My colleague recently wrote about his experience voting for contestants on a U.S. talent contest using short codes. While his experience showed the problems that still need to be worked out, the mere use of short codes in broadcast TV signal a level of adoption which we might think is encouraging. But then we might be wrong.
Short codes of the TV show voting variety are free to the end user. Texts sent to another person or received by the mobile subscriber are another matter. In my research sample among highly connected professionals in the SF Bay Area, the notion of paying for a text is unappetizing and for some a marital no-no. Do these folks know the cost of a text? Yup, sure do. So what I suspect is going on is two-fold: saturation point when in comes to cell phone bills and an aversion to trying a new service. They have voice and email to communicate and that's good enough.
But this puts a crinkle into the plans of large and small companies alike using or planning on using SMS to confirm, notify, communicate or transact with their customers. SMS is probably the most direct form of data communication without equal. For example text notification is widely available for online financial transactions such as payments and transfers eliminating the need to open and acknowledge an email receipt.
So does this mean the mobile Web will have to wait until today's dexterous teens and pre-teens enter the workforce? Let's hope not. And at least one company is doing something about it. mBlox has announced FTEU or "free to the end user" message service in the US following a similar announcement in the UK. This service allows content and service providers to absorb the cost of the text messages on behalf of the consumer.
FTEU will drop one of the objections penny pinching consumers have for not texting. The next barrier, getting today's consumers to adopt the mobile Web and SMS-based services, will take fast, easy to use mobile Web sites and applications that deliver on customer expectations and overcome the limitations of limited screen size and keyboard (if there's one at all).
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