I am always on the look out for novel uses for SMS technology and a recent story from India caught my eye. It seems that HP Labs in India have developed a great way for cell phone users to access to the internet via SMS.  The SiteOnMobile program allows users of bog standard cell phones to utilize the internet by using SMS and voice commands.

What is great about this SMS -based approach is that it will open up the internet to millions of cell phone users in India who would otherwise not have access to the web.  

The market for cell phones in India is massive and SMS usage is amongst the highest in the world, so it makes great sense for HP to develop a system that will give less well off Indians the chance to make use of the internet by using their existing hardware and skills set (that is to say a cell phone and SMS).

Through the SiteOnMobile program cell phone users can send an SMS message to issue a command to perform a particular task (aka ''tasklet'') such as asking for a quote, checking a price, requesting information or booking an appointment. While the SMS-based internet access won't lead to hours of web browsing it will give many Indians affordable access to some aspects of the internet.

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Certainly there is a time when sending a text is appropriate and a time when it isn't. And it would seem that at least one young British female juror wasn't able to tell the difference.

The young woman in question was a 19 year old woman from northern England, who was on jury duty. The problems arose when the young woman sent a text message to another juror on another case whom she had just met. 

Despite the second juror responding that she couldn't discuss the case she was on, the 19 year old proceeded to send another text message which contained false rumours (overheard outside the court house) regarding the defendant in this case.

The receiver of the text message reported the text messages to the bailiffs, who then warned the judges in the two cases. The result was that both jurors were withdrawn from their allotted court cases. The 19 year old woman was also charged with contempt of court – to which she pleaded guilty and was lucky to be given an eight month suspended sentence.

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Last week I received one of the most surprising SMS messages of my life . . . it was from my grandmother! At the rip old age of 80 she has decided to join in the mobile revolution and has bought a mobile phone. What's more, she has taken to using it like a fish takes to water - including sending SMS messages.

While it makes prefect sense for my Gran to have a mobile phone so she is connected to the rest of the family while she is out and about, I was surprised to see how quickly she accepted this new technology. Of course she's had some heavy duty tuition from my sister who has shown her all the ins and outs of her new phone, as well as teaching her how to send and read SMS messages. She even knows about popular SMS emoticons such as :-).

I guess I shouldn't really be surprised by my Grandmother's use of a mobile phone for voice and SMS messages.  According to research earlier this year, mobile phone use amongst the over 65s is on the increase both in North American and in much of Europe, although voice is more popular than SMS.

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Did you know that it costs around 6 to 7 times more to acquire a new customer as compared to getting repeat business from an existing customer? 

If you run a small-to-medium business it makes sense for some of your marketing budget to be used for customer retention. And mobile marketing is an easy, effective and affordable way to keep your customers coming back for more.

Repeat customers should be a mainstay of your business. Be it your products or services, your prices or your customer service, you need to identify your business' strengths and continue to get your core messages across to your customer base. Here mobile marketing and regular SMS messages will help you keep in contact with customers and tempt them back for more business.

From providing customer loyalty schemes, new product/services updates or top notch customer service, a well thought out SMS marketing campaign can help you maintain that vital customer interaction. Plus, as most people have their mobile phone on them at all times, an SMS message is much more likely to be read and acted upon than an email.

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It would seem that the US State Department is getting busy with text messaging. Foggy Bottom (as it is colloquially called) has confirmed that it plans to continue its use of text messages as one of their diplomatic communication channels. Supposedly, it has also been experimenting with a few public diplomacy programmes which make extensive use of text messaging.

Given that on a global level cell phones are more common and widely used than PCs and the internet, the potential for using text messages as a communication tool makes eminent sense – even for the US State Department.

A case in point was trip to Africa by President Obama last year, where the State Department collected thousands of questions for the President from ordinary sub-Saharan African via text messages. The questions were later put to President Obama by African journalists on a podcast.

 Sure the State Department also collected questions via Twitter, Facebook and the traditional printed press, but it was the humble text message that most readily got the common man in Africa in touch with the world's most powerful man. 

It would seem that the State Department is also using text messaging as a safe way for citizens to speak out about certain issues - such as reporting crime.

