by andy, February 26th, 2006 | No Comments
Almost unbelievable statistics from Virgin Mobile in the UK (via Reuters):
-12% of the population confess to sending at least 20 texts per day
-10% of the population confess to sending up to 100 texts per day
Not only is text messaging growth not slowing down, but the biggest concerns now are that people are becoming addicted to text messaging and are getting stress injuries. Amazing.
Mobile telephone text messaging has become so popular in Britain that millions of users now suffer injuries to their thumbs and fingers because of their love of keeping in touch, according to a survey on Tuesday.
Over 93.5 million text messages are sent every day but all this digit action has lead to an explosion in people reporting cases of repetitive strain injury (RSI).
Thirty-eight percent more people suffer from sore wrists and thumbs due to texting than five years ago and 3.8 million people now complain of text-related injuries every year.
The survey for Virgin Mobile found the texting phenomenon shows no sign of slowing. Over 12 percent of the population admit to sending 20 texts per day and 10 percent confess to sending up to 100 texts every day.
While psychologists say it is important for people to communicate there is a danger that using arms-length tools like texting and email is making people uncomfortable with more intimate face-to-face conversations.
There has even been concern voiced that some people run the risk of becoming addicted to excessive texting.
Last March Scottish factory worker Craig Crosbie was crowned the world’s fastest texter after he took just 48 seconds to type out the 160-character message: “The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human.”
by andy, February 23rd, 2006 | No Comments
Enlai created this awesome animated graphic…
by andy, February 18th, 2006 | No Comments
Interesting comments by Mike Butcher at 160 characters after attending 3GSM on how SMS is here to stay, despite the introduction of flashy new 3G services.
“Despite the varied new messaging options, 3G subscribers are still more likely to use SMS in comparison to non-3G users, so we are not seeing cannibalisation of SMS revenues, as some have speculated,” said Paul Goode, vice president and senior analyst, M:Metrics. “Instead, we see that they are sending SMS while being twice as likely to use mobile e-mail and instant messaging.”
So what does this tell you? SMS isn’t about to be replaced by ’sexy’ 3G services, and in fact it will only expand further.
This mirrors what happened in the Internet space. As broadband penetration spread, what happened? The faster speeds meant people accessed and consumed more online. They didn’t necessarily want more broadband ‘content’ (although music downloads and video have obviously been huge) but the mainstream of users just wanted more “internet” - email and web surfing. They knew what worked - it just needed to be *faster*. The same experience will happen with 3G. We’ll just message more, since sending and receiving texts will be much faster.
But here’s a parting thought. With new services coming on stream and the old stalwarts of voice and SMS coming under increasing competition, will other multimedia services take up the slack?
Somewhow I doubt it. SMS can only get cheaper, but at the end of the day it remains the same products - 160 characters of pure, unadulterated, highly personal communication.
People LOVE messaging, and they’ll do it by the cheapest, most widely available means, and that’s going to be SMS for a long time to come.
I agree with Mike’s comments, and would add that it is not clear that the successful services of the future will be the services that are simple-mindedly lifted off the MP3 player or the PC or the television and dropped onto the phone. The phone is fundamentally for conversations, and so the most successful services will blend together content and conversations. Think blogs, but multimedia and ad hoc. In the future, the mobile phone will act as a user’s remote control for their digital life and as their microphone to participate in this new seamlessly connected medium (thanks Ethan for the microphone concept).
People place a very high value on their ability to talk to their friends. And this is the reason 3jam is focused on making text messaging work the way it should. On the phone, the conversation is the core and multimedia services need to wrap around it. Not the other way round.
by andy, February 15th, 2006 | No Comments
Thanks for the review, Pablo.
I acquired my latest phone specifically so that I could text-message. Why? Because I like the asynchronous, reply-if-you-want-to, i’m-just-putting-this-out-there, type of communication. Plus, I detest leaving voice-mail.
