Textmarks.com let’s you register free US keywords on a shortcode

Russell’s done another wicked post – this time breaking Textmarks.com to the wider public… well, to me, anyway. 

For me, I find it essentially a cut down and ultra consumer friendly version of the iTAGG / sms.ec service available here in London.  I registered the keyword EWAN on the textmarks shortcode 41411 in 4 seconds.  I kid you not.  4 seconds and it was operational.

Alas, when I came to fill in my phone number and create the account, service is (perhaps obviously) restricted to US style 555-555-5555 mobile numbers. 

By the way, anyone in America right now: text EWAN to 41411 you’ll get ‘is a genius’ back by text.  Heh.  It’ll be live for 24 hours.

I very much like the Textmarks concept.  Simple, direct, easy.  Does what it says on the tin.  You have your service operational immediately.  ONCE they’ve got you — once you’ve got an account, there’s then lots of scope to upsell you.  For example, they might offer a voting system, or a SMS newsletter system or things like that — at a small additional cost.

There’s also definitely a market to do something like this in the UK and internationally.  Ultra simple.  Ultra easy.  Get everyone and their dog using it! 

The ‘free’ bit is really appealing.  Mega appealing.  If there was one of these in the UK, I’d have a ton of them.  One for my contact details.  You know, ‘text EWAN’ for my address details.  Just for show.  Text ‘SMS’ ..er.. I dunno.  The interesting thing is I’d actually sit down and try and dream up uses for the Textmarks service — thereby increasing traffic throughput for Textmarks and, one imagines, eventually upselling me to premium services. 

So, if you want a keyword on a shared shortcode, you can definitely get that from iTAGG’s sms.ec at no cost — but that’s aimed at developers, not my mum, not my brother, not my friends.  I think there’s a good market for consumers.  I’m sure there is. 

(If anyone knows of something similar in the UK please let me know)