I've been a contributor to Mobile Messaging 2.0, a corporate sponsored blog covering the mobile industry since September 2007. Last month Beeline Communications and the blog's sponsor, Airwide Solutions, chose me to be the new Managing Editor of the blog which has 12 paid contributing analysts of the mobile industry. Click here for my most recent post at MM2, "China's Black Market iPhones surpass 1 million.
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10 billion SMS a month and growing
Ever hear of Sybase 365? 
If not, it plays a major role in the mobile messaging value chain for the globe's wireless operators as well as premium messaging providers supporting ring tones, mobile commerce and advertising. It is one of the largest mobile messaging aggregators and interoperability provider whose core value proposition is managing the ever growing complexity of passing SMS and MMS messages around the globe. Sybase purchased Mobile 365 in September of 2006, thus combining the worlds largest messaging enabler (2006 revenues of $110 million) with one of the leading enterprise software providers, Sybase, to create Sybase 365.
In my interview we cover a wide range of topics including:
Mobile Matrimonial Wars continue
According to Chinese news service Xinhua, a Chinese woman in Weifang city in the eastern province of Shandong, set fire to 400 spanking new mobile phones in response to her husband leaving her.
37 year old "Mrs. Wang" seemed inclined to send a message to her hubby over the lack of bliss in their 
marriage. The Wang couple ran a successful phone retail business in Weifang. Weifang known as the Kite Capital of the World," is "flying high" due to its growth.
The surge in the Wang phone business had put the marriage on the rocks, and the couple frequently fought according to the Qilu Evening News. On March 3rd, after a "bitter row", the husband "slammed the door and left their home."
Wrought with despair, and crazed--or focused--with anger Mrs. Wang collected their entire stock of mobile phones, tossed them on the bed, set them afire and left. Acrid black smoke brought the fire brigade who quickly subdued the flames, but not before the handsets, valued at 300,000 Yuan (US$ 42,100) were consumed.
Mrs. Wang has been apprehended and charged with arson.
Walk & Text Wounds may be the next front in the attack on texting by the powers that be within the
Nanny state? Just wait until state legislators get wind of an investigation by the Star Newspaper, one of those cheeky London Fleet Street papers known for their bodacious page 3 girls, that's the front page on the right>>>>>>>>>oh, you already noticed?
According to the Star's crack investigative efforts, over 6 million Brits were injured in some way because they were so immersed in the experience of sending an SMS text message they failed to look up! Most seemed to be situationally unaware of such things as lamp posts and other immovable objects including garbage cans (trash bins in Brit speak), car barriers (bollards), or stepping off the curb (pavement).
Broken Bones & Fractured Skulls, oh my!
These were not simple "slip and falls" or Text Messenger's Thumb which I've written about before, but ranged from broken noses to fractured skulls. The survey was sponsored by the British information (directory) service provider 118118, which is quite 
adept at driving awareness with their off beat marketing. BONG!
According to the Daily Star, there are now plans to set up "mobile lanes" akin to bicycle lanes for text addicts to skirt around dangerous spots.' Now that's a good mix, speeding bikes and wandering pedestrians looking down at their iPhone. Layer in all those who are listening to their "life soundtrack" with iPod ear buds, and CRASH!
According to an interviewed activist from a group called Living Streets, who warned: “Our pavements are increasingly becoming obstacle courses.” Huh, what's changed here in regards to sidewalk topography?
Aha, here's the culprit--commerce. To protect and serve the texting public 118118 has launched a pilot project protecting such lame texters by installing texting bumper guards on offending lamp posts and other obstacles in London's Brick Lane starting yesterday. 118118 spokesman William Ostrom said: “Hopefully this scheme will reduce the risk of embarrassing injury.” Scheme indeed.
Very clever way for 118118 to get their brand "close" to their consuming public and very consistent with their intruiging brand positioning!
So what do you think of 118118's innovative way to bring attention to their brand, slick advertising or sorry excuse?
Saturday mornings are usually when I'm trying to bang out my weekly post while my 11 year old fumbles 
around making himself a breakfast of Chips Ahoy, Oreos or some such sweet-stuff until his prison warden Pop shows up.