SMS is great for this kind of stuff- but it only works well for person-to-person communication. SMS becomes a hassle when trying to handle people-to-people communication. If I send a message to Todd, Adolph and Killy, they will all get the message, but each of them will not know that the others were included on the message. And their replies will only go to me. Basically, there is no “reply-to-all” function with SMS.
Enter 3jam
by andy, February 13th, 2006 | No Comments
Check us out. If you’re already on MySpace, add us to your MySpace friend’s list. We’ll make sure you’re in the know about the cool new things we’re doing with text messaging!
by andy, February 8th, 2006 | No Comments
From 160 Characters:
A study by M:Metrics of owners of 3G phones in the UK and Germany has found that although unsurprisingly they consume more mobile multimedia, they also send significantly SMS more than 2G phone owners, in spite of a higher use of mobile IM as well.
The use cases for text messaging and group text messaging are fundamentally different than the use case behind IM (mobile or otherwise). And I’d argue it’s also much easier to use than IM. SMS works on virtually any phone without having to sign up or sign in. You don’t have to worry about having software configured on your phone and whether your friends have the software installed or are on the right network on their phone.
Moreover, text messaging is inherently mobile and done in the moment and while you are doing other things. It is not at all clear that the kind of conversations that I have sitting sedentary behind my computer or while I’m watching TV are the same conversations I want to have when I’m on the go. And I’m not sure whether I want to peer into a network of friends having a conversation with full keyboards typing 100 wpm…it may actually be in my best interest in a group text chat conversation to have text entry via T9 or a Sidekick-like device because it puts everyone on a level playing field and won’t overwhelm me.
by andy, February 2nd, 2006 | No Comments
These instructions are also in an easier to read MS Word document.
Step 1:
Add 415 489 8140 to your phone’s address book under 3jam.
Step 2:
Send a text message to 3jam (415 489 8140) to signup. The format is ‘signup’ followed by your first and last name. For example, Andy Jagoe would send a text message to 3Jam (415 489 8140) containing ‘signup andy jagoe’.
example : signup andy jagoe
Step 3:
You need some friend’s numbers in your 3jam address book before you can send a group text message. The format is ‘add’ followed by your friends first and last name and the phone number. For example, to add Enlai Chu, you would send a text message to 3jam (415 489 8140) containing ‘add enlai chu 4151234567’.
example : add enlai chu 4151234567
Repeat this step to add more numbers. You can only chat with people who are in your address book.
Send a group text message and start chatting!
The format is ‘chat’ followed by the names of the friends you want to send the message to and chat with. You can enter either first or last names. For example, to start a chat with enlai and andy, you would send a text message to 3jam (415 489 8140) containing ‘chat enlai andy’.
example : chat enlai andy
You will receive a confirmation that your chat has started. Reply to this message to send a text message to the entire group
by andy, February 2nd, 2006 | No Comments
A very interesting observation from watching people use 3jam is that it really is a completely new way to communicate and fills a void that no other mechanism really addresses. Here’s some thoughts on why 3jam is different and when it makes more sense to 3jam rather than use some more traditional communications mechanism…
Why not just call people?
- People are busy. Phone calls are more intrusive than text messages. People are not always available to have a conversation at exactly the same time.
- It’s not always easy to engage a group of people to make a decision over the phone. It requires multiple phone calls and can result in a less than ideal outcome where only the caller is party to the entire conversation.
Why not use email?
- Email only works when people have access to it (are sitting behind a computer). Most people don’t use mobile email.
- Even if people have mobile email, there is too much noise in everyday email. I don’t want my phone to buzz every time I get an email events newsletter, an email notice that my credit card statement is online, or worst of all spam. But I do want my phone to buzz if a friend is sending me a message.
- It doesn’t work well for conversations that need to take place in near real-time
Why not use mobile instant messaging?