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it's not everyday that you hear about SMS being used for a rescue, but that is what happen when a British sailor found himself drifting in the Caribbean off the coast of the Dominican Republic.

Paul Mountjoy from England was sailing his yacht around the Caribbean when his steering gear bit the dust leaving him stranded in the dark. He was just off about 50 miles from land, so near enough to get a signal on his cell phone. However, it also meant that he was near enough to run into trouble on the treacherous coastline.

After several attempts to raise the alarm via a marine VHF radio, Paul finally sent a text message to his dad saying the he was in trouble (to put it mildly) and asked him to contact the British coastguard to see if they could organise some help.

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It's always enjoyable to hear about good causes and good fun working together. Certainly this was the case with the successful breaking of the world record for the most SMS donation in one room last month. 

The attempt to break the world record for the most SMS donations in a single room was championed by the Universal Record Database(URDB) and the American Red Cross – with the help of the attendants of the Mashable Media Summit. As part of the summit, Dan Rollman (the founder and president of the URDB) and Wendy Harman from the American Red Cross spoke to the attendants and encouraged them to donate $10 through the Red Cross' SMS donation programme. 

The assembled crowd of 221 people texted "REDCROSS" to 90999, and raised a quick $2,210 for the American Red Cross. At the same time the assembled group broke the URDB's previous record for most SMS donations in a single room by a substantial margin. Unsurprisingly, the previous record for the most SMS donation in a single room had been set by the Red Cross and URDB, which raised just under $400 for the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

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New research from Juniper Research is predicting that within three years there will be a huge increase in the number of mobile phone subscribers that will use mobile banking.  

Globally, it is predicted that the number of people using mobile banking will exceed 400 million. This is more than double the current number of customers receiving SMS alerts from their bank or making use of web access and apps via mobile banking.

According to Juniper, banks and mutual societies are gearing up for large scale take up of mobile banking. And this turn to mobile banking is happening not just in the US (which tends to lead the way with mobile trends) but is a global phenomenon. As the report says: "Mobile is becoming a 'must have' channel for banks".

Banks from New York to London and Tokyo – are turning to mobile banking, in advance of anticipated high demand by customers for the service. What's more, banks are being increasingly innovative in their service offering, which is feeding further demand by users for mobile banking. Many banks in North America, Europe and the Far East are spending more on the delivery of their mobile banking service than their traditional marketing activities.

Interestingly, Juniper's research predicts that by 2015 the Far East and China will be the region with greatest take up of mobile banking.

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I hate having to log on to my online account or visit an ATM to find out my bank balance. Although I’ve been with the bank for years, I think the time has finally come to move to a bank that is keeping up with the times and values me as a customer. 

I know that some banks can send text messages straight to their customers’ cell phones to give them up-to-date secure information about their balance and recent transaction. 

All I’m after is a weekly SMS alert with my balance and perhaps a text message to let me know about deposits. Unfortunately, my bank offers neither. So although it will be a hassle, the time may have come to move on.

There has been a phenomenal growth in the use of mobile messaging amongst some within the financial services sector. From regular weekly SMS alerts that tell your bank balance or once a deposit has been made, to the more worrying warnings about going overdrawn, a mobile messaging service for banks make good sense.

Certainly in terms of value-added customer service and improved loyalty an SMS alert service makes great sense. It’s a highly cost effective, personal and secure communication between the bank and its customer. Text messages are also much more likely to be read (and acted upon, if necessary) than other forms of communication.

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It has to be said that I am not the best cook in the world. Sure I try, but more often that not I opt for a take out or something I can quickly re-heat. 

Unfortunately, this approach to mealtimes can get expensive. So, I was overjoyed to hear about a new SMS service for restaurants called Dinertext which lets customers sign up to receive text messages about special offers and events at their favourite places to eat or drink. 

The SMS messaging service enables restaurants, bars and cafés to contact their clientele to let them know about special deals and menus. The service can be used to tell customers about daily or weekly specials or perhaps their lunchtime offers.  

As a customers you’ll learn about discounted meals, two for one offering - even a free glass of bubbly -  just by signing up to receive SMS alerts at your favourite restaurants or bar. 