Today's tasks included adding John Puterbaugh's blog Mobile 2.0 and Emerging Mobile Media Services to my blog roll. John, the Chief Strategist at Nellymoser, and I met at an InMobile 
event at the Mobile World Congress two short weeks ago. (John's on the left)We had an engaging conversation and he'll be a pod cast guest here in the near future. Since I was adding Mobile 2.0 to the log rolling blog roll, I figured I should edit the list, and started to read through other blogs I had paid neglectful attention to. Mobhappy made me happy.
Words we should use vs. Words we do use
Russell Buckley and Carlo Longino's Mobhappy post"Where do the T9 people get their words?" was very insightful and included this dry British take off of two Oxford-like dons on the demands and dilemmas of predictive text functionaly. I wonder what the Chinese Pinyan equivalent might be like with Zi? Check this out from YouTube.
Secure SMS ?
As I've been wandering through the MWC halls of the Fira at Plaza D'Espanya I've been lucky to discover some interesting companies and propositions in the mobile industry. There are also media events with some select companies available for in-depth review. Here's one which caught my eye at Showstoppers ( www.showstoppers.com ) regarding text messaging security : CellTrust. 
CellTrust provides security for SMS. Wait, you think SMS is actually "secure"? Mate, when it comes to security it is all about degrees. For you and me sending short texts to each other, that might be secure enough. Who knows you might even be lucky enough to pull a bird by sending tonight's pub meet to the wrong number. But what about enterprises that send out alerts and notifications to its work force, customers or critical caretakers? Consumer grade security isn't "reliable" for CIOs and company IT leads or for the ever more demanding management of mobile banking and transactions. That's where CellTrust positions its proposition..
CellTrust is providing control, accountability, compliance and security to SMS in the enterprise environment. Using pubic key encryption they guarantee recipient end to end privacy and two factor authentication without the expense and complexity of a proprietary, 
bespoke solution. By providing the SMS gateway to the enterprise and MNOs, their encryption technology layers over the routing rules enabling CellTrust to create a secure SMS environment. It wasn't anything I had ever thought of in a consumer messaging company, which is why it caught my eye. Through the combination of their platform technology and a micro client with password protection they secure and provide an SMS hardened solution. Although they could have modified the MAP layer of the SMS as we did at the former Mobile 365 to provide tracking capabilities through our networks. That's something they should consider as an added layer of functionality in their security "suite."
A "hardened" SMS comes with guaranteed secure delivery through their "Advanced Encryption Standard, a read and delivery confirmation to the sender, option for password protection prior to decryption and display of a message, even a remote wipe API, for when that handset is lost or stolen Mr. Phelps. You can learn more about Celltrust at www.celltrust.com. 
I would think the natural market for this would be banking applications, as well as government authentication--although i think much of that may have already been explored and gobbled up by RIM's Blackberry. Who knows, but definitely watch CellTrust.
After all, it's 11:00 pm, do you know if your SMS is secure?
As part of the cavalcade which is the 2008 Mobile Web Congress I'm getting the privlege to talk with a number of industry leaders heading companies which are driving change within the mobile industry. One which I discovered is Jinny Software, a "personal messaging services company" according to their CEO, Max Wilke, a veteran of the wireless industry. The company provides hardware and software solutions to operators around the world emphasizing low penetration, fast growth, low ARPU emerging mobile markets such as in Africa, Middle East and Asia. With software origins they are a part of the Italian Acatel Group which did an IPO in 2000 and are moving up the supply chain to providing value added services for operators.
Their product portfolio includes SMSc's, MMSc's, as well as a Media Resource Server with rating and charging funtionality interfacing with all major billing services.
Strategically Jinny Software has been very successful in leveraging their current customer base of operators in developing countries and organically growing into new markets. Translation: serve as a trusted agent to operators especially those with low ARPU's who are still cobling together revenue earning platforms for bottom of the pyramid markets, and you can capture a handsome revenue source, even in overlooked markets. Following a contrarian strategy by stepping down to simpified solution services instead of the high value smart phone hyped tip of the pyramid (reading iPhone stratosphere which is the black hole of hype), Jinny's value proposition focuses on growing operator ARPU, cost efficiencies and innovative applications in order to extract more value for existing traffic. A new theater which they are harvesting is a migration to advertising with a twist--advertising on the terms of their market parameters. Not Click to Action, or other high function demands of tip of the pyramid, but advertising suitable for the developing southern hemisphere of the world, read Africa, middle Asia and Latin America.
