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Category: SMS

ccSync: Bringing the chatroom and IRC dynamic to SMS with group texting

With Portland-based ccSync, suddenly your text messages begin to resemble a chatroom or IRC. Every message goes to every person in the group. Voila. Group SMS.

Rick Turoczy on November 18, 2009

[Full disclosure: I have consulted with ccSync in the past before they reconfigured their product offering. I was pre-briefed on the launch of this product, but I have not been involved in the launch planning.]

For all the cool Web apps, iPhone apps, and mobile technologies, few things beat SMS for market penetration. That’s what makes it so great. Next to actually calling someone on the phone—but I mean, who does that?—texting is the easiest way to communicate with folks. Because practically anyone carrying a phone in their pocket can send and receive SMS messages—so long as their data plan I allows it.

So as far as having SMS? Great. But using SMS only works for very particular applications. Like one-to-one conversations. If you want to use that technology to communicate with three different people, you’re going to wind up sending that message three different times.

If only there were some way to talk to a group of people—in a controlled confidential way, not a public Twitter way—using this nearly ubiquitous technology. Well, now there is. Introducing ccSync. Read More

REMINDER: Mobile Portland talks SMS, MMS, and short codes tonight

Rick Turoczy on September 28, 2009

Last week, iPhone users were all atwitter about upgrading to use MMS, the next generation of SMS messaging that allows messages to carry a bigger payload. That means the iPhone users can finally send attachments like images and audio along with the traditional text messages.

And while the rest of the mobile handset world may be scratching their heads as to why this is big news, it’s relatively certain that this new wave of iPhone users will be jumping on the MMS format—and likely taxing the already overburdened mobile infrastructure.

What’s a mobile developer to do? Attend Mobile Portland tonight of course. Read More

Get your text on: Shizzow adds SMS

Rick Turoczy on October 17, 2008

ShizzowOur favorite local location-based social networking service, Portland-based Shizzow, has had great uptake around the local area. And with good reason. It’s a really simple and effective way to keep tabs on who is where when.

But one thing has been holding it back for some folks: the fact that you’ve had to use a mobile Web browser to update your Shizzow location.

Well, not for much longer, my friend. Because Shizzow just announced a beta release that enables you to shout updates via SMS:

We’ve tested it as much as we can, but we need for you to try it out and let us know if you find any issues or have suggestions for how we can make it better. Until I perfect that mind reading device I’ve been working on in my garage, we can’t fix the bugs that you forget to tell us about! Log all of your suggestions on our Get Satisfaction page.

Want to try to out SMS for yourself? You’re going to have to configure your profile, add some nicknames, and learn some new lingo:

Available Commands and Abbreviations

#message (#m) – Add a message to a shout.

(#s) – Shout from a favorite place.

Shout from a Place

Format:
shzow #s {place nickname}

Example:
shzow #s happyplace

Shout from a Place with a Message

Format:
shzow #s {place nickname} {message}

Example 1 (explicit)
shzow #s happyplace #m here til noon

Example 2 (implicit)
shzow #s happyplace here til noon

Send (re-shout) a new Message from your Current Location

Format:
shzow #m {message}

Example:
shzow #m here til noon

So get to trying it. And give Shizzow your feedback.

What’s that? You’re in the Portland area and you don’t have a Shizzow account? Comment below and I’ll send you an invite.