A conversation across media (email, various Facebook modalities), across generations (30-something [me] and 20-something [him]), and across continents (hence the time zone oddities).

Jul 3, 2008, at 5:22 AM
D:

Uh oh… I just wanted to let you know that I decided to join the twitter-lution yesterday and I am totally addicted. If you don’t hear from me for a couple of weeks, you will know why. Just to explain why it’s so cool… a) There is no barrier to “friendship”. On facebook, you rarely friend someone you don’t know. Or at least I don’t. On twitter, you can follow anyone. Since it is not reciprocal (meaning I can follow someone but that doesn’t mean they are following me back) it is not uncommon for someone to have many more followers than people he/she follows. So I have made friends just by searching for people with similar interests and following them. Some of them have followed me back. b) You can follow well know bloggers and other “celebrities” and get a window into their personal life. You can also tweet at them and they will reply. I have already had a back and forth with a fairly famous blogger who completely ignores my emails. But he responds to my tweets cuz it is so easy. Once I responded on his “wall”, a whole bunch of people started following me. c) There are all these great services. Timer allows me to send a message such as “d timer 45 pay parking meter” and in 45 minutes I will get a message reminding me to pay the parking meter. Trackthis sends package tracking updates. There is a CNN feed that ONLY sends breaking updates (the last one was 19 days ago) so that you can get important news and nothing else. There is an app to track and graph your gasoline usage. All these cool plugin apps! And this is after using it for less than a day. I am totally doomed! Anyways, that’s my experience so far. Just thought I would share. Now back to twhirl (my twitter client of the moment).

Jul 3, 2008 at 1:20 AM
Sarah:

My Twitter handle is power2b, but I never use it.

Jul 3, 2008 at 5:07 PM
D:

Yeah… you have 2 posts… Hardly giving it a fair chance… But then again… I highly advise against giving it a fair chance… You’ll regret it… You can thank me later.

D

PS. I think it is also a lot more useful and interesting if you are in the US and can do it from your phone.

Jul 11, 2008 at 8:30pm

Sarah added the Twitter application [in Facebook]. 4 Comments

Jul 11, 2008 at 6:30am
D:

Uh oh… Did I start something?

Jul 13, 2008 at 8:56pm
Sarah:

You wish. I can’t even figure out how to add a follow unless I accidentally stumble upon it in Google…

Jul 13, 2008 at 9:56pm
D:

Yeah… That’s why it won’t catch on like facebook did (or at least not as fast). It’s too command-liney sometimes. You can either navigate to that person’s page and click the follow button (i.e. twitter.com/usernamehere) or just send a message with the follow command (i.e. “follow usernamehere”) and you will be following that person. let me know if you have any more questions.

Jul 13, 2008 at 10:20pm
Sarah:

You’ll note that this has the prerequisite of knowing the user names of people you’re interested in following… I suppose that makes it more purely viral…

Jul 13, 2008 at 8:06pm
D:

Nope. Just go to sites like http://summize.com/ and http://www.twitscoop.com/ and search for things other people are talking about that interest you. Try searching for the word “jerusalem” (or anything that interests you). When you find others that are talking about jerusalem, read what they are saying about it. You will find a couple of people who are saying things that are interesting to you. Once you follow them you will find that they have friends that are interesting to you too so you can follow them too. As I mentioned, I also follow bloggers or other personalities who are interesting to me such as kevin rose, founder of digg (twitter.com/kevinrose). There are also a number of people who are just amusing to follow since they say interesting/funny things. There were a couple of blog posts that had the top 10 most interesting twitterers or something like that and I signed on to a few of thoset.

Facebook status Jul 14, 2008 at 8:29pm:

Sarah is tentatively Twittering.