Jinny will be announcing at the Mobile World Congress the successful trial of an SMS advertising solution that will underpin new revenue streams for the mobile conglomerate Zain, starting in their Jordan property this year. The solution provides the capability to deliver advertisements over SMS messaging from any advertiser or agency. This solution gives Zain in Jordan the ability to take an early and strong position in an industry that is expected to earn US$18 billion by 2011
Built on Jinny’s proven technologies in messaging and filtering, the Advertising Engine has the power to deliver tailored advertising in a variety of ways. Whether an advertisement should be inserted into peer-to-peer messaging traffic or as a pre-page video clip, the Advertising Engine – thanks to sophisticated keyword and profile matching – can ensure the advert is relevant and useful to its audience, the consumer. Built to deliver tailored, targeted advertising that consumers want, as opposed to spam, the Advertising Engine is poised to meet the growth and ARPU-increase needs of operators this year and into the future.
Max Wilkie, CEO of Jinny Software, advised me in our interview, “We are once again delighted to be able to deliver a world-class solution to the Zain Group. With the Advertising Engine from Jinny, Zain in Jordan is now able to exploit the expanding business of mobile advertising and take advantage of new and sustainable revenue streams. There is no doubt that both Zain in Jordan and Jinny can build on this success to explore other media and messaging solutions to offer an increasingly powerful channel to advertisers.”
Eschewing the models pursued by the likes of the fledgling Admob, Amobee, AdInfust, Third Screen, as well as the Rhino size players Comverse, Acision and Haawie and others, Jinny offers bespoke like solutions for the whimsies of emerging markets that are seeking flexible solutions thus empowering developing the world's operators with easy to use Voice SMS, ring back solutions that act as a meeting mediating filter, and easy to use SMS services appropriate for the lowest rung of the economic ladder. By targeting bread and butter solutions, Jinny offers up the jam by tapping P2P messaging and providing a subsidized ad service enabling resource restricted consumers in developing markets the means to access core SMS technology without spending too much of their hard earned money. Tip of the pyramid users (and many mobile executives) may scoff at the idea of opt in messaging thinking it would go the way of opt in long distance and voice services, but emerging, low ARPU markets provide a plumb opportunity for such services according to Max Wilke, CEO of Jinny. Their services are well suited for networks that are still building out their network layers in markets where the average ARPU barely breaks US$ 10 per month. Jinny is one to watch.
Inflamed Thumb Syndrome
Under the category of "man bites dog" and the growing cultural phenomenon of government policy wonks 
seeking to reduce all risks in life striving to be an ultimate "nanny world," texters beware of:
Texting tenosynovitis, aka "Text Messenger's Thumb"
...que the ominous music, duh, duh, duh, dah....Seems two enterprising Kiwi physicians have published in the New Zealand Medical Journal an article on the dangers of mobile messaging! Citing treatment of a dental student who was sending over 100 SMS a day, the woman inflamed the tendons along the thumb and side of the wrist and filled the surrounding tissue with fluid. (Having spent a summer in college working at the Cleveland Clinic, here's the pathophysiology: Flexor tendons of the hand run in tight fibroosseous tunnels. Visceral and parietal layers of synovium lubricate and nourish the tendons. These layers usually are collapsed unless infection, which follows the path of least resistance along the tendon sheaths or inflammation, is present, thus causing the tenosynovitis. Impressed, eh ;)
Cannot be the Only Case
The physicians cite (see "case notes") two other documented cases of "texting tenosynovitis", one a school-aged child in Singapore and a 13-year-old girl in Australia. The authors of the journal report, Emma Storr and Mark Stringer, said tenosynovitis was likely to be more common than thought, given the popularity of sending SMSs. Do ya think ?
Clive Thompson of the New York Times seems to have been the first in the mass media to address this phenomenon. Covering an emerging medical phenomenon, he interviews Dr. Robert Bacon, an in house MD at Rogers--with growing reduction of employer medical coverage, a sterling idea there Rogers!
