Let Your Text Messages Linger

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2000/dot_life/2698085.stm' target='_blank'>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth...ife/2698085.stm</a><br /><br /></div>"Got a view on the last film you saw or the last restaurant you ate in? Soon you may be able to post a review outside the front door using your mobile phone."<br /><br />This set of technologies are cool, and promising, but problems including virtual spam and graffiti are unanswered (in this article, at least). Still, I could see text messaging be a new medium of psuedo-online communication.

[ppcsurfr]

"Got a view on the last film you saw or the last restaurant you ate in? Soon you may be able to post a review outside the front door using your mobile phone."

This set of technologies are cool, and promising, but problems including virtual spam and graffiti are unanswered (in this article, at least). Still, I could see text messaging be a new medium of psuedo-online communication.

Well, something like this is already being applied...

Just like the Internet, you can moderate these things... so I think there is some form of SPAM control which can be implemented.

I wouldn't go so far as to claiming that there will be any problems as this is a far easier service to sift through and sanitize.

Here in the Philippines, SMS is widely used for so many things. I mean almost anything imaginable. Our Telcos outsource SMS service providers which can offer daily quotes, bible readings, daily jokes, news, stocks etc. You can switch te service on or off. You can report things via SMS. Part of a service offered by a Telco and a 3rd party service provider for example is the "air pollution watch" where you can send a message with all details by simple sending an SMS to a specified number. Several TV stations also use SMS for polling and comments. Comments are then displayed on the TV screen to be viewed by the public... of course these can be censored before it even shows on the TV screen.

I suppose the same thing can be applied to the service you described.

Here is how I see it work.

With mid-air messaging... you can still set your account/phone to receive or not to receive these forms of messages. You can control this over the air by sending commands via SMS. You can even specify categories via SMS.

Let's say you have it activated. And you have it activated for movies only... then you limit what you receive and you don't get unneccessary reviews/comments not related to movies. The reviews are sent to a dedicated server which is monitored by a 3rd party service provider. Foul language can then be edited, etc. These can then be stored in the SMS servers for a specified amount of time... let's say it self-deletes in about an hour, 6 hrs, 12 hrs, 1 day and so forth and so-on. This is also one way of managing content volume.

So you see, it ain't all that bad if you really are prepared to offer a service as such.

Oh... BTW, mid-air messaging is already being applied here in the Philippines... when you enter a localized area, they can send you... or you can receive messages specific to that local area... say within the vicinity of a mall, a building, a town, or a city.

ppcsurfr

[johncruise]

Well... unlike e-mail, SMS will cost you something when you send a message so unless they (the spammers) have money to burn... i'd dare them to go ahead. In other part of the world, (i.e. Philippines), receiving txt msgs doesn't cost you anything... so they won't care if they receive it at all. But that's not the case here in the US :-(

[ppcsurfr]

Well... unlike e-mail, SMS will cost you something when you send a message so unless they (the spammers) have money to burn... i'd dare them to go ahead. In other part of the world, (i.e. Philippines), receiving txt msgs doesn't cost you anything... so they won't care if they receive it at all. But that's not the case here in the US :-(

John,

actually if you subscribe to a service as such... receiving updates, reviews etc... even receiving costs money... Well here in the Philippines, you get charged about PhP2.00 per received message for subscribed content... which is something like US$ 0.04... 4cents...

ppcsurfr

[adamz]

Haha! Cool.
My friends always send me text messaging movie reviews opening night from the theater. :) I also get messages before the movie starts, just to make sure that they're there and I'm not.

[Brad Adrian]

I wish receiving SMS alerts was that well organized in the U.S. With both my Verizon and T-Mobile accounts, I've subscribed to several daily alerts and have tried several times to unsubscribe or turn them off. I've even called their tech support and told them to turn them off. Still, in each case, I continue to get the messages.

So, there's still something wrong with the way our carriers organize and manage alerts.

[Janak Parekh]

I wish receiving SMS alerts was that well organized in the U.S. With both my Verizon and T-Mobile accounts, I've subscribed to several daily alerts and have tried several times to unsubscribe or turn them off. I've even called their tech support and told them to turn them off. Still, in each case, I continue to get the messages.
Maybe it's just you. Mine have worked perfectly. :)

Seriously, SMS in the US, as it's underutilized, is less supported by the carriers. Of course, this degenerates into a Catch-22. Oh well. At least I can SMS with my officemates fairly often.

--janak

[ppcsurfr]

I wish receiving SMS alerts was that well organized in the U.S. With both my Verizon and T-Mobile accounts, I've subscribed to several daily alerts and have tried several times to unsubscribe or turn them off. I've even called their tech support and told them to turn them off. Still, in each case, I continue to get the messages.

So, there's still something wrong with the way our carriers organize and manage alerts.

Okay... I suppose you guys are already using GSM for this... and if so... what type of SIM cards do you use?

Our SIM cards here in the Philippines are... um... 4th generation SIM cards already I think.

I know it started as an 8K SIM, then a 16K, then a 32K SIM, and now a 64K SIM... Our SIMs now even include shortcuts to Over-the-air commands and a special menu appears on almost any phone... I don't think the XDA supports this though... but AFAIK, the Smartphone 2002 devices do. One Telco here calls it the STK with the tool kit... you can even customize the commands... Actually mine is still the Mobile Banking version which allows me to do bank transfers usig my mobile phone. I even have an Electronic MasterCard linked to it and everytime I use the card for purchases, it sends a confirmation via SMS to my mobile phone.

Well, going back to your problem... have you tried using a regular phone to actually disable the services? Or what you can ask your TelCo's customer service is to have your account reset. They normally reset the switches and then you should be able to access those services and switch them on or off.

ppcsurfr