Yesterday, we observed an interesting conversation about text messaging (observed because we, alas, do not play this game). One person lamented the fact that text messaging isn’t a true American sport; another noted that texting is great, something to do in those moments between breaths; and, yet another declared that a text message is like an email — it’s not necessary to respond in real time. The key component here is that each person accepted that text messages to their cell phones are a given.
Now, as promised, more and more advertising is being done to cell phones. Sure, it’s opt-in advertising, but it’s marketing all the same. We can see how this type of promotion would appeal to teenage girls; we’re not so sure how the technology will translate to busy adults (not that teenage girls aren’t busy, of course). We’re interested to see how other readers embrace push technologies like this.
The key to this is to avoid the temptation to flood readers with marketing materials — even though readers will opt-in to content, you don’t want messages to become an annoyance. And, as the push moves from quick ads to original content, we begin to wonder if the hardware can support the vision:
More and more, says [Pamil] Gelenbe, teens and adults will be using cell phones to “browse and consume content. I have no doubt e-books are going to come to cell phones.”
Maybe it’s just us, but scrolling through lots of tiny screens seems more annoying than satisfying.
