Greetings blogosphere! My name is Emma DeMilta and I’m thrilled to announce I’ll be interning for Recess Mobile this summer. I’m currently a junior at Syracuse University, majoring in English and Textual Studies. I enjoy writing, croqueting, reading, and jogging. I wear a size 12 shoe!
As an incoming intern for Recess, a company so well-versed in SMS and mobile marketing, I wanted to get acquainted with the best SMS technology out there. Up until now, my personal experience with SMS has been limited to text messaging friends and receiving OrangeAlerts from my university any time there’s a local theft or nearby crime. I thought that the best SMS could offer me was cheesy horoscopes or stupid jokes or obnoxious hip hop ringtones advertised on television. I knew these services would charge me a minor amount for texting them a shortcode, and that I was better off without using SMS in this way; I’d leave it for the people who invest in things like that – the ones who buy too many lottery tickets and read tabloid magazines.
After delving into an online investigation, though, my perceptions about the technology have changed. I realized we are just beginning to see what SMS can do for us as a society. SMS is a whole world onto itself, beyond horoscope spam or advertising fluff (although there is that too, of course). No, with companies like Recess, I see SMS can provide practical solutions to future generations. In fact, SMS could very well be the key to getting me through the next five years of my life alive, especially as a young person dealing with the economic strain effecting job markets. Here’s how:
1. Finding a Job
Most if not all students my age are nervous about finding satisfying careers. In order to keep ‘post-grad’ from being synonymous with ‘post-apocalyptic’, I found their are neat services like TextMe, a New Zealand-based company, send notifications/alerts to subscribers looking for full time, part time or one off type jobs. Using an SMS service like this, I wouldn’t even have to look in the newspaper or on Craigslist. Job leads would come to me. The subscribers can personalize their preferences. The service ideally makes little employer/employee love matches.
2. Under-the-Board/Bored-Room-Table Updates
Like most twenty year olds, I love checking email, fbook, twitter, etc., on my Smartphone.
(Check out how subtle the ATAT logo is in my smartphone’s obnoxious preset screen) Once I find an entry-level job in my desired field, however, I will curtail that habit. An entry-level job means working my bum off to advance, and being discreet if I’m using my phone at work. Unless I’m lollygagging about town delivering greasy pizzas, I won’t be able to be web surfing on my phone for any prolonged period of time. Instead, I can invest in SMS to keep updated about interests and events. While earning my stripes working those long nights, I look forward to utilizing clever products like Scores to SMS, which sends live updates on sports scores. The service lets you follow any game, match, or tournament that you can dream of! Updates about Cavs games – evidence of life outside the board room – will keep me refreshed and working hard.
3. No-nonsense Updates
During my research, what impressed me most was the amount of useful SMS products and services readily available. Many provide simple updates. This spring, Wells Fargo and Visa have announced they will be offering rapid alerts to their cardholders not only to help manage their accounts, but also to catch credit card theft more easily. So in addition to getting sports scores updated via SMS, I’ll also be investing in some services that provide super-practical updates, like getting a message when my credit card number is being used or like Recess’ AntiTow, which alerts Columbus locals when the street sweeper is coming.
4. Tummy Treat
I like to cook, but some nights when I do finally make it home from my first major job, I will be in the mood for quick-and-easy. Thanks to SMS, I’ll be able to order a pizza or takeout with a single, short text, without even having to log onto a webpage to fill out the takeout order. Then my hassle will be reduced to worrying that the pizza guy is lollygagging.
The technology seems simple enough to teach to people of any age group. The need to neatly manage bank accounts and to find employment quickly is across-the-board universal. I found that SMS is unique from other methods of communication and surprisingly applicable to my own life.
So after investigating, that’s the verdict: From here on out SMS is gonna help me out. Finding all of these neat uses of SMS makes me even more excited for this fun summer of working with Recess Mobile. Make sure you subscribe to the Recess blog because in addition to great posts from the co-founders of Recess (Yury and Vitaliy), I will also be posting as I further investigate great SMS campaigns, instances of incredibly successful SMS marketing, and more.
Until then, you can follow me and my mammoth feet on twitter. 