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There are some well known uses for SMS messaging services. These include marketing and promotions, customer service and appointment reminders ...to name but a few. However, every now and then a new use for SMS technology comes along that really catches your eye. 

This was the case when I found out about the educational efforts of the Bunyad Foundation in Pakistan. They are a non-governmental organisation dedicated to improving rural life for Pakistanis, especially children and women. Its novel use of SMS messaging technology is now taking advantage of low-cost mobile phones and using text messages to help teach Pakistani women to read. 

The Bunyad Foundation’s Mobile Based Post-Literacy Programme is designed for semi-literate rural Pakistani women aged between 15 and 25 and has been funded by UNESCO. One of the key aims of the text message-based programme is to take action on the problem of literacy retention amongst young rural women in Pakistan. The programme encourages these women to improve their literacy (by reading text messages) and so improve their self-esteem. This in turn should make them less marginalised.

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With the World Cup just a couple of weeks away, I for one plan to spend as much time as possible watching the games and enjoying the football. 

While I’d love to take time off and be in South Africa for the four week football extravaganza, this just isn’t going to happen. Instead, I will just have to watch what I can on TV and keep on top of all the action with SMS alerts on the team news and the results.

Just about every news organisations around is offering a mobile messaging service on all the news and action during the football World Cup in South Africa. Even some of the cell phone operators are getting in on the act and offering a mobile messaging service to their customers on World Cup news and the games results. Then there are those companies that specialise in SMS alerts for sport results from around the world. They too are offering a specialised mobile messaging service for the World Cup. Certainly I found it easy to find a provider of SMS news alerts covering the tournament.

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Ever since smartphones were launched, first with Blackberry in 2002 and the iPhone five years later many businesses have put their mobile marketing efforts into applications for 3-G phones. iPhone in particular has seen a plethora of applications developed, with more than 100,000 available to download.

While this many be great news for the industry that was developed around the creation of these niche applications, is an iPhone application (or any app for a smartphone) the best use of your mobile marketing budget?

Although applications have a high media profile they simply do not have the breadth of reach of SMS marketing.  Most mobile phones these days have access to SMS and nearly all users are familiar with its use. By contrast, it is estimated that globally smartphones will account for less than a quarter of all the mobile phones sold each year by 2013. So, for brands that want to attract mass market appeal for their products and services, using SMS marketing will give them greater reach to a broader audience.

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Every now and then you stumble across a bit of news that make you sit up and take notice. Certainly this was the case when I read about a mobile messaging campaign being used to control Aussie-rules footballers in post-match bevies in Melbourne, Australia.

It seems that the celebrating has gotten a bit out of hand, so the Victoria police and the State Government have started a 'look after your mates' campaign - Championship Moves. 

One aspect of the Championship Moves campaign is sending text messages to more than 50,000 footballers to remind them to behave, drink sensibly and look after their friends.

The point behind Championship Moves' mobile messaging campaign is to help reduce alcohol-fuelled violence, by reminding people to drink sensibly and look after one another. The Government's research found that 85% of the target market (young males) said that the SMS campaign would make them think twice before getting into drink-induced trouble.

Certainly it makes sense to use a communication that this age group is familiar with, such as sending text messages, to remind footballers to stay out of trouble. 

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It is an idea that been around awhile, linking online and mobile technology to home appliances. One ambition for the manufacturers and techies has been to get the washing machine to send you a SMS alert to tell you it's finished. 

Well... at last some has actually done it. Following several instances of wet mouldy clothes after forgetting about the laundry for several days, a hack in California has rigid up his 25 year old washing machine to tweet him when the cycle is finished. Twitter then sends a SMS alerts to his cellphone. How great is that!

The innovative use of the internet and SMS has even attracted the attention of Whirlpool (a leading manufacturer of washing machines in the States).

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With the recent chaos to air travel that ensued following the eruption of the Icelandic Volcano no doubt several people were relying on SMS alerts to keep on top of an evolving situation. 