Jul 14, 2008 at 9:46am
Sarah:

That’s helpful. I’ll try it out. Sarah (twit)
Sent via Facebook Mobile

Jul 14, 2008 at 2:38pm
D:

Also u might wanna get a twitter client. I like twhirl. There are ppl who like snitter too. Lastly 2 reply 2 ppl on their “wall” type: @usernamehere messagehere

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Jul 14, 2008 at 5:11pm
D:

Now that I think about it, I think the mac twitter app of choice is twitterific but I believe it costs money. The two I mentioned should work on mac and they are free. Also see this link:

http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2008/060208-top-twitter-tools.html

Jul 15, 2008 at 10:45am
Sarah:

Muchas Gracias! Ahora venidos a esperar.. yo puede que busca tiempo por el Twitter. Hasta luega…

Jul 15, 2008 at 4:30pm
D:

I assume this means you now have time to spend on twitter.

Here is the translation I got from babelfish:

“Thank you very much! Now come to hope. perhaps I look for time by the Twitter. Until luega…”

LOL… I will be frolicking by the riverbank and perhaps I will look for time by the twitter.

Jul 15, 2008 at 8:49pm
Sarah:

Translation from morah sarah: ‘thanks very much. Now let’s hope i Will be able to find time for twitter. See you later.’ other than reversing the meaning, not bad. Sarah

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Jul 15, 2008 at 8:54pm
D:

I actually think the translation is pretty poor. Technology can definitely do better than that. On a side note, have you ever used remember the milk or any other web2.0 to-do list manager? If so, what did you think?

Jul 15, 2008 at 9:02pm
Sarah:

Nope. I never have been effective with non.paper lists.

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Jul 15, 2008 at 9:22pm
D:

Ooooh… I kinda hate paper. I usually use my mind but that doesn’t always work out so well. I am interested in Remember the Milk and other similar services like todoist and vitalist since they integrate with all the other things I use such as gmail/google calendar, twitter, SMS, IM, firefox etc. It could be seriously useful to be able to text “Pick up milk tomorrow” from my cell and have it show up in a firefox panel on my computer as a to do item due the next day.

Jul 15, 2008 at 9:40pm
Sarah:

Some people use jott or spinvox…
Sent via Facebook Mobile

Jul 15, 2008 at 9:55pm
D:

Never heard of spinvox. Jott I have heard of. But neither of these programs alone, will let organize your tasks. However, Jott and RTM will work together so that you can call in a todo list item to Jott and have it show up in your RTM list. See: http://blog.rememberthemilk.com/2007/11/jott-your-tasks.html

Jul 28, 2008, at 3:51 AM
D:

So it looks like you are totally twittering now (I love alliteration). What do you think?

Jul 28, 2008 at 3:44 AM
Sarah:

Hm. Well, I use my cell phone rarely for the Twittering. Partly because the texting is harder than typing. Sometimes in the taxi.

I also don’t follow many people (yet), or have many followers (yet). I have un-followed one person, because they created too much noise…

Jul 29, 2008 8:58 PM
D:

For all my big talking, I actually haven’t added SMS to my twitter although I do post items from my phone (web) once in a while. I don’t find it much harder to do a 140 char message from my phone. I SMS text all the time so I am used to it. I am not really addicted to twitter anymore though. The reason I think is because I deliberately didn’t follow anyone I know even though there are many people at work and personal that are on twitter. I think it would be much more useful and interesting to me if I follow people I know. I will probably decide to do that soon. Until now I have just wanted to test it without friending people I know… Until I decide that I am using it and what I am using it for…

Jul 29, 2008:

[@Power2B:] Since using Twitter to update my status, I’ve begun thinking in short, declarative statements. I wonder if this is a good thing.

Facebook Status, Jul 29, 2008 at 11:53am:

Sarah: Twitter: the ultimate means for self-centered communication. http://www.reallysarahsyndication.com/2008/07/16/why-tap-when-you-can-talk/

* * *

In a related line of thinking, I take a look at the list of people on my Facebook friends list. With a few exceptions, they aren’t my close friends (if you’re reading this, consider yourself an exception, OK?), yet I am in touch with them more frequently than I am with my closer friends.

Few of my closest friends and relatives are on Facebook. Partly, this is generational. Partly, this is cultural. But this also reflects the reality that my activity on Facebook, such as it is, is motivated by my own personal/selfish search for entertainment than by a desire for social contact. When I want social contact, I call, meet for coffee, or send an email to get contact initiated.