- Only works when I’m signed in
- Not all of my friends are on the same IM network
- Not all phones have IM, and even if they do I have to learn how to do it. Text messaging is much easier and ubiquitous.
- Friends on computers will send long responses and clog my inbox
Why not use Push-to-Talk?
- It’s less intrusive and easier to receive and respond to a short text message than a voice message in loud crowded places.
- I can read and respond to the messages later if I’m busy at the moment it’s sent. There is no store and forward for PTT messages
by andy, February 1st, 2006 | 4 Comments
- No-Talking Situations: Sitting in the lecture hall, you’re bored out of your mind. You see a cute guy in the front row so you text your three other girlfriends seated around the room to ask if they see him and know who he is.
- Quick Poll: It’s 7pm on Friday and you’re at Happy Hour. You want to know what your friends are doing later that night, but you’re talking to a girl and can’t leave to make a bunch of phone calls. She’s just gone to the bathroom, so you have time to send a quick text message…
- Instant Information Gathering and Dissemination: You get to the club in the middle of the city where parking is tough. You get on group chat with four of your buddies to ask if anyone sees an empty parking spot where they parked. Likewise, you see a few spots in an alley and you let everyone know.
- General Invites: It’s 6am on Sunday and you’re heading for a spontaneous surf session at Ocean Beach. You want to find out who might be in and if anyone’s already down at the water to let you know how the waves are and how many people are out…
- Interactive Banter: It’s college football big game day and being a Cal undergrad, you’re a huge Bears fan. The game’s at Stanford this year, which is never as much fun as games played at Berkeley. You decide to watch the game at Henry’s in Berkeley instead of making the trip to Palo Alto. Your close group of friends includes people who went to both Stanford and Cal…some are at the game…some are watching it at bars in the City. You send a group chat text message that starts non-stop smack talking throughout the game. (btw…go Bears!)
- Change of Plans: You’re meeting five friends at a restaurant. You’re first to arrive and you find that the restaurant is closed on Mondays. Sync up and agree on a new meeting spot before everyone gets down there.
Can you think of other situations perfect for group text messaging? Leave a comment!
by andy, February 1st, 2006 | No Comments
It was the night before Thanksgiving and Mom was excited that we were coming home for the weekend. She wanted to suggest going to a jazz concert, but knew that we wouldn’t be checking email and are probably out or busy. She needed to buy tickets right away in case the show sold out, and also realized that Andy might influence Christy to go if she saw an enthusiastic response from him.
I was at dinner with my girlfriend and her friends. Taking a phone call would not have been possible, but I could get away with sending a few text messages. Lowest prices on the web. Learn about Asacol. Asacol Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: P&G) announced today that Asacol (mesalazine) 800mg Modified Release (MR) tablets have been approved for the treatment of mild toDigestive Disease Myths Slideshow The active ingredient in ROWASA® (mesalamine) Rectal Suspension Enema, The empirical formula is C7H7N03, representing a molecular weight ofIt is sold under a variety of brand names (UK: Asacol, Ipocal, Pentasa & Salofalk. Asacol * AsacolWhat is Asacol (Mesalamine). My sister Christy was at a party and it would have been much too loud to take a call.
Here’s the conversation:
From Mom: There’s a jazz club over the road. We can get tickets for 9.30 show of Taj Mahal tomorrow. Are you interested?
From Andy: I am!
From Christy: I could be interested. Excellen Antibiotic. Aug 14, 1997 Ilosone patient information. Ilosone Ilosone - drugs for bacterial infections. ilosone - buy discount ilosone - order cheap ilosone - ilosone without prescription Some medicines may interact with Ilosone. t.
From Mom: Do you want to look at the web site? First show is sold out so we should book soon. It’s a night club
From Andy: Nah. Let’s just book it.
From Christy: Just asked a friend. He said Taj is great.
From Mom: Shall I book 4 tickets?
From Andy: Yes
From Christy: Book for me as well
From Mom: Ok, booking 4. See you tomorrow
