20 years old
Twenty years ago a software engineer from Montreal who was working in Reading, England did something remarkable; he sent the first ever text.
He sent it to his friend, an early 'Merry Christmas', a little too early in my view, but his friend was at a Christmas party so it seemed appropriate.
Now it seems that we send over 8 trillion texts a year. The average Briton sends 50 texts a week, with the 18-25 age range delivering over 130 a week.
http://theexpiredmeter.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Text-message.jpg
Most people would not be without texting and apparently it is now the second most used function of our mobile phones, the first being the clock.
Texting has changed the world. It has spawned a new language including words like, LOL, gr8t and 4ever. For some this language has become a whole new coded language with take a look here
Personally I think that texting is a good thing. I think that it is part of the new way that people communicate. I guess at times it can be impersonal and doesn't require much thought but it allows friends and family to keep in touch, to say hey I'm still here and I'm thinking about you. I like getting text messages from everyone on my birthday.
Now phones contracts have changed most text or SMS (short messaging service) are free and unlimited so people can hold whole conversations using text. I guess the only problem here is that they can (even more than email) be misinterpreted, the tone or meaning sometimes unclear leading to miscommunication. Conversely they can be a quick and direct way of communicating directions, a shopping list, or confirmation that you are picking up the kids.
Cartoon (http://newlearningplaybook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/text-message-cartoon.gif)
And what if the reply does not come quickly enough? And as a colleague pointed out a few weeks ago in a presentation, what happens if the respondent only signs off with one x instead of the usual xxx. Is that significant?
I'm not suggesting that text messages should replace other forms of communication, they shouldn't for instance be used instead of a letter or a birthday card. I believe that they can be used to supplement these types of communication, part of the social media revolution that has changed the way we interact.
Twenty years ago the world was a different place, maybe calmer, less demanding - but it's changed and we cannot turn back time. We have a choice. We can ignore the changes or embrace them and live our lives incorporating the new technology.
Which will you do?
He sent it to his friend, an early 'Merry Christmas', a little too early in my view, but his friend was at a Christmas party so it seemed appropriate.
Now it seems that we send over 8 trillion texts a year. The average Briton sends 50 texts a week, with the 18-25 age range delivering over 130 a week.
Most people would not be without texting and apparently it is now the second most used function of our mobile phones, the first being the clock.
Texting has changed the world. It has spawned a new language including words like, LOL, gr8t and 4ever. For some this language has become a whole new coded language with take a look here
Now phones contracts have changed most text or SMS (short messaging service) are free and unlimited so people can hold whole conversations using text. I guess the only problem here is that they can (even more than email) be misinterpreted, the tone or meaning sometimes unclear leading to miscommunication. Conversely they can be a quick and direct way of communicating directions, a shopping list, or confirmation that you are picking up the kids.
Cartoon (http://newlearningplaybook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/text-message-cartoon.gif)
And what if the reply does not come quickly enough? And as a colleague pointed out a few weeks ago in a presentation, what happens if the respondent only signs off with one x instead of the usual xxx. Is that significant?
I'm not suggesting that text messages should replace other forms of communication, they shouldn't for instance be used instead of a letter or a birthday card. I believe that they can be used to supplement these types of communication, part of the social media revolution that has changed the way we interact.
Twenty years ago the world was a different place, maybe calmer, less demanding - but it's changed and we cannot turn back time. We have a choice. We can ignore the changes or embrace them and live our lives incorporating the new technology.
Which will you do?
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