With people all over Europe unable to fly the airlines must have been working overtime to let passengers know that their flight had been cancelled or destination changed. To make matters worse, the eruption (and disruption) happened during the Easter school holiday which meant that numbers were up that week as holidaymakers returned from a skiing break or week in the sun.

However, travel companies and airlines should have been able to use bulk SMS to keep their customers informed during the travel chaos that was felt across most of Europe. So the lucky travellers (.... if you can call it lucky) will have been those that received travel information updates via SMS alerts.

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Small business owners are often looking for an affordable way to keep in touch with their customers. Certainly SMS is great at communicating interactive marketing messages - letting you deliver them straight to your customers' pocket.

Plus, you can use SMS to target your customer database by age, area or special interests. It is also great to send sales-oriented text messages that coincide with certain events or times of year.  For example, if you sell items that are seasonally available (such as certain plants) you could use an SMS message to remind customers that X item will be available from a certain date - while stocks last. 

SMS marketing is a fast efficient way to communicate with your customers and a great way to reward the most loyal of them.  

Here we give you five ideas for SMS marketing that you can use to help drive traffic to your store or business and promote better customer relations.  

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There used to be a great stand-up comic on TV that encouraged the audience to send SMS messages to him as part of his routine - ideally poor jokes and rude comments. His would read out these text messages and his quick wit would turn them into laughs.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end sometime, as is the case with this show.

What the late-night comedy show did highlight, however, was that SMS messaging is a great way to interact with a speaker or a presenter - be it a comedy act, a lecture or a presentation.   

Getting the audience to use SMS when they want to ask a question or raise an issue can help to encourage audience participation, without having to resort to the time honoured school days tradition of raising a hand. 

Most speakers and lecturers will agree that an audience has a tendency to not get involved if they themselves have to speak – especially if it is in front of a large crowd. People are reluctant to step out of their comfort zone.  This means that questions are left unasked and speakers are left wondering if anyone was listening.

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It doesn't happen often, but every now and then I go for a bit of pampering and get my hair done. The last time I did this was a disaster. No the cut was OK, but I spent longer waiting for my appointment than getting my hair done - more than 45 minutes! 

The question is: 'why didn't they send me a text message to say they were late?' They had my mobile number.  Sure they were probably short staffed and in a rush, but the poor level of service they provided was disappointing.  All I needed was a simple text message after all.

Service providers, such as hair dressers and dentist, regularly use SMS to remind customers of an appointment.  But they can also use SMS messaging to send more up-to-the-minute information.

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The Oscar are all about glitz and glamour so I was surprised to see that even SMS has been making waves in tinsel town. 

Although the Oscars are no stranger to political statements - be it Marlon Brando protesting about the depiction of native Indian in the movies or Sean Penn stating the case for gay rights - it was surprising to see that a SMS short code being used in an acceptance speech.

This year The Cove made by Participant Media won Best Documentary for its film on dolphin killing in Japan.  As part of their acceptance speech one of the filmmakers held up a sign with "Text Dolphin to 44144" on it. This was the same mobile call to action that was also shown as part of the screening of the film. Using the SMS short code at the Oscar was just another way to get the message out and garner support for the petition to stop the massacre of dolphins.

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I often find that companies trying SMS advertising for the first time are a bit unsure about what approach to take.  And, to be honest, they can be a bit overwhelmed by it all.  While there is no definitive right or wrong way to approach your campaign, if you are trying SMS marketing for the first time you may find the following insights useful.

Your SMS list should be well targeted

The list you use for your SMS advertising is vital. Make sure you target your receivers well and send the right type of message to them. It's no good sending a guy an offer on manicures - well not usually anyway. So, consider the people on your list carefully. Bear in mind gender, region, age and any other information you have on how they interact with your business. Your SMS advertising should deliver a message to the right audience with right offer.

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If it's true that where the US goes the world will follow, then it looks like we could be in for an even bigger increase in the use of digital and mobile advertising for local advertising in the next five years. 

According to the forecasts by BIA/Kelsey, more than half of the advertising spend in the States will be local advertisers. This means that most of the business that are spending on advertising are either local small-to-medium-sized businesses or national advertisers concentrating their efforts on local marketing campaigns.