“It’s easier to accidentally completely delete a new MMS than to send it.” [From the Small Surfaces blog]

Enough said.

Remember those warm, fuzzy “Reach Out and Touch Someone” ads on TV? They were sappy, soppy spots that made pregnant women weep, as distant relatives (usually gray-haired grannies) heard the voices of those they loved. Anticipating Skype video conferencing (if only they had known…), the ads used image-in-image to double the poignancy.

Those were the days when communication was about… well, interacting with other people. As opposed to, say, yourself.

Try these on for size:

• Create the illusion of communication. You maxed out your emergency credit card the first week of school. Your parents are looking for some answers. A text message isn’t going to cut it but a voicemail would mean that you tried calling them.

• Just tell your side of the story. You just partied hard last night and going to work is just not on your radar today. You dread having to call your boss and answering any awkward questions he may have. Instead just leave him a simple voicemail letting him know that you won’t be coming into work today.

• Have your cake and eat it too. You desperately need to call your girlfriend but she is a talker and you don’t want to spend an hour on the phone with her because you would much rather watch the game with your buddies. Leave her a sweet voicemail and get a reprieve for the night.

• Play the field more effectively. You are dating quite a few people at the same time. You don’t want to leave them all text messages because there is nothing romantic about that. But a nice voicemail to each would score you points.

Are you sick, yet? These are real examples of how Slydial can be helpful to you! (If you can stomach it, there are more here.)

Given that people are listening less and less to their voicemail messages, I wonder how “off the hook” you really are with Slydial. But if I needed any validation that messaging today is about Me Me Me, now I’ve got it.
[Thanks to the Bell System Memorial site for bringing back those touching memories of long-distance service.]

I hear a lot of predictions about the future of mobile user interface (not surprising: it’s my field). One that always hits me wrong is the prediction that “everything” will move away from the 12-key input pad to voice activation. This tag line, from Vlingo’s website, promotes that assumption (also not surprising: it’s their field): “Why tap when you can talk?”

SMS, the world’s most popular communication means by far (see below) embodies the polar opposite interface: everything is contained in layers within 12 keys.

SpinVox stakes a claim right in between Vlingo and SMS: they offer voice-to-text translation of voicemail messages and personal notes. The best of both worlds, so to speak; a combination of voice and text usage. SpinVox claims that it’s seven times faster to speak than to type. I don’t know what kind of tests that’s based on, but let’s accept it as true.

The real question we have to ask is, What do people prefer?

This semester, T-Mobile is tapping graduate students at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute of Design for research insights. To investigate how people use their mobile devices, the students are staking out their local Starbucks and asking subjects to document their phone usage with digital cameras.

The project, which will last until May and could shape future mobile plans and phones, has already spawned one insight: Young people prefer text messaging to voicemail because it’s more direct. “It’s about how we deal with information … such a rich field for designers to explore,” says Associate Professor Vijay Kumar, who heads the workshop.

(from Innovative Cellphones, Forbes.com, March 19, 2008)

First major fact: No one input means is perfect for every use case. Forget what every input technology company website tells you.

Second major fact: 350 billion voicemail messages are left globally per year. (source: SpinVox presentation at MEX) I couldn’t find any numbers on the number of voice calls completed globally, but I expect it’s less than…

Third major fact: 2.8 trillion SMS text messages are projected to be sent this year. (source: Tomi Ahonen consulting) I’ll hang on a second while you go back and re-read that last statistic. Yep, 2.8 trillion.

Personally, it’s hard to me to imagine a case where I’d use voice activation of anything, with the possible exception of in a car. I’d hate it in the car, but might use voice control to keep my hands on the steering wheel. Even that’s a stretch. But let’s leave me out of it.

