midSeptember 2003. The new Directive:

Replaces existing definitions for telecommunications services and networks with new definitions for electronic communications and services to ensure technological neutrality and clarify the position of email and use of the internet;

Enables the provision of value added services based on location and traffic data, subject to the consent of subscribers (for example, location based advertising to mobile phone users);

Removes the possibility for a subscriber to be charged for exercising the right not to appear in public directories;

Introduces new information and consent requirements on entries in publicly available directories, including a requirement that subscribers are informed of all the usage possibilities of publicly available directories e.g. reverse searching from a telephone number in order to obtain a name and address;

Extends controls on unsolicited direct marketing to all forms of electronic communications including unsolicited commercial email (UCE or Spam) and SMS to mobile telephones; UCE and SMS will be subject to a prior consent requirement, so the receiver is required to agree to it in advance, except in the context of an existing customer relationship, where companies may continue to email or SMS on an กoptoutก basis;

Clarifies that the Directive does not prevent Member States from introducing provisions on the retention of traffic and location data for law enforcement purposes;

Introduces controls on the use of cookies on websites. Cookies and similar tracking devices will be subject to a new transparency requirement anyone that employs these kinds of devices must provide information on them and allow subscribers or users to refuse to accept them if they wish.

So what does that mean to the potential implementation of your SMS service? Well, it seems quite clear, we must obtain the recipientกs permission before sending any SMS messages กunless there is an existing customer relationshipก. The exact meaning of กexisting customer relationshipก is however somewhat of a grey area in the act. For example, if it is interpreted as being someone who has at some time bought a product from the vendor, would that mean that the product being marketed would need to be the same type of product? If this were the case, a supermarket would only be able to send messages about a single line of product to people who have bought that product and would not be able to send messages about other merchandise or services. The DTIกs stance on this is that this particular issue is clearly covered in existing UK legislation under the Data Protection Act 1998:

‘these would restrict a business to direct marketing the kind of products the addressee would have reasonably expected it to market at the time they gave or agreed to use of their contact details i.e. a business could market the products available at the time, but not necessarily those of a business that it took over, or a substantively new product range.ก

So, therefore, it would seem that say a large supermarket chain, who got your name and address, phone number and email details whilst you were a customer buying groceries, should not be legally entitled to begin any form of communication with you using information about you gathered in this way if, for example, they were to start selling Insurance services or indeed start up an Estate Agency business? It would seem so.

So, in most cases, it would appear that your existing customers are open to you being able to send them SMS messages, as it would be reasonable to assume that they would expect you to send them property related information.

There are however other grey areas in the document.

The following is an excerpt from the DTIกs document on Article 13:

กGrey areas under the current rules include the status of systems which send SMS automatically and power diallertype systems which dial numbers automatically but are designed to establish a voice link with a live operator rather than a prerecorded message. Lack of certainty about the application of the TDPP (Telecoms Data Protection Directive) Regulations has made it harder to deal with the problems that these kinds of systems can cause. Power diallers, for instance, can cause problems to subscribers where they are used without enough call centre staff available to answer the calls being dialled, resulting in single or repeated silent calls, or calls which cut off after a few rings, in addition to any annoyance caused if they are used to ring subscribers who have registered on the TPS (Telephone Preference Service).

Limiting the definition of automated calling system does not mean that these areas will be unregulated. The sending of unsolicited SMS for advertising purposes is now explicitly covered by the Privacy Directive which treats them in the same way as email messages.ก

Anyone receiving SMS messages from you should have a clear indication of where the message came from and a clear method to unsubscribe from your service.

It would seem therefore that apart from any other considerations, there are many potential legal pitfalls to setting up your own emarketing system.

Looking at this from a slightly different perspective, the solution may well be a lot easier than you might expect. From the consumerกs angle, the approach to receiving SMS or email messages about products and services is something each of us would rather have much more personal control over. In 1998, my company at the time, Geoworks Corporation, did some extensive focus group research into consumer reaction to emarketing and in particular SMS. This research was conducted both here in the UK and in the US. At that time, SMS messaging had been available to mobile phone users for a number of years, but we had not acheived the massive volumes that were to be reached in the phenomenon which took place some 1218 months later when Pay As You Go services sparked huge SMS growth. To illustrate the point, all of the UK mobile phone companies at this time probably had only one or two SMS Controllers (a computer which handles the storage and routing of SMS messages) in their infrastructure. When the rampup suddenly began, the growth caught most of them completely unawares and meant that they had to try and commission new SMSCกs faster than the boxes could be ordered! What had been a fairly straight and flat line on a graph suddenly went vertical. Our research at Geoworks indicated that consumers were excited about receiving SMS messages about products or services provided that they were not being charged to receive the message and they had some control over what products and services they were going to receive messages about. กPermission Marketingก was the key what the consumer wants, when they want it and where they want it. Consumers indicated that they would be happy to receive all kinds of information supported by advertising on the same basis for example, Weather Information sponsored by X or Football Scores sponsored by Y.