But what is really interesting is that the real growth area for this spend is going to be digital and mobile marketing. The forecast suggest that the interactive share of local advertising spend will more than double by 2013.

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For some time now the mobile marketing industry has been talking about location-based mobile marketing as the next big thing. Certainly, there's been a lot of hype about location or "geo-fencing" mobile marketing. But in reality there haven’t been that many examples of it in action.  

So, when I read about a new location-based mobile marketing campaign from the American sporting apparel manufacturer -North Face- I was intrigued. Thought to be the first use of "geo-fencing" mobile marketing for a clothing manufacturer, the campaign will send a SMS to customers when they are near one of North Face's stores in San Francisco, New York, Boston or Seattle. The SMS alerts will contain information about promotions (such as a free give away with purchases) or the latest seasonal arrival in store.

As is usual for mobile marketing campaigns, North Face's is only for customers that have opted in to receive SMS messages. Although the clothing firm has dabbled in mobile marketing before with its snow report application for iPhone users this is the first time that it has used a receiver's location to trigger an SMS marketing message.

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This was just such a worthwhile idea and great use of SMS technology that I thought I should share it with you. As we all know mobile technology has changed our lives beyond all recognition. Certainly a mobile phone can be a God-send in an emergency. 

But not everyone can make use of the voice aspect of mobile technology, such as those with a hearing impairment. Instead these individual tend to rely on SMS to keep in touch with family and friends. So, I was impressed to see that in New Zealand they have harness SMS technology to provide an emergency service for the hearing impaired.

The new service will simply require deaf people to register for the service through Deaf Aotearoa, an organisation which promotes the interests of the deaf community New Zealand. If they are in an emergency they can then text the 111 emergencies services. They will then be prompted to enter information about their location and the incident. The service will automatically include their personal details with the SMS.  Call centre staff will read the SMS message and get a police car dispatched, if needed.  They can also text the sender back for more information.

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No one likes getting spam of any sort. And now that there are moves afoot in American to tighten up the rules on unsolicited SMS advertising, as well as it being out of bounds in Australia and Europe it may be worth reminding ourselves that if a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.  

Legal requirements aside, it makes sound marketing sense to ensure that your SMS advertising campaign is well targeted and working for you. This means getting user’s consent and giving them a chance to opt out, as well as ensuring that the message is branded and relevant to the receiver.

SMS advertising is about creating an immediate connection and interaction between consumers and your brand and business. It lets you deliver concise, targeted messages that customers are willing to receive.  So use SMS advertising to drive consumers towards your marketing initiative.

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The Olympics are an odd phenomenon. Every few years the world focuses on one little corner of the globe and the sporting events that are taking place there. While the winter Olympics may not appeal to every nation they are nonetheless important for those 80 nations taking part in the events in Vancouver and Whistler at the moment. 

With so much going on in and around Vancouver it is no surprise that SMS is being used to help keep visitors informed. Vancouver Tourism, in collaboration with Satsport, has created an interactive guide for visitors to the 20th winter Olympic Games - the Tourism Vancouver 2010.

Through SMS messaging the mobile city guide application keeps users informed about events, the weather – even news flashes. Users can also get information about restaurants (and make reservations via SMS) and transportation in and around Vancouver and Whistler. The smartphone application also gives the user integrated street navigation for Vancouver and Whistler – helping lost tourists to find their way around town.

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My, how times have changed since I was a student. I found it a real hassle to find a place to live near campus, search online and asking around – I even checked out the campus notice boards. 

But now a new SMS marketing initiative will make landlords and university accommodation services re-think how they connect with their student clientele.

The new SMS messaging system is the brain child of Asset Campus Housing, a property management firm which specialises in the student accommodation market in the US. The new SMS service has been a triumph, generating up to 100 new leads a day with the knock on affect of both viewings and rentals up.

The system is made up of two components. The first gets prospects to opt in to receive alerts about properties.   The second creates a database of prospects and a separate one of residents for the property managers. The company and property managers can then use these for SMS messages tailored to either residents or prospects.

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Every now and then I hear a story that renews my faith in humanity. Certainly the donations that poured into the American Red Cross’ SMS donation appeal for Haiti are a heart-warming example.