Dr. Bacon says he can recognize the symptoms of Text Messager's Thumb, right away: ''Employees coming in complaining of sore thumbs.'' [Wow, that's insightful doctor] Bacon, a chiropractor for Rogers Wireless Communications in Toronto, says that over 18 months he handed out 16 ''thumb braces'' to help employees who have inflamed the tendons that snake along the hand and wrist -- a painful condition known as ''tenosynovitis.''
The culprit? Our favorite super snack communication, the "incessant" ( a little harsh there Mr. NYT) ''text messaging.'' Seems with peripatetic students (between 12 to med school!) and workers sending messages all day long as they walk down the hallway or ride the subway around the world is creating a 21st-century centric health hazard: text messenger's thumb.
If our thumbs are feeling strained, it is an indicator of a clear cultural evolution from this writer's perspective. The thumb has become our most important digit. In Japan, where kids band together in ''thumb tribes,'' one company actually invented a phone-style keypad that plugs into your computer, because kids now prefer that to the traditional (and more ergonomic) qwerty keyboard. Even as I write this in a tethered state, I'm navigating the functions with a thumb pointer. Since young people are the most fanatic texters, the medical community is reflecting their worry that we're on the verge of a new tenosynovitis outbreak. ''They'll be developing workplace-style injuries before they've ever set foot in a workplace,'' says Andrew Chadwick, head of the British Repetitive Strain Injury Association. [Since the US is electing a president this year, I wonder where the front runners cover this in their health care plans?]
Virgin Mobile UK has even started an ad campaign called ''How to Practice Safe Text,'' offering shoulder-shrugging exercises and a phone-shaped squeeze toy in hopes of getting its subscribers to change their hand-crippling ways. Imagine what will occur when mobile phone use is available airborne and the airlines are including pre-roll thumb exercises before the movie.
Seems we're not biologicially evolving as fast as our technology.
Now, ask yourself this:"How do I ring a door bell?"
A) If it is by pushing it with your thumb, you're a "post-mobilian" human.
B) If you use your forefinger, you're a "pre-thumbian" human. 
Your turn, what do you think of the health threats of tenosynovitis? Comments are very welcome, and helpful! My objective is to build a community which engages in a conversation. And if you liked the post, please dig, delicous, or stumble to spread the word! Thanks for your readership.
Thx 4 Txtng
As most of you know, last Thursday was Thanksgiving in the US. A holiday commemorating the coming together of the pilgrims and native Americans for a feast expressing their thanks and gratitude notwithstanding the slim harvest season, harsh weather and conditions of the day. Overcoming obstacles of differences and the challenges of homesteading 3000 miles from England in a very demanding land--the pilgrims allocated more space for burial plots than houses--they broke bread with their neighbors and expressed their thanks.
Over Thanksgiving I've serendipitously come across two texting solutions which reflected the holiday spirit as well as the simple power of messaging to bring both the power of convenience as well as lifting the spirits. Both deserving note and attention, even through the tiny reach of Mobile Point View.
Recipe Ingredients
I cook the Thanksgiving turkey in my house. A tradition I started as a sophomore in college cooking for dorm mates who like me were either studying or saving by staying at school over the holiday break. While researching a Bobby Flay recipe I saw on his
Food Network Throwdown show, I noticed the icon in the corner advising I could deliver the recipe ingredients to my mobile phone. What a marvelous text application. 
Simple and powerful for the consumer. Although I've been responsible for billions of messaging running through a global network, this example reflected the power of easy convenience for text messaging. Sure, most technoscenti hope for the demise of text messaging to some multi-modal format, the reality is such elegantly simple things as these convenient types of alerts ensure it is here to stay. It's "green." It's "good." It's growing into every cranny of our existence. After all mobile phones were developed to provide the convenience of being "untethered" and immediate. A great example and great application of text messaging put to commercial use.