It would seem then, that the key to success in this area is not in the hands of the vendorกs innovations or exclusive products, but in giving the consumer control. Without permission, any attempt to sell via this means becomes annoying and intrusive, causing the wouldbe potential buyer to become alienated against the marketer a selfdefeating exercise if ever there was!

So what should be your way forward? Look at other emarketing success stories for a clue. Amazon.com is, today, a well known and respected seller of books and much more which started from humble roots in the Seattle area and has grown to be a worldwide $multimillion success. Amazonกs success was based on giving you, the consumer, control and providing a topclass nextday service. You control from the comfort of your home or office, the parameters that determine what you get from Amazon. Itกs easy and convenient, and grew like topsy. Ebay is another example providing a worldwide auction service. Many other services provide กPortalก access for the consumer to select what information they wish to receive.

So it seems Portal services are the key to gaining the hearts and minds of the consumer. But as an Estate Agent, how does that help?

A Portal could provide a single access point for wouldbe housebuyers to register their interest in properties by locale, price and number of bedrooms. The consumer controls what they want to get. It is open to all Estate Agents who can register, quickly and easily, any property that is going on the market. Any technical or legal issues are the responsibility of the Portal and not of the individual Estate Agent.

From the consumer perspective, it’s one place to go, they register once, but potentially get messages from many Estate Agencies provided that they match their criteria. Itกs free to the consumer, and they have control to change their criteria or unsubscribe should they wish.

About The Author

Ken Norbury is Business Development Director at Arclid.com Ltd. a company who specialise in services for the Estate Agent market. He was formerly Vice President of Geoworks Corporation, a US company who pioneered many aspects of mobile communications including mobile messaging server systems and Operating Systems for devices such as the Nokia Communicator 9000 and 9110. Arclid.com Ltd. developed the qpAlert! www.qpalert.co.uk web portal service which allows house buyers to register their interest in properties by area, price and size.

This article was posted on April 28, 2004

by Ken Norbury

Sending SMS in Foreign Languages For Example Arabi

Sending SMS in Foreign Languages For Example Arabic, Greek, Hebrew etc.

by: Marinda Stuiver

Mobile phone penetration is increasing globally. With the increase in handsets, being able to communicate with the handset owners in their own language is something that is becoming increasingly important.

The first question that comes to mind is how it works when foreign languages are sent to mobiles from a web site. Based on the fact that computers fundamentally just deal with numbers, letters and characters are stored using a unique number for each and in the past these unique numbers had to be assigned through the use of encoding systems. As a result hundreds of different encoding systems existed, none compatible with each other and none of them containing enough characters to deal with all languages. All this changed with the invention of Unicode. With Unicode one number for each letter has been assigned (a standard has been set) and it is network, platform and language independent. The emergence of Unicode standards and tools allowed web platform owners and developers to develop additional tools which enables end users to send sms in their own language.

These applications are especially important in the Middle East (Arabic), Far East (Chinese, Taiwanese, Hindi etc.) and European countries where normal English characters cannot be used to communicate in data format for example Greece, Finland, Norway just to name a few.

Prior to development of a userfriendly Java based application, users had to be familiar with Hex and the conversion of Unicode characters into Hex in order for the binary data to be sent to recipients via mobile phones from web sites.

This now all changed for end users. The java based application used for sending Unicode, available on www.smswarehouse.com, allows users to send sms from the web site in the language their keyboard is set to. Once logged in, users have the opportunity to choose whether they want to send their text message in Unicode or in English. After selecting Unicode, the user is presented with the opportunity to send their message in Hex or based on their keyboard settings (Keyboard input).

The process is extremely simple and user friendly if your keyboard is set (for example) to Greek, you simply type the message in and click on กsendก the text will be delivered to the recipient in Greek. Unicode is still limited to 70 Characters, which is a GSM restriction, but the use of 160 characters is currently under development.

Visit http://www.smswarehouse.com for more details and a free test account.

About The Author

Marinda Stuiver has been working in the marketing industry since 1996. She worked as International sales and marketing consultant for Station Africa Telecoms where one of her responsibilities was media liaison during sponsored events such as the Camel Trophy 4X4 events, Kathy O’Dowd’s firs ascent of Mt Everest, the 1999 BT sponsored Vasco da Gama Yacht race and many more. She started her own online consultancy in 2000 (ESPECTATIONS.COM) and launched a new division in January 2005 called SMSwarehouse. Her major area of interest is convergence of technologies and she works as a consultant in this specific arena. PR forms a big part of her daily duties and services to clients but she also enjoys writing about her outdoor experiences and adventures.

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 10

by Marinda Stuiver