In the days immediately following the devastating 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti the American Red Cross launched its $10 SMS donation programme. Those wanting to give were asked to text the word “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10. They then received a confirmation text which asks them to confirm their $10 donation. Once they’ve agreed, a $10 donation was added to their monthly cell phone bill. 

Next the Red Cross sends them a ‘thank you’ text and, crucially, asks if they want to opt-in to get further SMS messages. So in addition to raising money for Haiti, the Red Cross has also been able to gather valuable contact details for thousands of supporters of the charity who they can retarget sometime down the line.

Following some high profile media coverage (including Michelle Obama no less) the Red Cross’ SMS $10 donation campaign has been an amazing success.  It managed to raise $8 million within two days and a staggering $24 million within a week.

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Whether you pay via your taxes or your paycheck, we are all affected by the upward spiral of health care costs.  And there is nothing more wasteful than a missed appointment. Which is why I was intrigued to hear that America’s largest non-profit provider of healthcare has started to use SMS messages to remind patients of appointments.

Rather than relying on snail mail or a phone call, Kaiser Permanente decided to try texting appointment reminders to patients – a straightforward solution to customer communication. With this simple paperless reminder scheme patients were able to opt in or out, and could specific whether the alerts should be sent to their work or personal cell phone.

As you’d expect, SMS reminders were most effective with patients aged between 13 and 44. And no, there wasn’t much interest in the scheme by older generations. This no doubt reflects the lower take up of mobile phone technology by this age group. However, the use of SMS appointment reminders was revealed to be a great success overall.

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It is a self-evident truth that the most successful campaigns are those that use the right media to drive home their message to the right audience. And these days if you are trying to target the younger technology savvy market you need to reach them where they “live” – on social networks and mobile phones.

So it was interesting to read recently that SMS marketing has a new advocate. This time we see the self-styled actress, socialite and hotel heiress, Paris Hilton (who has teamed up with Hair Tech International to launch her new line of hair and beauty products) using SMS technology to help boost her ‘huge’ brand.

While it is true to say that Ms Hilton hasn’t always been the best role model, the use of SMS to reach out and connect with the valuable Gen Y (aged 18 – 34) market is a well targeted coup for the celebrity.

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It’s a well worn stereotype that SMS messaging is the soul preserve of teenagers. But as is the case with most stereotypes, this one doesn’t always ring true. While a comedy sketch may paint a picture of a texter as a spotty-faced teenager tapping away bizarre acronyms into a cell phone, in reality a typical texter may well be the parent of a teenager - or even their Gran.

It would seem that more mature mobile phones users are just as comfortable with sending a text message as a making a call.

According to a recent survey of 500 participants in North America and Europe, 60% of those over 45 were just as likely to send a SMS as to make a voice call from a mobile phone. The survey for the American firm Tekelec, also found that around a third of the participants expected to increase their use of SMS in 2010.

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As a new year rolls around again industry commentators have made their marketing predictions for the coming twelve months.  And while social media looks like it will still be a dominant force in marketing campaigns, a  quick trawl through the predictions for 2010 highlights SMS messaging as the next important trend in marketing.

One advantage of push-technology, such as SMS alters, is that it enables businesses to connect the customer directly.  Mobile marketing via SMS and MMS communication gives businesses the enviable ability to deliver an advertising or brand message to receptive consumers in an instant.

Whether it’s a SMS message offering a coupon, an alert about upcoming events or an appointment reminder – a text is a great way to keep in touch your customer base.

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Humans are undoubtedly creatures of habit. We get very frustrated and annoyed if our daily lives are disrupted by sudden changes. 

Certainly the weather has been testing our patience this winter. Across Europe, heavy snow and plunging temperatures have played havoc with our day-to-day routine. Even the east coast of America, which is accustomed to harsh winters, has been hit by heavy blizzards. 

While you can receive an SMS alert to tell you that snow is on the way, it is the knock –on effects of the weather that are so frustrating. From flights and trains being cancelled to chaos on the roads, bad weather can give you a major headache. You need an array of automated SMS messages to keep on top of all the disruption.

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