Demanding More Real-Time Interactions

Consumers are forever demanding more real-time interactions and as I listen to my friends OMG and LOL over dinner I find it hard to imagine a more socially changing and integrated piece of technology than interactive SMS.

We use phones to Facebook,  tweet, play games, shop, watch films, listen to music, face juggle, edit photos, record sounds, get directions and yet texting is still the most utilised piece of technology on the cherished mobile!

Recently waiting for some friends I found myself watching other people doing the same, I noticed that we were all glued to the screens of our mobiles. As I looked out the window I also saw passers by sporting the infamous white headphones. Yet no matter what features, apps or handset design, the mobile’s most overworked application is still the simple SMS.

“You might think Apps are the big trend, in fact they only represent 8% of the market, compared to 87% of people using SMS messaging. SMS has the widest reach of any mobile technology by a long way” – mBlox.

This is proven not by facts & figures (for example there are now six billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide, according to the UN telecoms agency ITU), the evidence is all around us.  You don’t have to look far to see thumbs furiously engaged in conversation, so much so, it’s hard not to have a mobile or the white headphones in my peripheral vision whenever in a busy city like London.

The mobile has become a part of our lifestyle, in such a way that I feel helpless without one. I recently dropped my mobile down a toilet at the V&A Museum and, for a stressful week, I was without my phone.  I found that I didn’t miss the apps, music or maps very much, just the ability to quickly and efficiently communicate.  (I did get lost though and started reading on the tube!).  Despite all the developments in the mobile phone industry, texting remains the quickest and easiest way of communicating, despite Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and all the other communication options available.  SMS is an efficient and highly effective form of communication and as consumers are forever demanding more real-time interactions, organisations are starting to adopt sophisticated interactive channels to keep up with consumers and to get the best results.  The success of a communication channel like SMS (one of the most socially integrated, resilient technologies available today) tells you that sometimes, the best answer is the most obvious one…