Textgiving 8 9 2 7 9 to the Troops
The second noteworthy example of the power of messaging touched my pride in the power of texting as well. Sixteen years ago, I was a presidential appointee in the first Bush administration ("41", for being the 41st POTUS). Operation Desert Shield had not transformed to Desert Storm yet, and over 200,000 Coalition Forces had amassed in the middle east. A fellow Bush appointee had organized a "thank you note" campaign to personally write and send thousands of Thanksgiving notes to US forces deployed to the gulf. I happily supported the effort and spent most of Thanksgiving watching American "football" and writing dozens of personal notes to anonymous airmen, marines, infantrymen and sailors.
Flash forward a generation to today's texting technology. Wednesday evening on ABC World News, I watched a story on Shauna Flemming, an enterprising teen who updated the same idea, applying text messaging as the vehicle of "thanks" to those who put their lives at risk. Four years ago she organized a "snail mail" effort when she was 15 and had sent over a million thank you notes. Great work. Now as a 19 year old college freshman, she cleverly updated the effort with texting. and created the foundation AmericaSupportsYou and launched the text Thanksgiving initiative for the troops.
By texting your thanksgiving message to 8 9 2 7 9 - your cell phone carrier will send it for free - people could send a text message of thanks to 8 9 2 7 9, until midnight, PT, on Thanksgiving Day. The messages end up on a Web site, where troops with Web access around the world can log on to read the sentiments and respond. Shauna's initiative has gotten considerable attention including from one of my colleagues at Mobile Messaging 2.0. Let's hope the carriers extend this through the year end holidays including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Day.
A superior idea recognizing the sacrifice by some Americans by those who appreciate how soldiers continue to volunteer and put their lives at risk for us. A grateful thanksgiving to you who guard the ramparts.
OK. Now its your turn. What do you think of these simple yet powerful uses of text messaging? This isn't a monologue and I prefer conversations. What do you think ? Comments are very welcome.
Over at Mobile Messaging 2.0, where I am a contributor, I've posted a piece titled: "Transactional Demand, Flat Access & 15ers" on the topic of the future of mobile messaging which all of the featured contributors are considering this week. 
Here's a peek at some pf my thoughts on the Future of Mobile Messaging:
Asynchronous Snacks
The power of a short, asynchronous “snack” length communication has made text the dominant format. I really don’t think the service layer experience will change much. It will in fact increase and endure. Email to mobile and mobile IM are not “messaging” from my purist point view. I do think that messaging technology at the technical access layer will migrate outside of the network from where it resides today. And, I believe we are entering an upward slope of use from an emerging influencer which will lead to the next iteration in the messaging experience.
“Is Texting Terminal?”
Not hardly. In reality we are at an adolescent stage for text based messaging. Only a dozen years from the first fully interoperable country market (the UK), the person to person (P2P) messaging segment continues to grow there at over 25% per year. SMS is a defacto “platform” and text messaging will increasingly drive “transactional” demand of its own use. What is “transactional” demand? It is when a standard or currency becomes so pervasive that it drives an inherent demand for itself given its universal use, application and acceptance. Think global currencies of record such as the US dollar and the Euro.
SMS text is the “currency of record”
That will not change. Ring tones, content, alerts, OTA, advertising, banking and P2P messaging all rely on SMS. The currency of record will only get stronger with globally scaled opportunities tapping traffic from the opening of the bottom of the pyramid consumer markets and ever more use by the developed market economies. Consider just how much more messaging will occur with the advent of full M transactions, machine to machine messaging, and other consumer services, as well as the emergence of “prosumer” messaging (enterprise services driven by consumer behavior) and you see a clear picture of SMS’ strength. Forecasts by TomiAhonen consulting predict SMS global revenues to break US$ 100 billion by 2008. 4 billion handsets by 2010 and average service margins exceeding 80%. According to Portia research, over 40% of the planet’s population can be reached via SMS. Very big numbers for texting which will not sunset soon. Unlikely that voice or other modality substituted messaging will depose text messaging or even alter it much.
Ok, now it's your turn. What do you think I missed or am misguided about on the transactional demand of SMS? I'm not a prognosticator, I prefer conversations. Please share your persepctives, critiques, additions, subtractions, bravos, taunts and tomatoes via comments. Thanks for your interest and reading.
For more, head on over to Mobile Messaging 2.0 (click here) and check out "Transactional Demand, Flat Access & 15ers"
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