People do prefer text to voice in many situations. Why? Why tap when you can talk? Let me count the ways…

• Cost. SMS is usually cheaper per message than cellular calls are per minute.
• Privacy/Discretion. Often, you don’t want to be heard by your neighbors (eg, in a meeting). Or — sorry to break the news — they don’t want to hear you (eg, in a movie theater).
• Perceived time. I don’t know what the reality is, but people may consider texting (or emailing from a computer) to be less time consuming than talking by phone. Why? Partly because no time is spent on courtesy chit-chat; partly because time spent entering text isn’t registered the same way that time spent listening to other people talk is registered; partly, perhaps, it is an illusion.
• Insecurity. Call screening used to be considered anti-social and arrogant. Now it’s a normal part of life. But calling a mobile phone implies near-certainty that the other party will hear the call come in. What if the other party rejects your call? Even if the reason is a good one — he’s in a meeting, in the bathroom, sleeping, watching a movie, has his hands full — the sense is still that “something else” was more important than talking to me. Sending a text message alleviates the need to experience that little subconscious emotional tension while the phone rings. You send the message; the other party will respond within a reasonable amount of time (or won’t).
• Avoidance of intimacy. Having a vocalized conversation encourages a level of personal connection that isn’t necessary in a test message. There’s a protocol of “how are you?” and “how’s your Mom?” and “thanks for the update; I’ll get back to you.” People are often lazy, selfish, or not interested enough to invest that kind of energy when “im 10 mis l8″ will convey the required message.

• Burden of attention. Slightly different from the previous issue of the energy demands of intimacy, this has more to do with attention and focus. SMS allows you to interact as much as you want to, for as long as you want to, when you want to. You can limit your attention. In a conversation, you need to be “on”, to listen, to provide feedback — in other words, it takes attention.

If you are watching TV or reading emails or playing your PSP while the other person is talking, they will notice and be offended. In an SMS or IM exchange, you can only pay attention when you’re the one talking (and doesn’t that make for the most interesting conversations?). No feigning interest required. In that sense, SMS is the ultimate self-centered communication medium.

In fact, you might consider micro-blogging (eg, Twitter, Facebook status), which combines broadcasting with SMS, to be the truly ultimate environments for self-centered communication. That might explain their popularity.

And with this, I think I have a reasonable answer to the question: Why tap when you can talk?

[Note to self: Contact Finnish friends for requisite vocabulary before next trip to Helsinki.] 

In an attempt to curb vandalism, the Finnish Road Administration has implemented a system along Highway 1 which requires restroom visitors to text “Open” (in Finnish, of course) in order to let themselves in. [via Engadget]

If the FRA plans to send arriving foreigners text messages with the words they’ll need upon landing at Vantaa Airport or at the port, it might work. If they don’t, well, there may be even more of a mess to deal with than before.

MomsRising.org has created a great-sounding SMS-based service to help you avoid toxic toys while you’re shopping:

Send a SMS/text message to 41411 with the text, “healthytoys [search term/toy name]” — where [search term] is the name of a toy, type of toy, manufacturer, or retailer. This will let you know if a toy contains toxic chemicals or not.

Example: Text “healthytoys alphabet pal” to 41411 to find out the toxics rating for the Alphabet Pal by Leap Frog, sold at Walmart. You can also search by retailer (text “healthytoys walmart” to 41411) or manufacturer (text “healthytoys leap frog” to 41411).

We’ll respond instantly with the results, based on recent comprehensive tests by HealthyToys.com. The results will indicate whether the toy or product had a low, medium, or high detection of toxic chemicals.

Ricky at SMS Text News has posted on the realities of the U.S. cell phone market, as seen in the trenches. No mind-blowing news here, but if you have anything to do with mobile hardware, software, services or sales, you’d better check it out: you do need to know this.

It’s scary how many people make decisions knowing so very little about how people react to them.

“3. SMS/Data is bad because it only runs up your bill. The carriers really botched this one a few years ago when they first launched data services. By activating pay-per-use as the default, most consumers have had the unpleasant experience of the ’surprise bill’, which left a bad taste in their mouths. Add to that the fact that every handset has at least one shortcut key to the internet, and you can imagine that consumers dislike mobile data. 8 out of 10 people, when asked, “Would you like to go ahead and add a data package, as well?” reply “No, actually, I want you to disable everything but calling. Don’t want any surprise bills…” I wish the carriers would have offered people their first month free and unlimited, to give the customer a better idea of what their usage would be and offer customers a pleasant way to experience the mobile web and all it can do.”