I just read an article about text messaging. It described how for the first time text messaging traffic provided by the mobile companies has actually declined month over month. It appears that consumers instead of paying as much as twenty cents a message are looking for other means of sending text messages. Personally I only use text messaging to communicate with my kids and to receive text message appointment reminders. I also receive updates to meetings by text message when someone I have invited to a meeting either declines or accepts an invitation to a meeting invite that I have sent out. I use Google Gmail and Google Calendar and they have this great feature that does this for their users.
Why is Text Messaging Declining
There are so many app’s available now that use the internet to send and receive messages as long as both parties have the app loaded on their smart phone. Apple has a product that does this and there are many apps on the Android platform that also provide this feature. The text messaging capability is still the universal method of sending a text message to any cell phone virtually in the world and although traffic may have declined one month, chances are that text messaging on cell phones will continue to dominate.
Carriers just need to get their marketing right to ensure that their users are not pushed away from the cell phone to these internet apps that come for free. I currently pay $5 for 250 messages sent and unlimited incoming messages. This works out to two cents a message for the text messages I send, which is virtually free. There are plans that allow unlimited messaging as well. With all of my incoming text messages free, I tend not to bother with the apps available in the phone unless I am traveling outside the country and want to send messages for free, then I use the internet app.
Why Receive Text Message Appointment Reminders
First of all with my plan all incoming messages are free so I can receive as many as I wish. Secondly when I am not near my desktop PC and I do not have time to look at my smart phone and check the calendar, receiving a text message alert that tells me someone has accepted or declined an invite is very useful. It keeps me up to date on the progress of setting up meetings and who will be attending.
I also use this reminder service to alert me to an upcoming meeting. Thirty minute, 10 minute and 5 minute warnings are great when you have an important meeting to attend to. You can make sure that you are not late due to being involved in some other activity. It is also a neat trick to get out of a current meeting by programming your appointment reminders to send a text message for each meeting warning you that it is about to start and it is time to leave the current meeting you are in.
Not only can you disentangle yourself from a meeting, your meeting partners will have the sense that you are very busy and need to make efficient use of your time.
Who Are the Biggest Users of Text Message Appointment Reminders?
Business people are likely the biggest users of this kind of service, but they do not come close to the teens that live for their text messaging. If you are a parent with a teen make sure you have the unlimited plan for text messaging, otherwise you could pay a bundle in monthly fees.
There are probably other uses for text message appointment reminders, and we would like to hear about them from readers. In the mean time enjoy sending and receiving text messages.
For more articles about text messaging, click here.
December 2nd, 2012 on 7:27 am
i only send about 50 text messages a month and so our plan covers these messages. we do not have any teens with cell phones so there is no problem for us. in fact our cell phones are hardly every used. we have them really only for emergencies.