Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone?...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that...

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

Picture_8_12Russell’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)

4 COMMENTS

  1. Ah yes, good to see the Americans catching up with what we were doing 3 years ago 😉
    (well alright, we were charging a tenner for it!)
    I’m really intrigued as to the business model for this though – does anyone know whether the recipient pays for receiving the message, or to textmarks.com stump up the cash to send it?

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recently Published

Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an HP LaserJet printer (version 3, if memory serves), I have been printing with an HP. Over the...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone? I'm asking because I'm thinking about what I should be doing. When I was living in Oman, I...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that next to nothing from Mobile World Congress would break through into the mainstream media. I was right,...

How Wireless Will Pave the Path to Neobank Profitability

I'm delighted to bring you an opinion piece from Rafa Plantier at Gigs.com. I think it's particularly relevant given the recent eSIM news from...

An end of an era: Vodafone UK turns off 3G services

I thought it was worthwhile highlighting this one from the Vodafone UK team. For so long - for what feels like years, seeing the...

Mobile World Congress: Did the mainstream media notice?

I resolved this year to make sure I wrote something - anything - about Mobile World Congress, the huge mobile industry trade show taking...